Silverman Race Report by Greg Linster

****The account below is my Silverman experience. No one said it was going to be easy…
All pictures are courtesy of my parents.

Friday: I had planned to meet Emily and gang over at the Expo at noon so I basically had the morning to relax with some coffee and reading.

I was already paranoid about the abnormal number of flat tires I’ve had this season on the bike. I mailed my bike out well in advance hoping that I would not run into any other issues… So when I didn’t see my bike on the rack at the expo I started to panic. I quickly reminded myself that it could be on the truck still, it could be at the shop, etc. I calmly inquired about the status of it with the mechanic and he asked me to look for my case on the truck. I still don’t see it and I’m really starting to worry. Finally, I see a couple bike cases on the ground outside and I’m able to identify my case. What a huge relief…

I had clearly indicated that I would be picking up my bike on Friday so I asked the mechanic how long it would take to set it up. He responds “Oh, I remember this bike case… it was locked so we couldn’t open it.” My stomach dropped before I remembered that there was no way it could be locked. I didn’t have the key and I didn’t give a key to Element when they packed it. I calmly go over and press the lever on each latch and sure enough… it opens. The mechanic assures me that he’ll have it built in the next hour or so.

In the meantime, Emily drove a group of us out to Lake Mead to see part of the bike course and I got in a quick swim.

After picking up my bike I decided to jump on it in the parking lot and as soon as I started pedaling one of my pedals was not attached properly and fell off. I took a closer look and knew that it needed to be re-threaded. I decided enough was enough and took my bike to another shop that was recommended by Emily and Annette to have them look it over. Luckily they were able to fix everything and I felt confident that I wasn’t going to run into anymore bike trouble.I went for a 30 minute run after getting my bike back to help ease the stress of this situation. Afterwards, a group of us went out to dinner that evening at Lucilles (BBQ) and I was back at the hotel fairly early.

Saturday: I started off the morning by heading over to Lake Mead to drop off my bike and transition bags. It was a beautiful day with great weather. This was exactly how I pictured the conditions were going to be on race day. I wasn’t really paying attention to all the talk about the weather. I didn’t want to let anything I couldn’t control phase me. I went for a quick spin on the bike followed by a short transition run just to get the legs warmed up and felt great.
That afternoon was the official race meeting and I had to duck out early to go pick my parents up from the airport. We grabbed dinner at Whole Foods and I had a tasty salad for my pre-race dinner. I was in bed with the lights out by 8pm. I didn’t sleep very well.
Sunday (RACE DAY): I woke up at 4:30am well before my alarm went off. I was really focused on trying to stay relaxed. My pre-race meal consisted of a Lara Bar, a bagel, a banana, and some coffee. I knew it was going to be chilly in the morning, but when I was walking to the car I looked out towards Lake Mead and said to my parents “That’s funny, I wasn’t expecting rain in Nevada.” I figured this weather would blow over before the race started.
I arrived to the start around 6:45am with plenty of time to double check everything on my bike. The few pictures below were taken before the race.

Swim: I jumped into the water about 15 minutes before the gun was supposed to go off for a warm up. As it got closer and closer to 8am I saw everyone moving up to the start. I started to shiver as I waited there with my head above water. I looked at my watch around 8:10am and there was still no sign of the swim starting any time soon. I kept putting my head under water to stay warm. I looked again and it was 8:20 with still no sign of the race starting. I found myself joining the other athletes chanting “we want to swim, we want to swim…”
Minutes later we were all called out of the water and onto the boat ramp. We were then informed that because of the lightning the race would be further delayed and the swim possibly cancelled at the discretion of the race director. I was utterly disappointed at the thought of not completing the swim. This day was built up in my mind and I had worked so hard to get here.
We were quickly encouraged to go inside the changing to tent to warm up. Several of the full distance athletes were likely surprised to see the entire Men’s half-distance field in the changing tent cheering them on. The energy inside that tent was incredible. At this point I had lost track of time, but I was starting to get hungry. I went over towards the spectators and asked Emily if she had a gel, but I was out of luck. The announcement then came that swim would be starting soon and that the athletes should head back into the water.

I was surprisingly relaxed and calm when the gun went off. Before I knew it I was making the first turn… and then the second. As I had planned, I swam at an extremely comfortable pace knowing that the swim was not going to affect my time much.

Swim Time: 47:26

T1: I had a pretty quick transition and must say that having wetsuit strippers was quite the luxury. Despite having arm/leg warmers in my bag I decided I didn’t need them. I was riding high on adrenaline.

Bike: I started the climb up the Hemenway Harbor boat ramp feeling great. This was a nice little warm up and prelude to some of the nasty climbs to come.
Upon cresting that first hill I really started to pick up the pace. My heart rate was much higher than I had planned, but my perceived level of exertion didn’t feel too high. I figured my heart rate would quickly settle down, but it didn’t. In the back of my mind I knew this was foolish, but I had convinced myself long before the race that I could average at least 20mph on this bike course. I was able to do this for the first 30 miles, but then I learned an important lesson the hard way. Just before we merged onto a bike trail with no cars, I started to fade and was struggling to get through the wind. To make matters worse, I hadn’t taken enough calories and was feeling the effects of that as well.

Before the race I had heard about these 3 steep back to back to back climbs referred to as the “3 Sisters” (or Bitches). I thought what followed the “3 Sisters” was much worse. False flats with a nasty headwind. One would have to be a masochist to enjoy this part of the course. Frank had set up a few signs along the course in good humor… my favorite one read “Suck it up buttercup.” It was an absolute suffer-fest to the finish for me.

Bike Time: 3:32:38
T2: This was another fairly quick transition for me. More than anything, I was thankful to be off that bike.

Run: To date, the run has been the strongest leg of every race I’ve done. That did not hold true for this race. I clipped along pretty good for that 1st mile and stopped for a quick bathroom break at the first aid station. I quickly developed a stomach cramp that plagued me for the rest of the run. My heart rate was much lower than I had anticipated for the majority of the run. My legs were hurting and I couldn’t get them moving at the pace I had hoped for. Running in the Chicago flats for the majority of the year was taking its toll on me. I grabbed water or Gatorade every few aid stations, but nothing helped the cramping.

I was surprised to see Jess as I ran through the Green Valley section of the run course. She was in Vegas for the weekend and we had talked the day before the race. I thought it was really cool of her to show up.
When I saw mile 12 on my Garmin I knew it was time to give it everything I had left… unfortunately there wasn’t much left. I crossed the finish and was immediately congratulated by my parents, Emily, and Jess. It was a truly a special moment for me.

Run Time: 2:00:14
Overall Time: 6:26:25
Overal Rank: 98th out of 283
Age Group Rank: 10th out of 20

Post Race: After Emily stretched me out my appetite started to kick in. I grubbed out on the post race food and told my parents we better start thinking about dinner. I also got a massage before we left for dinner which felt great. There was a Cheesecake Factory near by and that sounded excellent to me. I had a burger and cheesecake which were awesome.
The following morning we went to the awards breakfast. Both Dave Scott and Chris McCormack “Macca” spoke at the awards breakfast. I felt reassured when I heard Macca say “This is without question one of the toughest triathlon races in the world.” The finishers T-Shirt reads “The World’s Toughest Athlete” and I now understand why. The weather conditions only added to the challenge.

I had an extra night in Vegas and was able to meet up with Jeff and Beth. We had some tasty Mexican Food at the “Pink Taco” in the Hardrock. We then went over to the Ghost Bar at the Palms which had incredible views.
– Greg Linster