I am new to the whole multisport scene so when I came upon the Bad Ass competition at the battle at midway I was instantly intrigued, all that work in just 24 hrs sounded like a serious challenge and butt whooping. I have only completed two sprint triathlons and the Olympic distance Tuachon Duathlon so this was a pretty big jump in my normal training. I have been piecing together my mtn bike for a few months now and just finished building it just one day before I headed up to Deer Creek to camp for the weekend so I was very excited to race it.

Friday night rolled around and I was a little nervous, most of the other “bad ass” competitors looked very fit and very experienced so I tried to focus on my own race and just have a good time. The course was half skate ski sidewalk and half grassy dirt trail and had some hills in it, the heat played a factor in the race but we battled on. I paced myself pretty slow on the first 5k to make sure I had legs for the rest of the race and for the rest of the weekend, so when it came time to hop on the bike I knew I had a lot of time to make up. I am a pure cyclist at heart and enjoy it the most so I knew I could help my overall time with a great bike. I took off really hard and passed a lot of people on the tough uphill climbs. The course was up and down but not very technical so you could really fly on the downhill portions. I failed to install a water bottle rack on my bike before the race, I knew I forgot something, so I was lucky to race by some great competitors who let me have a few sips of their drinks during the race. I had a great ride and had the 5th best split. The 2nd 5k was hard after the bike but I finished 16th overall, not bad for my first off road duathlon.

The next morning was the Full Olympic tri and I was really nervous for the swim. I injured my shoulder in a bike wreck and it had been popping out of place lately so I had no swim practice for months in hopes that it would heal up. The bad asses were the first wave to go out and I was quickly spit out of the back of the pack. I tried to use the freestyle stroke but my shoulder quickly put an end to that so I went to the slow but steady breast stroke. It felt like I was in the water forever as the rest of the heats started and passed me by. I was one of the last swimmers out of the water and was exhausted and pretty frustrated that my shoulder had slowed me down that much but quickly changed my attitude as I realized how lucky I was that I could still even swim at all. I jumped on the bike with a new found fury and sped off. Since I was so far behind I new I had to have a great bike to try and make up some time.

The roads were crowded with bikers and I was able to pass several bikers through the streets of Midway. I was on my road bike so the tight turns were less of an issue compared to those on tri bikes so I was able to pick up some ground cruising through the corners. The weather was great and it was awesome riding side by side with so many athletes. My favorite was the man in his 50′s who had a bell on his bike. He would ring it whenever he passed any volunteers or when someone passed him. It brought a fun vibe to the race. Coming into T2 I was pretty tired and was not looking forward to my 2nd 10k on those hilly trails. I found a good pace and just tried to stay smooth and constant. The finish line was coming up and I could see my soon to be 3 year old cheering my on, she ran out on the course and I picked her up and carried her in. The race time was a little longer than I had hoped for but I was so grateful to have been able to finish the swim with my shoulder and was excited to be done.

After the Tri we headed back to camp for a quick nap and some carbs but soon I found myself back at the base of Solider Hollow ready for the final 2 laps on those hills. The race director joked to the runners who hadn’t ran the course before to just follow the Bad Asses as we had already done 4 laps on the course and we knew it by heart now. The 10k began and I was toasted, I thought this was going to be the longest 6 miles of my life buy my legs warmed up and I was back in stride. The attitude was much more relaxed and the bad ass crew had become used to each other so there was a lot of talk between the racers. The weather was a lot cooler than the night before and was a nice change of pace to compete in. I took it easy and just enjoyed the run as I had no energy left to try and get a great time. I crossed the line, did a little leprechaun heel click and collected my awesome BAM BAD ASS zip up hoodie. The race was awesome, well organized and I had a great time. I look forward to competing next year and have a greater desire to train harder and try to be more competitive in next years races. I have found a new love for competing in these events and am excited for my future in the sports. First Off Road Duathlon, First Oly Tri and first 10k are in the books.