Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon 2005

Time Div Place Swim T1 Bike T2 Run

3:10:22 9 34:02 5:54 1:26:05 2:51 1:01:30

The weather forecast for the weekend did not bode well for my first triathlon of the season.

Full of hope and crossing my fingers, I packed my transition bag, a few non-triathlon related pieces of clothing, my bike and my husband in the car and headed to Oregon for the Blue Lake Olympic Distance Triathlon. A large representation from the Seattle Critical Speed team with the amazing Coach Cal were headed down and I couldn't wait to spend a weekend, or another weekend I should say, steeped in triathlon bliss.

We arrived in Gresham just in time for me to drop Duncan at the hotel and to head down for a quick workout with the kids.

We pushed the boundaries on where we were allowed to swim and a few of us got spanked for it. The water turned out to be pretty warm, despite some concerns. We all worked out the kinks then headed onto the bikes for a test of the course. I felt really strong and played catch-up and pass with Lynda and Christy. The course looked like it was going to be nice and flat with no areas for concern. A quick 10 minute run then off to shower for dinner.

The poor people at the Olive Garden didn't know what hit them when we showed up. We were quite the rowdy bunch and we weren't even drinking heavily. The other people at the restaurant generally pretended we weren't there but it couldn't have been easy. Hats off to our servers, they were excellent about keeping us with water, sodas and food.

First, a word of thanks to my husband. Duncan was there for all the transitions. He ran with me up from the water to the transition, from the bike to the run and was there right when I finished. I love having him there even though I know it can be deathly boring. At least this time he had entertainment in the form of my teammates and friends. And, he is a great photographer! Thanks to him for the race report photos except where noted.

I woke up at 5:30 race day morning. I wanted time to pull my act together, get something to eat and soak in the tub for a few minutes to get in a good stretch. When I pulled the curtain aside to check the weather I was saddened to see it was raining, and had been raining for quite a while. Nice fat puddles were all over the parking lot. The sky was solid, Northwest gray and showed no signs of clearing up. I couldn't believe it. I swear the Tri goddess is messing with my head lately. Horrible winds and rain for most of my rides this last month. Very frustrating. I knew I couldn't bail on this one since it was a race so I just decided to deal with it and hoped it would clear out.

I packed the car, got a half a bagel and we headed to the race site. By this time it was raining very hard. When we got there and parked everyone was walking around in a bit of a daze, is if stunned such a thing could happen to good people such as ourselves.

I found my spot in transition and got set up. While I was chatting with someone across the bike rack from me I hear my name. I turn around and there's JoannaP!! I haven't seen here is a really long time! She rode with me last year on a long ride and humored me through my shock of when I signed up for Lake Placid. Awesome! We got caught up while I finished laying out my stuff and trying to figure out where the heck I am supposed to be going once I hit transition.

I pull on the wetsuit then head down to the water. It looks colder than yesterday but doesn't seem to be too bad once I decide to go in. Lynda and I find each other and head in together. The race organizers had us out treading water for almost 5 minutes before we heard the starting horn. This whole time I felt great. My swim yesterday had been strong and I knew I would hit my goal if I could find an open spot to swim.

Unfortunately my body and mind decided not to cooperate and I panicked. I haven't panicked like that in the water since my disastrous attempt at Black Diamond two years ago when my swim took me almost an hour. I kept getting water in my lungs, I couldn't find an opening and I had to stop and catch my breath several times. All of this added up to quite a bit of lost time and I came out of the water much later than I would have liked at 34:02. I had been shooting for 30. What a disappointment. But, onward. Can't help that now and can't think about that now, must get through T1 and out onto the bike. The weather is really horrible by this time and I'm pretty sure the bike is going to suck. I was right. I fumble to get on my arm warmers, jacket shoes, etc. then I'm off for the hunt. I spend the next 1:26 battling the wind and rain. All I kept telling myself was that I had to go faster than 16.5 mph and it was only 25 miles. I've ridden this distance many times and I've even ridden in worse weather so just suck it up and keep going.

I really felt good on the ride. I felt strong and surprisingly had a sense of humor about the whole thing. I mean, what are the odds? I reminded myself that the winds at Penticton were worse. If I could bike 78 miles in that wind this was going to be cake. My goal for this whole race was to go less than 1:30 for the ride. I did the math and figured I would have to average 16.5 mph to do it and I was capable of that.

I saw everyone on the route. Justin, Brian helping someone with a flat, Simone flying past in a blur, Lynda and Christy looking like hotties. I felt great and knew I was going to nail that split. Turns out I was right. I came into transition and had managed to average 17.1 mph despite the rain.

I keep telling myself how awesome that is and that I nailed the goal. Even though the swim was terrible, I still hit my primary goal for the event. I really needed to prove to myself that I am a stronger cyclist than I was last year and I proved it. I beat my Ft. Lewis bike split by almost 10 minutes. And, both courses are very similar terrain. So, while 17.1 doesn't seem like much to most of the athletes I spend time with, it is a big improvement for me.

I ran into transition and saw Cal over by his bike. He had just finished up and I was headed out on the bike. I was surprised to see him and when he said he was finished I told him he sucked and kept running. He agreed and kept cheering me on despite my snottiness. What a great coach.

After the bike my feet were totally numb. I pulled off my shoes even though I couldn't feel my feet. I knew they were off when they got even colder, as if that was even possible! I struggled with my running shoes, pulling them over numb feet and wet socks. I grabbed my hat and hobbled out on the run. Oh yes, and put on the skirt. Can't forget the skirt.

It took a mile and a half to get my feet back into working order. It is really tough to run when your feet are frozen and worse when they start to come back to life. It is quite painful. I was running very high on my heart rate and the only way to lower it would have been to walk. That just wasn't happening. I wanted to see what I could do to hit my goal pace on the run. I couldn't get my legs moving. No matter how hard I tried I didn't feel like I was running fast even though my HR was going crazy. Ah well, forget the HR and just run. And I ran, hard. I was barely functional at mile 3 and I couldn't figure out how I was going to keep moving for another 3. I was almost hurling and yet I kept going. Mile 4, two more to go. Lord, I can't make it. Maybe I'll just walk. But, if I run, this will be over with and I can get something to eat. And, maybe a soy latte. Chug chug chug. I see lots of folks on the run, including Simone who flew past so fast I caught a breeze. Justin gave me 5 as I ran past and Karl, Mike, Lynda and Christy all passed by along the way. Then, Justin again. Wait...what the hell?? I thought this was really wrong. There is only one out and back, we don't do this twice do we?? Thankfully, no, only one out and back, he was just going for an extra lap.

I found a rabbit to chase. I guy with a green and black jersey was far in front of me and I decided he was my target. I had to pick off intermediary targets along the way but he was the big one. I passed him and felt pretty damn proud. Then I had to take a nature break. Damn. He passed by while I was behind a bush. Back on the trail I find him again in front of me then decide I couldn't let him beat me. I had to make the big comeback from the potty break and recover my lost time. I turned on the little flicker of flame I had left and caught up to him. He turns around and says he though he lost me back at the bushes. I told him no way and we ran together for a couple minutes. I though he had me though. He really didn't want me to get past him but I really didn't want him to beat me. I kept at it and finally passed him as we were heading around the corner to the finish. So, I had made up for lost time on that last break in the woods. It almost killed me but I did.

One of the many great things about traveling with friends is that you have a huge cheering section when you finish. It was amazing. I never have that kind of support at the finish of a race and it was the best finish I've ever had. We all felt it. All of us had a cheering section at the end.

So, thanks to everyone. It was the best race experience I've had. So many friends, a performance I can be satisfied with and a well earned chocolate shake on the way home. What more could a girl ask for?