More Firsts

Hagg Lake Sprint Triathlon
Forest Grove, OR
1/2 mile Swim/12.5 mile Bike/5K Run
Overall Time: 1:34:42 (129/255 OA, 9/24 AG)
Swim: 16:18
T1: 3:45
Bike: 44:15
T2: 1:27
Run: 28:56

Although this race was a small tune-up C race to my A Oly in two weeks, it was still packed with firsts. My first race of the season, my first time reacquainting myself with my wetsuit this year, first open water swim of the season, first race on what is considered one of the toughest courses in the Portland area where the only flat part of the course is the swim, first race on the *classic* sprint distance of 0.5/12.5/3.1 and on and on. It truly was a tune-up for me to remember how to race again. So my higher than normal pre-race jitters were understandable to some extent. That said, I was more than pleased with my performance since it was only three minutes slower than my first tri last year on a flatter than flat course with only a 1/4 mile swim and a bike leg which was 1/2 a mile shorter. It showed that my off-season and monster basebuilding work was paying off.

The night before the race felt like one of the longest of my life because I didn't sleep. This is abnormal. Maybe it was the after effects of Thursday night's Thai food or some residual stress from work but sleep was rather fleeting. I gave up on the pretense at 5 AM and got up and pulled my race gear on, black Canari tri shorts and a mesh teal Zoot top with cap sleeves for anyone who's interested. Breakfast was a bagel, peanut butter, and coffee before we hit the road.

We got to the park in plenty of time. I set up my transition area, saw our friend Matt who noted my nerves, went to the bathroom, pulled on my wetsuit halfway, and chatted with my rack mate, Lia, who had recognized me from another tri we both did the year before. I headed down to the beach for the pre-race briefing and said hi to Matt's wife and kids and met some folks from his Master's swim class. We watched the oly athletes go...these guys are intimidating and smoking fast, then headed down to the beach for the start of our race.

The Swim:
And we're off. No plan except a smooth, strong stroke and some practice sighting. I took an inside line on the buoys and settled into a smooth stroke with bilateral breathing. I consider this a win since this is the first time that I've been able to breathe bilaterally in a race situation. Sighting was a challenge. The glare from the lake made it difficult to see the buoys so I felt like I was making more course corrections than usual, or I could just be out of practice. Who knows? I caught some drafts and rounded the first two buoys with no issues. Nothing to do but head for the finish arch but I kept pulling to the left. Correcting then pulling to the left again. What's up with this? After what seemed like a million course corrections, I finally touched bottom, hauled myself up, and ran back to transition careful not to break my neck on the gopher-ravaged hills of the park. Wetsuit off. Socks, bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses on, and off I go again.


The Bike:
Hills, hills, and more hills. I ride this course in training. It's tough. I'd be ecstatic with a 16 mph average. I decided to adopt a mantra Matt wrote in an e-mail describing the oly course I'll be attempting in two weeks. "I don't think I'm a bad a$$ biker chick. I KNOW I'm a bad a$$ biker chick." I start off on a good clip since the first part of the course is on a slight downhill. I pass some people on the first uphill which gives me a nice confidence boost. I get to the hill I rode about a month ago where I hit 35 mph and had to get out of aero due to nerves. This time, I resolve to stay in aero as long as I could and attempt the corner at the bottom. Foolhardy? Maybe, but I did it at 36.8 mph and yes I was scared but got over it. I get to the course turn around and brace myself for the long, grinding hill re-entering the park. Not fun, not pleasant, but it gets done. I even pass a few people. It's clear sailing on the rollers now and I'm alone for a lot of it, only getting passed by the super-human oly athletes with their race wheels and aero helmets and other guys, no women. All in all, I averaged 10-15 mph on the ups and 23+ on the downs and flats. Overall clocking in at about 17 mph or so. Back at T2 and I'm the first one back at the rack closely followed by a guy who was in the wave right before mine. Another win. I transform from the bad a$$ biker chick to runner chick and head for the run course.



The Run:
I have mentioned the hills, right? The course takes us back through the last 1.5 miles of the bike course. Two hills. Two ups, two downs, turn around and do it all over again. It was hot. It was a plod. But I was determined not to walk. Having only done two BRICKs in training, I still felt strong coming off the bike. Ah, the wonders of tri geometry. But the hills were relentless and punishing. I didn't walk but was passed by at least two women in my AG who were clearly better hill runners than I. Despite all of this, I still managed to PR my sprint tri 5K time by 55 seconds. Add another mark to my win column.

Post-race festivities included a BBQ back at the house with Matt and his family. Good food, a few beers, and a lot of laughs. It was a good day. All in all, I hit every goal I had for this C race. I have a good idea of what I still need to work on and it gave me a nice confidence boost as I head into my taper for my first Olympic-distance race in two weeks.