Green (and Gold) Day

September came and passed swiftly with with the fresh, autumn wind. The Tri Team has joined Billie Joe Armstrong and awoken in the forefront of this upcoming October. But let us recap on the chilly happenings the past month had to offer.

Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon:

Here, Sparky

Even though Tess decided to call a dog over instead of cheer for us, Oktoberfest 2017 went swimmingly. CSU earned a 2nd place spot! Despite inclement weather conditions, everyone persevered and shivered their way to the finish. Erik Peterson, Wilson Norris, and Ian King, (2nd, 3rd and 4th place respectively) buckled down and got their chores done, nearly sweeping the podium. In addition to cleanliness, the team exemplified a positive attitude, resulting in a good time for everyone. This was the first race for quite a few new members, and they proved themselves to be tough as nails. This season is looking good.
We were lucky enough to have a top notch photography crew (Laila Al Adwani, Matthew Burnett) who seamlessly captured some of the highest quality race faces to date. These faces embody the intense feelings of pain, agony and despair that are commonly considered enjoyable to a hardworking triathlete. Pictured below are Nick Johnston, Jacob Brown, Gracie Moore and Grayson Barber (top to bottom). Fun fact: Green Day wrote their hit, Wake Me Up When September Ends, after completing their first triathlon.

Here comes the rain again...

Falling from the stars...

Drenched in my pain again...

Becoming who we are...

The World of the Unknown:

With Halloween right around the corner, there seemed to be some spooky mysteries occurring this month. These questionable pictures appear to have no reasonable explanations. Could the paranormal be at work?

What could've been on the ground to illicit such a smirk? Probably gluten.

Is he really okay or is his thumbs up just a blatant lie? Hand says yes, face says no.

We've all heard stories of the abominable couch worm. Personally I've always believed it to be a myth. This weekend I was proven wrong. Photographic evidence courtesy of Eric Forbes.

Where is his other glove? Is his right hand cold? Is his chest cold? Lots of questions with this one.

ITU and 70.3 Worlds:

Not to brag, but we have some pretty impressive athletes on this team. Matthew Burnett, Erik Peterson, Coach Mace, and Elise Lagerstrom raced 70.3 World Championships in Chattanooga Tennessee. The toasty southern sun fueled them as if they were photosynthetic beings. There is no weather condition that can stop a CSU triathlete!

Matt repping the green and gold while munching on a snack.

Could Gatorade be Erik's next sponsor? I've said too much.

As much fun as they had racing, it's a good thing it's over because now Matt can finally get his knee fixed. After racing on a torn ACL it's now time for some much deserved rest and recovery before starting training back up for another busy season.

The ITU World Championship was also this month in Rotterdam. Coach Tess and Shea Mielke competed this year as well as explored the beautiful city. Tess even has family in that area, how convenient! Vacay goals if you ask me. The race and trip were undoubtedly unforgettable, pretty neat to see how hard work translates into huge pay offs.

Red Feather Retreat:

Photo of the lakeside cabin by the talented Tyler Morales

Coach Mace and his family are kind enough to open their cabin doors to us each year to hold our fall retreat. This is a great time for team bonding, awesome trail runs, and finding out who can't drink milk. This year we learned that Nick Johnston has had an intimate encounter with a spunky, open minded giraffe, Iz only got lost for 13 miles, and we were each individually stung by a wasp at least once. And I know I am not alone in saying I wouldn't have rather spent the weekend any other way. How lucky are we to be surrounded by genuine, supportive, like-minded people? It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, but it is important to take a step back every now and again and gaze longingly into Daisy's dreamy eyes. Let her puppy dog innocence remind you to enjoy this wild ride.

Miss Daisy Al Adwani sporting her winter parka.

Ram it!

  

10 Tired Racers, 9 Fluffy Puppies, and a Bird Turd in a Pear Tree

It was a big, full month for CSU Tri. We punched August in the eye and left it swollen with new members, a fresh start to another season of training, and a race for the books. The future is as bright as the Moby pool at 6:15am on a Thursday morning, let's dive in...

The Race:

One big Ramily

Four monstrous women and six terrifying men traveled to Boulder to compete at the Sunset Triathlon. As a group, they left the scene a barren disaster zone after tearing up the course. Let's take a look at the highlights:

Matt being gross, as per usual.

Before any of our brave athletes had even emerged from the water, our very own Matt Burnett got pooped on by a friendly seagull or some sort of native bird of Boulder. Photographic evidence is displayed above (see shoulder), showing Matt chuckling in disbelief as his pristine CSU spirit wear became tarnished with what I can most accurately describe as crap. Smelling bad enough as it is, Matt decided to attempt to cleanse himself of the yellowish, chunky dung and succeeded in doing so. I would say we started off the day with a W.

Determined architect or malicious race foiler? 

Shea Mielke reached nearly the same velocity in the swim as the flying bird turd falling from the sky. He was the first collegiate athlete to exit the water and narrowly missed the sandcastle construction that happened in the middle of T1. Pictured above, an unknown racer swerves around the unconventional artist. Shea finished 2nd Collegiate and 2nd overall!

Grant Haley and Grayson Barber powered their way through the oven of a run course. You could say they were cookin'...

Finishing 7th and 10th respectively they really burned the competition. 

Five exceptionally burly men. (Al, Grant, Neil, Evan, Shea left to right)

Neil Lovell and Al Alothman share a love of bikes and it really showed in their race performance. Neil and his bike, Cersei the Cervelo, kissed the bike course goodbye without remorse. It was as if Al had committed some sort of crime on the bike, because he got off and he was cruising. The kind of running you only see from a hardened criminal.

Evan DeVincenzo bounced back from being sick and put the pedal to the metal despite feeling like bird turd. He cashed in a whopping 17th place as he crossed the finish line. 

Collegiate and Age Group women seconds away from taking a plunge

Elise Lagerstrom proved herself a force to be reckoned with on the course. Her race looked more like a biological anomaly. She started the competition a horizontal aquatic sea creature, transitioned into a two wheeled speed machine, and morphed into her final form as a two legged antelope, galloping the 10k with incredible elegance. She trotted across the finish line in 3rd place (collegiate).

Molly and Laila, lost and confused.

Molly Lesser and Laila Al Adwani were found wandering the beaches of the Boulder Res like two wild elk that had gotten themselves hopelessly lost in a suburban neighborhood. They stumbled upon the Sunset Triathlon swim start and once pointed in the right direction, they were off like banshees. The word speed simply cannot do them justice. Molly finished in an inspiring 10th place and Laila earned herself the lucky number 17.

After learning about the race two days before race day and deciding to compete shortly there after, Isabel Dritz raced her first Olympic distance triathlon and absolutely killed it! On top of her valiant last minute decision, there has never been a racer so consistently camera ready. Her ability to not only smile, but also wave simultaneously while profoundly exhausted is an admirable quality few have and all desire. Finishing 13th place was pretty neat, too.

The men's wave start, ruining any chances of  a successful day for fishermen in the area.

And if all that just isn't enough good news, you're in luck, because there's more. I successfully captured 9 dogs on camera. Enjoy:

Wild dawg Grant, sleeping under a cop car.

In Conclusion:

Between all the new members, a shiny new season, and the expansive array of cute dog pictures that awaits us in the future, it is nearly impossible to fend off a smile or two. With Oktoberfest and Pumpkinman patiently awaiting our arrival, it's easy to spend our time happy and grateful. After all, everyday can be Thanksgiving if you're willing to cook for four hours or so.

To properly bring this month's edition to a close, I feel it is most appropriate to allow Molly to bid us adieu.

"Peace out" -Molly

RAM IT!

Swimming, Sanskrit and Snow?

As we encroach on the molten, bubbly center of summer break, we would like to take a few moments to reflect on the good, the bad, and the sweaty this off season has brought us.

Travel:

Our very own Gracie Moore made the trek to Nepal to conquer the Himalayas. Although she took a plane most of the way there, she did all the hiking by foot. As Gracie is a multi sport athlete, it was slightly disappointing to hear that she opted out of the swim/bike method of travel. However, the two weeks she spent backpacking on the same trail used to get to Everest is pretty impressive.

Gracie looking down at a town in Nepal while hiking the Himalayas.

Training:

You can take the triathlete out of the triathlon but you can't take the triathlon out of the triathlete. Although this is technically our off season as school is out, workouts continue and pain trains chug along. The grind never stops, as they say.

Movie poster or Grant's RTO team photo? You decide.

Grant running in an unkown location, somewhere between Reno and Lake Tahoe.

Grant, just trying to get a new perspective on the world.

Grant Haley added a vertical sport to his traditionally horizontal lifestyle. Judging from the picture it looks like it didn't go very well...But what did go well was his RTO Team, or Reno Tahoe Odyssey. Together they relay raced 178 miles and had the coolest shirts by far.

Big smiles for big miles.

Laila Al Adwani and Meghan Mahoney have been putting in their fair share of work as well. They recently completed a metric century ride (100 km) and have been enjoying the beautiful scenery our wonderful state has to offer. Pictured above, the duo is captured getting all their smiling in during their break. It is an unfortunate fact that you can't smile while riding because it gives bugs the chance to fly directly into your mouth. You can definitely tell that these two are going to kill it on the bike this season. "Too aero to careo" as Meghan would say.

Los tres amigos estan listos para su paseo. 

I don't snow about you, but we were pretty thrown off by the May snow storm that decided to roll through. But the interesting weather didn't stop Bri Johnson, Meghan and Laila from getting in their ride! Two of these people were smart and wore long sleeves under their sleek Nimblewear jerseys, and the other one was full of regret. But they all pushed through the cold and got in a great ride.

Olivia taking an icy dip.

Olivia Bojan traveled all the way to Alaska to get some open water swim practice in and test out the temperature limits of her spiffy Roka wetsuit. The water was a chilly 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Only Bluegills, certain species of salmon, and Olivia can be found in these frigid waters. Just kidding. She did, however, hike out to Mills Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park and make the courageous leap into the water. She said that despite the pain and agony the swim brought, it was worth it in the end. If you look closely in the picture above, you can see that the people in the background are wearing winter coats... Props to you, Olivia!

Races:

The end of June marked our first summer race and we had four powerful women compete. Tess Mattern and Laila Al Adwani made their names known in the sprint distance, while Sierra Dinges and Molly Lesser took a swig of the pain champagne and tore up the olympic distance course. Here is a blow by blow of race day for those of you that could not attend:

Tess (aka The Iron Mattern) was out of the water as quickly as she dove in. If you were unlucky enough to have blinked during it you would've missed her entire swim. She continued the trend of speed and placed 7th overall and 1st in her division! 

Tess emerging from the water like some sort of exotic sea creature.

First place baby! Tess proudly flashes her well deserved medal.

Laila's time really reflected all the work she has been putting in on the bike. It was actually a hazard to be near her on the bike course because the wind created from her passing athletes was blowing people over. Essentially a human hurricane.

The calm before the storm. Not sure if these are nervous or excited smiles, maybe both?

Sierra rolled through the finish as a champion, placing 1st in her division! Biking hard and taking names. Clocking in some impressive transition times as well. I heard that she devoured an entire Chipotle burrito in T2, with guac of course, avocados are a superfood after all.

Eyes on the prize. Sierra refused to smile for the camera as it would use up energy needed for her speedy run time.

Molly broke 3 hours into pieces and destroyed the run. The only way her violent race performance could've been enhanced is if Roxy dog was allowed to compete along side her.

Molly kicking some serious booty and enjoying herself on the beautiful run course.

In Conclusion:

I want school to be here, but not the classes...

With summer in full flight everyone is having a blast showing their Ram Pride either in the great state of Colorado, across the United States, or internationally. We are definitely looking forward to the team getting back together in August and putting in some hard work to kick of the collegiate season. Although we graduated 13 seniors this year, who will be missed, we are ready to come back stronger than before. It is going to take some blood, sweat, and tears but we wouldn't be the team we are today without the insane amounts of sweat we already lose by training everyday... and if you are like alumni Zach Alves it's only natural to have a puddle accumulate under your bike at Ramcykle. 

If you are missing your teammates, racing in green and gold, or all the memories that are made on the team, like and share the new blog to keep friends and family updated! Keep an eye out to see how the Boulder Sunset Tri treats the Rams...hopefully everyone won't be too tired out from the summer!

RAM IT!!!