Boulder Peak Old Stage vs Me - Rnd 3

Today was my last trip up and down Old Stage before the 2008 Boulder Peak Triathlon on July 20th. I tossed around riding to Old Stage and back from home (44+ mile round trip), riding Boulder Peak Olympic bike course start to finish from the reservoir or doing hill repeats up Old Stage with a 30 min run at the end. I decided on the latter, figuring that the strength work on the hill would satisfy my biking needs and I'd have something left in the tank for a 30 minute run.

Old Stage is not getting any easier, however I have made some observations. The hardest part is the first part. This is the steepest part of the hill and it's really no fun. There's no way around it and stopping is not an option, as I don't think it would be to easy/possible to restart. Once you make it to the "Lefthand Fire District" sign, it's all "downhill". Well, as you can see from the picture, it's not really down hill, but relatively, it's reasonable. From this point, there's a rolling section, two more reasonable hills and then you're done.

The other thing I like about Old Stage is the scenery. It's very brown, but you can't beat the views. When I stopped to take the picture of the reservoir, where the Boulder Peak swim starts, as well as the transition area, I noticed one of the homes has an inground swimming pool. I can't imagine the water bill to keep that full! The climate is so dry around here I have to re-fill my fish tank weekly due to evaporation. I'd imagine that swimming pool has to be refilled weekly also.

Anyway, I did the ride twice, figuring that the second time would simulate what it's going to feel like next Sunday during the race after swimming 1500m and biking 5+ miles out to Old Stage. It wasn't fun, but I made it. I stopped to get a drink at the top after the second summit, unclipped my left shoe but my weight was leaning right and.....yep, I fell over. Luckily I only skinned my knee and elbow, but it was embarrassing. Luckily only one other cyclists witnessed that!

I zipped back down the hill with no major issues. The only thing that was bothering today was GI issues. I was trying out some new nutrition options for the triathlon next week and apparently my body is not to happy with my choices. Prior to the ride I drank some Mix 1, but that gave me some nasty gas and a bit of an upset stomach. Not a good start. Even worse, where's the porta potty when you need one? Not at the trail head I parked at! I wasn't bothered to much, but I wasn't 100%. After the two trips up Old Stage I went for a quick run, where I ran out and back 13 minutes or so for 26 minutes round trip run / walk. As if the Mix 1 issues weren't enough, I threw in a Vanilla Cliff Energy Gel to the mix. I didn't feel worse, but I wasn't feeling better either. I took the time to think about my run goals for the race next week, which I'll discuss in a separate post later this week.

Summary: I've done Old Stage four times now and I have no doubts that I can make it. I just need to make it past the initial incline and look for the Left Hand Fire District sign and I'll be all set. Once I get to the top I'll have 10 to 15 minutes on the downhill to gather myself, breath and get ready for the rest of the race. I'm planning for some more running this week, probably 3 mi Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, open water swim on Tuesday night and a nice flat/fast bike ride probably Wednesday. I'll probably rest the rest of the week and get ready for the big race on Sunday.