River Rampage Triathlon 06.14.14

River Rampage Triathlon took place on Saturday, June 14, 2014 in Green River, UT.

My friend, and fellow Desert Shark teammate, FeliAnne, and I headed down to Green River, from Salt Lake City, Friday afternoon.  It was about a 3 hour drive with some pretty amazing scenery.  We were already a little bummed that the swim portion of our triathlon (tri) got cancelled due to fast moving currents.  In previous years, the water was shallow enough to stand in, and some have even said that they kicked up silt/river bottom during the swim. This year was not the case.  The current

Previous River Rampage Swim Start

Green River, June 13, 2014

Green River, June 13, 2014

increased to 19,000 - 21,000 cubic square feet per second!  And there had been recent deaths of people drowning on that river.  So The State of Utah, Grand County Search & Rescue and the Sheriff's department advised TriUtah to cancel the swim portion of the triathlon.  When we got down and checked in for our race, we were able to see what they were talking about.  The water was higher than that seen from the previous year, and quite a bit higher as well.  After finding out all this information, I felt a bit relieved that they decided to make it a Duathlon rather than a triathlon.  Hey... I'm all about safety!  I'd rather not die... at least not yet!    

After checking in for the race, we headed back to our hotel to get settled and then headed out for dinner.  We decided to try the restaurant right next to our hotel to fore-go having to drive more than our share for the day.  Besides, it was getting late and we needed to get in bed for our early morning start.  I must say that our hotel was a bit sketchy, the receptionist was a bit clueless, and I was unaware that our hotel room was a "Smoking Room" which didn't bode well with my asthma.  The restaurant wasn't that great either, but we were more concerned with just getting food and getting to bed!

I had a hard time getting to sleep that night due to the smoke aggravating my asthma, which then had me coughing for at least 20 minutes before I could fall asleep.  

Race Day, June 14, 2014

We got up around 5am and got ready.  Thank goodness Green River State Park was literally right across the street, so no crazy 3am wake up calls.

FeliAnne and I at transition.

Transition area.

We got to the race site and set up our transition areas.

I met another one of our teammates (not pictured) from Desert Sharks, Brandy!  I had only talked to her via FaceBook before then, and she just so happened to set up right beside me!  How fun!  I also met some other triathletes sporting the Team In Training (TNT) threads!  GO TEAM!  I wished them luck!  One of the ladies was only signed up for the sprint.  Her husband, Jeff, was running the Olympic, and was his first race!  Due to the cancelled swim, there were fewer participants than originally expected (the race was pretty much sold out before the swim got cancelled)!  Just about everyone else signed up for the sprint, so the Olympic distance consisted of just about all males and a handful of females (including myself).  Sad.  Instead of starting in waves, we started in Time Trial (TT) fashion, which I had never done before (I guess there were a lot of firsts for me this race... first Duathlon; first TT start).  I told the guy Jeff, with the TNT gear, that he had nothing to worry about (he was worried about losing people on the bike and not knowing where to go) and that he'd probably pass me.  He did.

Scenery on the bike course, Green River, UT

The wind was pretty intense on the bike, which caused my lungs to burn while I was trying to keep up my speed.  There were no major hills on the bike course, which made it easier for me to just cruise along at a nice pace.  I actually don't mind hills, especially after having ridden Emigration and even East Canyons, but the biggest hill on this course today made me feel a bit woozy.  I think it was a combination of all the asthma triggers last night and all the wind I had to battle.  I figured, since I wasn't going to be PR'ing on this bike portion, I'd work on my form.  I think I finally got this down!  And the scenery was absolutely beautiful!  (pic was from the TriUtah site, I didn't take my phone with me... too dangerous to take pics during the course).  I was one of the last females in on the bike, but I wasn't too down about that... I knew this was more of another training race for me.

Joyce & Sparkle.  Pic from my teammate John K.

                                             
There were two other ladies in front of me as we biked in for T1.  They were a couple minutes ahead of me.  Getting off my bike and switching into my run gear was a bit painful.  My transition was a rather quick one.  I hobbled for the first bit out of transition.  The girls did too.

Run course.  Green River State Park. Pic from teammate John K.

The run portion of the tri was on the golf course of the Green River State Park.  Running on grass is NOT my favorite terrain to run on.  I think I need to start training more on grass and trails, in addition to running on road/pavement from now on.  I ran/walked most of the first loop of the run (total run for Olympic distance is 6.2), but the second half was a lot harder for me.  I was tired, I was starting to cramp in my thighs... so I walked most of the second loop to assure I'd make it to the end.  I ended up meeting the two girls who were ahead of me on the bike.  Their names were Elizabeth and Kristen.  They had caught up to me at that point, and allowed me to join them walk/running.  They were just as tired from the winds on the bike.  Their goal at this point was to finish.  So we stuck together for most of the second loop.  But after about mile 4.5, the hunger pains started to set in.  So I pulled ahead a bit, because my motivation was FOOD!!!!!

So I turned the fire on the last bit as I knew the finish line was in sight!  All I wanted at this point was something to eat.  Whenever this happens, I always think of my friend Meghan, from my college lacrosse team.  She'd say "All I want is a hamburger!" towards the end of practice, when we were all starving.  So, I sprinted down to the finish line...

Joyce sprinting to finish line. Pic by John K.

Do you see the look of determination on my face?  Yup... I just wanted food, and my medal!  Nothing else mattered at this point!  hahaha

The girls behind me are Elizabeth and Kristen, respectively.  I'm so grateful they kept me motivated to keep going!  They were a pertinent part of me finishing this race!  I'm grateful to have met them!

Elizabeth, Joyce, & Kristen. 

And they're from the Salt Lake Valley as well!  So I now have some new training buddies!  They're a great inspiration too... being moms of small kids and all.  :)

As we biked and ran, there was this brother-sister team along the course as well.  The young man, Andrew, was such an inspiration!  He is a little bit handicapped, but he ran the sprint course and completed the tri!  His sister ran the whole way with him!  As they made it down the final stretch, we all lined up and cheered for them as they brought it home!

Andrew and his sister, at the finish!

It brought tears to my eyes to see Andrew cross that finish line!  He worked so hard and accomplished this difficult feat!

I love stories like those!  They always inspire and motivate me to push harder, and know that I can accomplish anything, if I just believe and work hard enough!

Overall, I was pretty happy with my first Duathlon!  Now I'm looking forward to running East Canyon in August.  But first... Deseret Classic Half on Pioneer Day! 


If you're out there... be sure to look for me! 

Desert Sharks @ River Rampage.

FeliAnne & I after the race.

Joycelyn TROSS

4th Annual River Rampage Triathlon

06/14/14

Racer Number:	112
Gender:	F
Age:	32
Representing:	SALT LAKE CITY UT

Chip Time Information
Actual Start Time:	07:15:25.558
Stop Time:	10:05:46.025
Chip Time:	02:50:20.4

Gun Time Information
Assigned Start Time:	07:04:49.000
Stop Time:	10:05:46.025
Gun Time:	03:00:57.0

Final Time: 02:50:20.4

Race Distance: Olympic

Overall Placing
Place:	45
Time Back:	01:18:34.400

Gender Placing
Place:	14
Time Back:	01:11:21.000

Division Placing
Olympic F 30-34 Place:	4
Time Back:	00:36:51.400

No	Name	Interval Time	Total Time	Pace	Overall Place	Overall Back	Gender Place	Gender Back	Divsion Place	Division Back
1	Bike	01:34:10.693	01:34:10.693	8.0	47	+36:54.4	16	+36:54.4	5	+15:41.5
2	T1	00:01:38.266	01:35:48.959		38	+1:11.0	12	+1:11.0	4	+0:49.3