Race Report: The Grand Columbian Olympic Tri

This was my first Olympic distance race, and in the few days leading up to it, I was a mess.  I was all psyched out mentally, and I caught a nasty sinus cold two days before the race, neither of which did anything to help my confidence level.  I started to feel better on Friday and was able to drive to the race site, about an hour away, to rack Honey and go to the athletes meeting with a couple of friends who were doing the half-iron.  It felt good to get checked in, get my swag bag and check out the race site.  We did attend the meeting, but I'm not really sure how much we got out of it.  Of course, it would help if we hadn't been the three annoying ones goofing around in the back row!   After about an hour of not paying attention  listening intently to every word the race director said, it was time to drive home, pack my race bags, and try to get some sleep.

Saturday morning came early, but it wasn't too bad.  Part of the reason for checking in on Friday was so that I could sleep in a little bit longer on race morning - great plan!  Had breakfast, loaded the car, filled Dave with coffee, and we were off.  We got there just in time to say good luck to Scott and Sam before the half-iron race started and then I had about 40 minutes to get myself ready.  Just the way I like it - I hate getting to the site too early because then I just get nervous, and today was all about staying calm, having fun, and sticking to my race plan.

Swim: 0.9 mile / 34:22 / 2:05 pace

I was able to get right into the water and warm up, which was nice since the water temperature was a tad on the chilly side.  It is mid-September after all.  And my wetsuit is sleeveless (mental note to remedy that before next season).  I had a good warm up, found my starting spot, christened my wetsuit (yes, I peed in the lake.  Me and 300 other athletes.  get over it), and before I knew it the horn sounded and we were off....

...and it was FANTASTIC!  I love every minute of the swim. 

Headed in...

The swim course was an out and back with a little loop at the far end to make sure no one cheated.  There were marker buoys the whole way out, and there was even a rope about 6 feet underwater to follow so you didn't really have to sight.  The plan was to just swim from buoy to buoy and count them off as I went, using the rope as my guide.  I wanted to take it easy on the way out since it would be more crowded and I would have to fight for position a little, but also so I could pick it up on the way back in.  All summer long my swims have been faster in the second half, and I was counting on that today.

The swim was pretty uneventful.  I hung at the back of the lead pack and just kept my pace nice and easy, making bubbles, counting off buoys, following the rope, and most of all trying to enjoy it.  At the turn around I was feeling really good and when I popped up to sight this girl in the water next to me started cheering for everyone!  It was nice, but also distracting because she wanted to have a conversation.  The pace picked up right then because I couldn't stand the cheerleader anymore.  I was able to hold a faster pace on the way back in, and actually passed quite a few people, which felt great, but also tells me I probably need to start closer to the front of the group.  Things were going great, and I was almost sad the swim was done.....then I got a cramp with about 75 yards to go.  Not a small cramp, but a knife-through-the-middle-of-your-calf cramp.  WTF?!?  One f'n buoy to go and this happens?  I was able to get it sort of worked out, kicked with one leg, and pulled as hard as I could with my scrawny arms to get to the finish.  I actually came out of the water smiling!

 

pushing to the end of the swim

T1 was uneventful, but this race had bags and changing tents, just like Ironman does, which was a new experience for me - I liked it!  Much more organized that having to sift through a pile of crap under my bike. 

Bike: 40K (24.8miles) / 1:39:23 / avg pace of 15.1mph

Okay, I'm not gonna lie, this bike course was a b!tch. Zero fun, sir.  See the picture?  See the canyon behind me?  Yeah, you climb out of that.  The first climb is about a mile into the course and it's a series of switchbacks that take you up the side of the canyon.  I think it's about 3 miles long, with 1000ft elevation change, and the climb is about a 7% grade, with some of the switchback turns at about 14%.  In other words, it's nasty and not for the faint of heart. 

 

 View from the top of the climb

There wasn't really a big plan for the bike.  Just to put it in my easiest gear right away and spin, spin, spin my way up the hill, which I did.  I passed a woman who was pushing her bike up the hill, and momentarily considered it, but then figured I'd hate myself for it later.  The triathletes "walk of shame" if you will.  The awesome part about the course was that it was open to traffic and people were driving up the switchbacks cheering for their athletes.  Mom and Dad came and found me!  It was great too because I needed a morale boost on that climb (seriously...it took my an hour to do the first 9 miles), and they seemed to show up around every turn.  Thanks guys!

Once I got to the top, where it is gentle rollers, I was able to focus on getting my nutrition eaten and playing with my aerobars - not originally part of the plan, but they got installed on Thursday, so I had to try them.  I was given strict instructions from Sam to stay out of aero on the downhills, lest I end up in the ditch.  I am so glad for that little piece of advice!!  My top speed on the really long downhill was 35 mph, and I can only imagine what asphalt would have felt like at the speed.  Ouch!  Once you hit the bottom of the hill you are back in town with a mile to go till T2 - the only part of the course that's flat, I swear.

T2 was uneventful also, it just felt good to be off the bike eventhough I wasn't hurting anywhere except my calf still.  By now the sun had come out so it was time to switch the arm warmers for the visor and some dry socks and go for a little jog.

Run: 10K (6.2 miles) / 1:10:53 / 11:26 per mile

I wasn't sure how this was going to play out.  I knew that I had to take in all my calories & fluids on the bike to make it through the run, and I had done that.  The plan was to stop and walk through the aid stations, drink one cup of water, dump one on my head, and then run to the next one.  I started the run in pretty good spirits, as you can tell from the photo below, mostly becuase I was still ahead of Sam and Scott.  I figure that Sam would be the first one to catch me, so I made it a game to see how long I could hold him off.

 

 

 I'm still ahead of the guys!

The first three miles weren't too bad.  My legs felt thrashed from the hills, but they didn't hurt all that much.  What really got me was the water I slogged down at the first aid station - I think I swallowed a bunch of air too, because I had this massive burp-hiccup thing that was stuck and it hurt so bad!  And I couldn't get rid of it.  It was there for the whole 6 miles.  Everytime I drank something it made me feel sick, and everytime I started to run it felt like a stabbing pain in my chest.  So frustrating!!  I had the mental game and the legs to do this run.  Argh.

I hit the turn around, and I was ready to be finished.  It was starting to get hot, my chest hurt, and my legs were trashed.  And I still had three miles to go.  Okay, time to call an audible at the line - new plan: walk the aid stations and the uphills, run the rest of it.  "Just keep puttering," is what I kept telling myself.  Everytime I stopped to walk I had to pay attention to who was headed my way - I didn't want Sam or Scott to catch me walking, eventhough I figured they were in just as much pain as I was.  I passed Sam going the other direction with about 1.5 miles left where I got a high-five and some much needed words of encouragement.  One last walk through the aid station, and then I began the 1/2 mile gradual climb back into town.  It was a booger, but I only stopped and walked once.  As I was walking along this guy in a Timex race kit came up long side me and struck up a conversation, asking me how I was doing and offering encouragement.  It turns out he was the winner of the half-iron!  Nice of him to take time out of his busy tri-winning schedule to help me through a crappy hill!  After the crappy hill, it's all downhill to the finish line.  I almost started to cry in the last half mile just because I was so happy to have done this race, and finished - 3rd in my age group no less!

 

Almost there! 

Total Time: 3:33:51 / 19th woman overall / 3rd in age group

All in all it was a fantastic day - I was pleased with how my race went.  No major issues, and the ones I did have I was able to fight through.  Everything seemed to click for me in this race - so much in fact that I almost wish there was another (flat) one to do!  I had so much fun, and that's the important thing - that was one of my goals.

The day ended with a "team" dinner at Tequila's with Kendra, G, Sam, Scottie, Dee Dee and H, and Dave and I - we had a great time!  Thanks you guys for making it such a fun weekend!