The Leadman Triathlon: What Limits?

There is a part of me that is never satisfied with an effort. No matter how fast I ride, or how far I run, there is a part of me that says I could do a little bit more. It was the pursuit of this limit that brought me to Bend for the Leadman Triathlon. While always trying to push it, I do know my limits and so opted for the shorted of the two options, the 125k, which was composed of a 1.6 mile swim, followed by a 65 mile spin on the bike, and then a 7 mile jaunt around scenic Bend, Oregon. 

Race day started on a school bus at 6am. They were shuttling us from the finish at Summit High School to the start at Cultus Lake. We’d make our way from the lake back to the school on our bikes later. Nestled on the base of mount bachelor, Cultus Lake has to be the most beautiful swim venue I’ve ever seen. It was so clear, you could see another swimmer’s feet kicking underwater 20 feet away. And that’s how a spent my swim, following the feet in front of me and trying not to work too hard. I kept the throttle pretty low and left the water a ways behind any serious competitors, but feeling pretty fresh after an hour of swimming. 

Transitioning into the bike leg, I knew the real racing was about to start. My background in bike racing has made this portion of the triathlon my favorite. And a bike course that climbed up and over Mt. Bachelor only played more to my benefit. I spent the first hour or so of the bike at a steady but moderate pace as I approached the climb. Then, about 30 miles in, the road pitched up and I started to push the gas a bit. It was a gradual climb and I was still trying to keep my heart rate down, but I managed to make up a lot of ground on the way up the mountain. For me though, the peak of the race came after the summit, on the 20 mile descent back into town. 

Flying down the back side of the mountain, I held myself in a skiers tuck getting as low as I could on the bike. My speed maxed out at 43 miles per hour, but that was into a headwind. The sweeping downhill served as a nice respite before pedaling a few more miles back into town and to the run transition at Summit High School. 

At the start of the run, my legs felt a bit heavy. I knew this is where the real challenge would be. As my coach had advised me before, the swim and the bike are just your transport to the run in a long-course triathlon. A few miles in, I was still running, but I certainly didn’t feel great. At this point, all I could think about were athletic platitudes. “The hardest step you’ll take is the next one.” “Your stronger than you think you are, and you can do more than you think you can.” Powered by a stream of self encouraging quotes, I trucked my way back into town.

As I neared the finish line, one of the volunteers waved me to take a right – away from the finish. Drained of electrolytes and sugar, I probably would have started doing jumping jacks if she’d told me too, so I went ahead and kept on running. And running. And then, four miles later, I realized I was doing another lap of the same course. The volunteer had thought I was the first of the 250k athletes, who ran the same run course as the 125k twice. Meanwhile, I hadn’t adequately studied the course map and was in no position to think for myself when she had pointed me back out onto the course. I’d gotten to a point where I’d hit my limit, but I just keep running anyway. 

After running most of a second lap around the course and realizing I should have finished the race half an hour ago, I decided where my limit was. I stopped at one of the feed stations, ate some bananas, drank some Gatorade, and eventually got picked up by one of the course marshals and driven back to the finish. Getting out of a pickup and walking to the results tent to ask if they could adjust my race time to when I crossed the lap sensor before heading back out onto the course definitely wasn’t the most glorious finish, but I was satisfied with my effort. 

Of course, as I sit here writing this, I can’t help but think how much better my run could have been if I’d familiarized myself with the course before hand (victory favors the prepared). Or even how much harder I might have been able to push it on the swim and the bike if I’d had a better sense of pacing for a five hour event. Sure, I was at the brink of collapse after the effort I had put out, but when that volunteer flagged me to the right, away from the finish, without question I was ready to take more. So I guess I’ll have to come back next year, in continued search of the limit and to find out how far my body and mind can go. Maybe I’ll have to do that 250k…