Completed my first OLY tri this weekend.
I enjoyed most of the race and ALL of the weekend in general, I learned a lot and I definitely want to do it again next year!
Here is my race report in case anyone is interested:
Pacific Crest Olympic Triathlon
2011-06-26
Sunriver, Oregon
Total Time = 3h 35m 6s
Overall Rank = 357/504
Age Group Rank = 18/35
Women = 116/215
Pre-race:
Pre race was different than usual since there were two transition zones, so more logistics to think about. I also didn't have my usual pre-race food with me, so I made due with oatmeal with PB and banana in it and a cup of tea. We drove our bikes to T1 the previous day (and did our test swim), so on race morning, I didn't have to worry about bike logistics. There were only two of our group racing but the third had already taken his bike to T1 with us the day before, so three of us walked to T2. I set up my run stuff and then boarded the bus with the others to T2/the lake. Luckily the bus was heated because my toes were frozen! Then I set up T2, used the porta-potties, put on my wetsuit, got wet and then we waited for our wave to start.
I didn't do much of a warm up. I swam out into the lake a bit to get wet, get my face wet and to get some water into my suit to loosen it up a bit in the torso (still a tad tight). Then we stood in the warm sun near the ramp and watched the previous waves take off. Some of them were really HUGE! I worked very hard to keep my HR even and keep myself calm in the midst of all the excitement. They reported that with the DU athletes, there were over 1000 racers in T1 that morning! I managed to pee in my wetsuit (first time ever!) right before our start horn and I'm SO glad that I did because I still had to pee by the time I got off the bike.
Swim
Comments:
I felt really, really good about my swim. I enjoyed it immensely! My goal for this race was to just complete it and I was most nervous about the swim since I've never swam this far in open water before (without resting). I was so happy to have been able to swim the whole thing freestyle with no panic and no over-exertion. I seriously got out of the water and thought to myself "what a great way to start the day"!
I discovered once I got on the bike that I swam a little too relaxed. I had to take the first few miles to warm-up and get my HR going, so next time, now that I know I can do the distance with ease, I'll swim a little harder. I'm happy about this performance, but I also know that I can do a lot better in terms of time, so that's what my goal will be for the next one.
T1
Comments:
Transition went well, considering. We had to pack up all our stuff into a bag and tie it before heading out on the bike so that it could be transported back to T2 for us, so that took a little time. I could not get my bag tied with my cold hands! Other than that, it went well. I'm getting much better at putting socks on wet feet!
Bike
Comments:
So the bike was both good and bad. First of all, it took me a lot longer to warm up than I had anticipated. I also had a very hard time eating while in aero, so I really cut back on nutrition (which actually hurt me on the run). I was able to get down about half a bag of sharkies before the long hill, so that helped a lot. Drinking was great and well timed. When I got to T2, I went to take a sip before heading out on the run and my bottle was empty - so I did it JUST right! The long hill actually went really well and I buzzed up it and passed a lot of folks without too much effort. I was careful to keep the whole ride at a reasonable effort cardio-vascularly despite the altitude, so I think that slowed me down more than I had expected. From mile 15 on, I FLEW into the finish. Max speed topped out over 35 mph and I actually RAN OUT OF GEARS on a few of the long downhills (even with an 50-11 combo!). I would have been able to spin faster and still generate some power on those hills if I wasn't noticing a chaffing problem with my chamois. That limited my ability to spin at high speeds (it hurt!). I doubt I would have felt comfortable going much faster anyway though as there was a lot of car traffic to worry about and I am not nearly as confident of my bike handling skills on the TT bike as I am on my road bike.
Looking back, there were a couple of things I'll do differently the next time. First of all, I'll swim harder so that I don't have to waste the first 5-6 miles warming up on the bike. Secondly, I'll practice consuming nutrition while in aero. I knew WHAT to eat for those distances, I didn't know enough about HOW to eat it. Lastly, revisit the tri suit chamois problem - body glide?, alterations?, new suit? new saddle?...
T2
Comments:
I practiced running with my bike but it was for no use. The transition pathways were very narrow and the people in front of me were walking so I had no choice but to follow. I also felt like I was moving through molasses as I changed my shoes and put on my race belt and I was certain that my T2 time was super slow, but it wasn't as bad as it felt!
Next time, I'll grab water on the exit. I thought there would be water at mile 1 on the run, so I skipped it even though I'd just downed half a gel in T2. I was so incredibly parched for the first part of the run!
Run
Comments:
So I knew the run was going to be tough for me. The first two miles were pretty much torture because I was dying of thirst. Once I had my first water at about mile 2, I felt pretty good and was able to just enjoy being out there a bit. By the half way point, I realized my face was really salty, so I figured I could use some electrolytes so I took a cup of Gleukos. By mile 4, I was really fading. My feet didn't hurt and my HR wasn't too high (actually too low, probably!), but I was out of energy. I was seriously dragging and that's a very new feeling for me on a run. Usually my feet give out long before I run out of energy! I kept going of course, walking occasionally. By 5.5 miles, that Gluekos was causing me stomach distress and I had visions of throwing up in the finishing chute. At 6 miles, I saw my friend Jill who ran with me up to the finish chute and that was a total lifesaver. I knew then that I wasn't going to puke and as I crossed the finish line, I found myself holding back tears. It was a combination of joy at finishing, pride at making it, and happiness at knowing the run was over!
In the future, I know that I'll need to rethink my nutrition. That seriously made a HUGE impact on me during the run. I wasn't even as hot as I expected to be...I was just out of energy. I also need to rethink my shoes. My right foot was cramping up because my toes could not spread out. I don't regret my choice because I'm certain that had I worn my wider shoes, I'd have been tripping over them (they are slightly too big) by the last couple of miles. All in all, I was shooting for an 11 m/m run, so I wasn't all that far off and I'm OK with how I did. Next time, I know I can do better.
Post race
Immediately afterward I wandered around a bit looking for water (they seemed to have run out of the water bottles they were handing to racers), then had a few bites of strawberry shortcake while waiting for my friend to finish. We then took a few photos and discussed race experiences before making the trek to T2 to pick up bikes and gear. I went back to our house, showered, had a BIG icecream cone and then we headed out for the 4 hour drive home. I couldn't sleep in the car but I'm damn glad I wasn't driving as I was totally loopy/drowsy.
Overall, I think I was mostly limited by my lack of experience. This was my first OLY and I didn't get either the pacing or the nutrition quite right. Even at my current conditioning level, I think I could have finished a solid 10 - 15 minutes faster overall had I paced my swim correctly and gotten the nutrition right. At least I got the hydration right! I weighed myself after we got home and I was exactly the same as the day we left! On the whole, I’m happy with how it went. I enjoyed a vast majority of it, I did complete it, I learned a lot about myself and about racing at altitude and it was a good experience for me. Had I raced 'Athena' (150lbs+), I would have had a second place finish...so I certainly can't complain about that.
So far, this was the best race event I've attended. Great location, great organization, great extras...the only flaw was the post-race food which was very unimpressive. Overall, a great weekend (loved watching the other races too!) and we'll definitely be back in the future!
Swimming
00:38:43 | 1640.42 yards | 02m 22s / 100yards
T1
04:40
Biking
01:36:19 | 29 miles | 18.07 mile/hr
T2
02:39
Running
01:12:44 | 06.21 miles | 11m 43s min/mile
