by Scott Carkhuff, Kyle’s Bikes 2014 Triathlon Team
Pigman Long
1.2 mile Swim, 56 mile Bike, 13.1 mile Run
Pleasant Creek State Park, Palo, Iowa
August 17, 2014
Pigman Triathlon was my first half Ironman-distance event or anything close to this distance. I was excited and felt good coming into the race. Little did I know that would all change. Continue reading
by Andy Bernholtz, Kyle’s Bikes 2014 Triathlon Team
Pigman Long
1.2 mile Swim, 56 mile Bike, 13.1 mile Run
Pleasant Creek State Park, Palo, Iowa
August 17, 2014
Pigman Triathlon race day morning came fast! Scott Carkhuff and I were up and at it around 4:00 a.m. We enjoyed a quick breakfast and stopped for some coffee en route to the venue. Arriving just after 6:00 a.m., we were body marked before entering transition. I was able to position myself on the rack nearest to bike out and run out on the outside, which would be beneficial for quick transition times. Several extra swigs of fluid, a GU, some stretching, and a warm up swim, and it was go time. Continue reading
by Pro Triathlete Tami Ritchie
Pigman Long
1.2 mile Swim, 56 mile Bike, 13.1 mile Run
Pleasant Creek State Park, Palo, Iowa
August 17, 2014
Unlike Chisago, this race felt bad. The swim was oddly better, but then the bike felt bad, and the run was downright torturous. I couldn’t hit any paces or watts. When I did it was taking way too much effort. The race felt bad and it was bad.
The only good thing I can say about it is that the piss-poorness of it was probably a reflection of the high quality Ironman training done the two weeks prior (and a busy work schedule), so I think the training and fitness were there.
Without being able to take any rest time going into the race, I paid the price here… It will hopefully pay out dividends come Ironman Wisconsin.
Full results from the Pigman Long and Olympic Triathlons are online at JMS Racing Services.
by Christian Baughman, Kyle’s Bikes 2014 Triathlon Team
Bluff Creek Olympic
1500 m Swim, 40 km Bike, 10 km Run
Don Williams Park, Boone County, Iowa
August 10, 2014
This was another new race for me with the Kyle’s Bikes/Discount Tri Supply team. The Bluff Creek Triathlon takes place in Don Williams State Park, just North of Ogden and South of Pilot Mound. The latter town is still riding its fame of being home of “Twister Hill” from the epic midwestern storm-chaser film of several years back. I’d ridden Twister Hill once on RAGBRAI a few years ago, and all I remembered is that it was a comparative monster of a climb compared to what we’d been doing that day or week. So a week before the race, when Coach Julie instructed “ride a hilly route,” I loaded the SHIV and did a little scouting ride of the race course.
by Laura Miller, Kyle’s Bikes 2014 Triathlon Team
Bluff Creek Sprint
500 m Swim, 15 miles Bike, 5 km Run
Don Williams Park, Boone County, Iowa
August 10, 2014
This was my first time racing Bluff Creek Triathlon. I had raced at Don Williams Park several years earlier when the Iowa Games Triathlon used to be hosted there. The courses were similar.
by Shawn Blaesing-Thompson, Kyle’s Bikes 2014 Triathlon Team
Bluff Creek Olympic
1500 m Swim, 40 km Bike, 10 km Run
Don Williams Park, Boone County, Iowa
August 10, 2014
Bluff Creek Triathlon at Don Williams Park north of Ogden has been one of my favorite races for a while now. I have done the course twice as a sprint and once as an "almost Olympic." The swim was cut short in 2011 due to water temps being very cold, as the race used to be in May. This is also a very similar course to the one Iowa Games Triathlon used to run in the same park which I did several times before they moved it to Easter Lake.
This was the first Olympic-distance race that I have done in a couple of years for a variety of reasons, so I have to say I was more nervous than usual going into this one. Continue reading
