Tri-Rob's Tri Blog: Pole, Paddle, Pedal Race Report!

Geesh! Its about time that I got to this! I know that you've all been waiting with bated breath to hear the results of this awesome event! For those of you that don't know, Pole, Paddle, Pedal is held in Bend, Oregon every Spring. Its a HUGE event that the entire city seems to turn out for. There are a number of ways to participate: individuals, teams, or pairs. The race starts out with a 100 yd sprint up the side of Mt. Bachelor ski area where you immediately transition into downhill skis and BANZAI down the mnt on a giant slolum course for about 300 yds. This is a mass start so it can be a bit chaotic. That is followed immediately by an 8k skate ski, a 25 mile down-hill bike, a 10k run, a quick kayak on the Deschutes, and a sprint to the finish!

Before I get to the results... I should mention that 3 out of the 4 team members didn't train a single day prior to the race. Team BatYo consisted of 3 of my buddies from college and myself. Both the downhill and the skate ski were done by Wombat (Mark): A genetic freak that could probably smoke most Olympians in pretty much any sport if he'd apply himself. The bike was done by Foam (Dean): An ex-SNAG (Sensitive New-age Guy), with legs the size and texture of tree stumps and a pink road bike that hauls ASS! The run was done by myself: Formerly known as Niedermyer and also known for my practically non-existent ass. Finally, the paddle was done by Estebablin (Steve): An avid paddler with a fast boat and a torso the size of Michigan!

Team BatYo! made a good showing placing 5th in our age group in a field of 19 with a total time of 2:28. There are no timing chips and no way of knowing what our individual splits were, (No one but me wore a watch!). My split for the 10k was 38:14 which is pretty good for an old skinny guy like me... but I'm not convinced that its a true 10k. I'll have to ask Drew if he has a good read on the true distance. Regardless the whole thing was awesome and I can't WAIT for next year! I'm convinced that the exact same team can take our age group... we just need to get the other guys to lay off the beer and Fritos 4 weeks prior to the race and no one will be able to touch us.

Big shout out to my buddy Jim and his awesome wife Jen! They were the home base for the entire crew and without them and their hospitality the weekend wouldn't have been half as fun!

ALRIGHT! So since the race on Saturday... I came home on Sunday and immediately went to the pool and knocked out 2,200 yds. Splits were good and I averaged 1:25/100 yds. Not too shabby.

Monday was a rest day. YAY!

Tuesday consisted of the following:

AM Swim: Amazon pool is FINALLY OPEN! YES! It is an Olympic sized outdoor pool! SO nice to get outside and swim... a bit cold at 5:30 am... but oh well. Here's the workout...

300m w/u
4 X 400m intervals on 45 sec RI
300m cool-down
1:25/100m

Felt good. I was weird to go from a 25 yd pool to a 50m pool... I thought I never get to turn around! Although... I will say that its helpful for those of us that are math impaired... less counting.

PM Bike: Flat and windy!

9 mi w/up
35 min at 40km speed
9 mi cool-down
Main set distance: 12.4 miles
Avg speed: 21 mph
Avg HR: ? (I screwed up and erased the data... although I believe I kept it right at 145 BPM)

Felt really good! Started the main set into the wind... which sucked! The good news is that I turned around at a little over the halfway mark (in terms of time) and got to have the wind push me. Just getting to hear my tires humming along at an occasional 26 mph was just awesome!

Wednesday RUN!