At 6am I woke up threw all my gear in my car and saw my temperature gauge register 40 degrees.  Thankfully it warmed up a bit before the start of the FALL FINALE, one of the last TRIATHLONS of the season. The FALL FINALE is the same course as the SPRING SPRINT held at the Olympic Ice Oval in Kearns UTAH. Luckily, we did not have snow like the SPRING SPRINT in April. This is a great venue with an Olympic 50m pool swim that snakes to complete the 400meters. The ground was still wet from rain and the clouds overhead looked threatening. The rain did not come down, but it felt very damp.

This is the first year that USTRISPORTS has done the FALL FINALE. This is the perfect bookend race for the spring sprint and it provides an opportunity to have two races at the same venue in one season. I really like this idea and look forward to the SPRING SPRINT 2012.

Setting up my transition on wet ground was concerning because I usually use a towel. That was not a problem with my TMAT PRO. http://www.tmatpro.com This is a nice piece of neoprene fabric that is the same size as an appropriate transition area. This was perfect for when I came out of the pool and wiped my feet on the mat before putting them in my cycling shoes.  I had all my gear laid out on it and it was a great way to identify my space because of the bright color. The mat comes with a Velcro strap that keeps it rolled up. My mat is red and really was nice to stand on for T1 and T2.

I was concerned about being too cold on the bike and the run so I wore some SEASONFIVE leg sleeves for the whole event. The leg sleeves go from my ankle to just below the knee. Wearing them in the swim was no problem. They have a special ATMOS 1.0 fabric that repels wind and water. This saved me on the bike and provided the right insulation while not slowing me down. I threw a cycling jacket on and a headsweat beanie under my helmet and some CRAFT cycling gloves. Yes I know I may have been able to save 20 seconds but it was worth the time. I really was glad that I was able to wear the SEASONFIVE http://www.seasonfive.com calf sleeves for the whole event and never worry about them they are very effective. The temperature for most of the event was in the low 50s. I felt great on the bike and was very comfortable. I am very grateful that USTRISPORTS took extra care to have volunteers strategically placed on the bike course at every turn and dangerous sections where there was standing water or railroad tracks.

I was familiar with the course and really enjoyed running the same area from the spring event in April minus snow. Finishing in the OLYMPIC ICE OVAL is very cool especially running on the track next to world class speed skaters. Wow! They are fast and so smooth.  I was really impressed to see they were training right there and we were finishing a triathlon. 

USTRISPORTS does a great job with the races they put together. They are always very well organized and put nice touches on the event to make sure everyone has a great time and the t-shirt for this inaugural event is great.