Completed my first OLY tri this weekend.

[GLC1968]

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

[Veronica]

Nice write up! I had been wondering how your race went. Aren't you too skinny to be an Athena now?

Veronica

[Tri Girl]

YAY!!!! SO excited for you!! Sounds like you did really well, learned some things, and know what to do next time to see continued success.
Nutrition really becomes important in an Oly- and that's good that you know what to do for next time.

Great RR! Congrats on your first Oly. When is the next???

[GLC1968]

V - yeah, pretty much but I'm sure I was 150 on Sunday if anyone wanted to weigh me. I figure that I was carrying that much weight around with me, so it was fair to at least compare myself to the other girls who did the same.

TriGirl - no more OLY's for this year. I've got one more sprint and then a half-marathon. I'll do more OLY's next year for sure though!

[Veronica]

Yeah - I wish the Athena category went a little bit lower. My lean body mass is more than what some of the really fast chicks weigh.

Are you going to stick with Olys or jump it up to a HIM next year?

Veronica

PS When are you going to update your blog? I want to know how all the critters are doing.

[GLC1968]

OLY is my limit for now. I need to feel like I've really mastered it before I move on...IF I move on. I'm not ready to commit to the training I'd need to put in for the HIM distance yet. Too many other things that I like to do!

I hear you on the LBM though. This week I hit 19% BF and I'm a full 10 lbs heavier than I was the last time I was at 19!

The animals are all doing well. Pepper is turning out to be a GREAT milker - she's patient, polite and produces AWESOME milk. As much as I loved Sass, Pepper's milk tastes better. We need to get one of the babies and Buddy listed for sale soon so that we have room for more babies when we are ready.

I wish I had time to blog. My new job, travel and training is sucking me dry. My poor husband has had to do the lion's share of the work around the farm and I feel immensely guilty about it.

[Veronica]

Well I won't make you feel guilty about not blogging then. I am constantly amazed by all that you do. Thanks for the update on the critters.

Veronica

[hulagirl]

Wow! Great race report.

So tell me all about your chamios issues. I had no issues in a DeSoto 1 piece during Sprint tris. But when I did my first Oly in it....oh MY. By mile 10 on the bike I knew I was going to be in trouble. And I do use Body Glide. A LOT of it.

I went and got a Louis G. suit for my next Oly. I will need to start doing some training in it as my next Oly is in a month.

[GLC1968]

I have had issues with this chamois every time I've worn the suit but I keep wearing it anyway. It's not a bad amount of padding and it dries quickly, it's just a little wide for me so it chaffes in the leg crease. It doesn't bother me in the least on the run though - so it has to be a combination of the saddle+chamois causing the issue. I can ride this saddle on this bike with other shorts and not have quite the problem, but this is my only tri suit so I don't really have other options. Silly, I know.

I'm going to try trimming the edges of the chamios if I can (it looks like there is extra material outside the stitching). I'm not sure what else to try!

To be fair, I also had painful chaffing issues under my arms from my wetsuit (sleeveless) that I've never had before, so maybe it was just a "delicate skin" race for me for some reason! It was the day before my period...so maybe it was a hormonal thing?

[indysteel]

Way to go, C! I'm glad it was, overall, a great experience for you. I'm always humbled by these race reports. You triathletes, in particular, are darn impressive.

[Veronica]

Which tri suit do you have?

I have been pretty happy with my Zoot Ultra stuff, but this year I bought some Orca shorts because they are longer. I haven't worn them for more than 20 miles yet.

Veronica

[salsabike]

Hey, I developed an Oly nutrition plan with a sports dietitian, and it worked well. For what it may or may not be worth for you, here it is:

Breakfast when I first get up: low fat yogurt, some kind of toast with peanut butter.

One bottle of Perpetuum on the bike (two scoops, rest water).

Take a gel with me on the run.

The bottle of Perpetuum is the nutritional lifesaver for me, since it's liquid (don't like having solid food in my stomach on a run), and I can drink it all on the bike, and not eat on the run. I haven't used the gel yet but like to have it in case I need it.

Otherwise, I drink as much water as I can find in between and at water stations. I don't drink sports drink at those stations. I know my stomach can handle Perpetuum.

[OakLeaf]

Woot! Way to go GLC ... and way to break the race down and learn for next time.

[Bike Chick]

Congratulations on your first Oly!!! What a great report and a great job! It's hard for me to imagine that you were cold. I'm doing a sprint tri on Saturday and the temp will be close to 100. I'm worried about not getting too hot.

[GLC1968]

V - it's this one (in red):

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodTR_TCFS6A.html

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone!