US National Championship in Winter Triathlon, Breckenridge Colorado, February 23-25, 2024

Without previous experience in winter triathlon, I signed up for US National Championship in duathlon (run + ski) and triathlon (run + bike + ski). With all my participation in regular triathlon and cross-country skiing, how hard can it be? Answer: very hard.

Maybe it was the altitude (>9000 feet), maybe all the fresh snow, but it was exhausting. I was worried about the altitude, and I also needed to get back into skiing, so I arrived in Breckenridge a week before the competitions. 

I got an extra workout right away the first morning when I had to clear my car of snow and shovel my way out to the road. I did not want to push my limits the first day and skiing felt fine, but really, that slow? Mile splits of 12-14 minutes! I checked the Strava segments, and I was quite high on them, for my age group number 1 or 2. I realized high altitude has a big impact.

After a few days, I rented a fat bike and tried the biking. It had snowed in the night and even though the track had been prepared, it was loose to bike in. I slid, I had to walk uphill, and average speed was 5.75 miles/hour. In these conditions I understood why I had been advised to use a fat bike and not a mountain bike. Testing to run was not much better, 14 minutes mile split on a 1-mile test. Really, how slow can I be?

My hopes for the upcoming races were sinking and my opinion increasingly leaned towards that snow is for skiing only.

Well, I was here, I would do the competitions. Duathlon came first with about a 2-mile run and 3.5-mile ski. It was a small field and we all started together. Even though the distance was short, I knew by now that I had to start modestly to last to the end. I used an old pair of my regular running shoes (Brooks Ghost) that I had put screws in the soles for traction. It worked quite well, and I ended up in the middle of the field which is good for my age. 

I knew I was in the lead in my age group, but I fumbled in the transition. It is hard to tie ski boots quickly. I was also hot, and I took off both my neck cover and headband. 

Skiing went fine, I had good grip on the uphill.  Everyone was fairly slow, and I could keep the lead all the way to the finish. I finished as the US National Champion in Women 65 - 69! (Who cares). 

I was signed to do a 15k (about 10 miles) cross country ski race the day after, but I decided to skip it. I am sure I would have enjoyed the race very much, because I like cross country skiing, but I had not totally recovered from the previous day, and I had to focus on the upcoming triathlon championship.

The triathlon had about 2 miles running and 3 miles bike and 3 miles of skiing. It was quite warm, around freezing and the last minute, I stripped down to a single thin shirt and no head or neckgear. I stuck to the same tactic of saving myself for the end. Run went fine, I beat some people that were ahead on me on the duathlon, the bike course was well prepared and much faster than on practice, I felt it went ok. My transitions were also better, I had put in speed laces on my ski boots which were much easier to handle in the cold. I went full out on the ski and speed was good as the tracks were quite hard. After about halfway I realized I was not threatened from behind and I secured my second National Championship.

In hindsight, I think this was a well-organized and fun event. I needed the practice and adaptation to the altitude by arriving a week early, I am sure it helped my results. I was faster than people I don't normally beat in summer triathlon.