The Mother of all Bricks to Missoula World Champs

Saturday I raced the Grizzly Triathlon, my first race of the season. This race also marked my 5th year of racing triathlon as it was the first race I competed in. Back in 2005 it was a different race. Our UM triathlon coach, Brandon Fuller described it as the mother of all bricks (a brick is a workout which combines two disciplines, usually running and riding). Over the past 5 years with at least 7 new pros coming from the Missoula valley, the race has transformed into the Missoula World Championships. As a marker, I got 7th both times I raced it. With a couple days of processing my results and talking it over with my coach, Elliot, and some other athletes I've accepted my result as a strong and solid initial performance given my training, however, I'm, in the words of swimming great, Old Man Weston (who beat me in the swim and taught me a hard lesson in man strength), "hungry for more."

I set a couple loose and ideal goals before the race. 1) Win the swim. 2) Swim under 10:45. 3) Be the first amateur to finish. 4) Run under 20:00. 5) Not get chicked (sorry, Linsey). I accomplished none of these, except that latter and it was by the skin of my teeth, and had Linsey seen me 8 seconds ahead, I feel certain she would have caught me.

Congratulations to Coach Elliot and Mountain Endurance whose athletes locked up 3 of the top seven spots, including the win. Thanks to Ben for catching me on the foot bridge and laying waste to 13 years of swimming in a mere 30 seconds. Fellow Big Kids Swim Loungers Matty Shryock, Adam Jensen, Jeffro, and new course record holder, the indomitable Moose Ox, Linsey Corbin. Also, a big cheers to fellow Mountain Endurance athlete Geoff L'Heureux who outsprinted me for the finish.



Huge thanks to Shaun Radley and Joel Brown for calling the race on the world wide web so my family could listen in from South Carolina.

The real kudos and thanks though are for Giles and Elliot for putting on a fantastic race and even ordering perfect weather.

The Grizzly Triathlon, as most things in Montana, takes all kinds of man-strength and my man-finesse desperately needs some hair on it's chest.

Montana: 3
RAP: 0.5



Connie, donning new white Profile bars, and Scotty flirting it up after the race.




Post race ice bath: reduces inflammation, speeds recovery, keeps champagne cold