›Blue Lake All Women's Triathlon

Race date: August 6, 2005

Calli Roberts

It's a gorgeous morning. The sky is clear, little patches of sun make their way through the trees overhead; the perfect day for a little swim, bike and run. I'm a little worried about completing the race since I had company last week and only managed four hours of training. Barry insists at this point the rest will help more than the training. I feel strong, energized, ready to race. I swallow a packet of gel I wonder if the feeling is just an illusion.

I'm not sure why they named this lake Blue Lake. It doesn't look blue, murky or muddy would be more appropriate. I've been warned about this lake, both swimmers and triathletes have told me it's "not the best place for a swim because the water is really dirty", "everyone I know who swam in Blue Lake ended up sick or with an ear infection" and "last year they cancelled this race, had to close the lake due to bacteria". Hoping to not end up sick, I walk into the water and warm up.

As each wave leaves I get more excited. I feel great and I hate watching all the other athletes take off while I wait. Finally my wave is called and I position myself in the front and center for the swim. I've learned the hard way, not to start in the same spot as I would for an OSMS lake swim. They sound the start and I head out at a sprint hoping to avoid the slugfest in the water. I'm convinced triathletes like all the contact because I rarely swim into anyone in a Masters lake swim.

I feel like I'm swimming well but once I'm a hundred yards out I can't see anyone else to gauge my speed by. All at once something comes over me. A terrible smell. Oil, gas? I'm not sure but it stinks. Yuck. It's coming from the rescue boats. I've done a lot of swims and this is the only one where I noticed this smell. What's with that? I swim faster hoping to find some clean air to breathe. It seems like only a couple minutes have gone by when I spot the exit to the water. This is the first time I've seen anyone since the start. I try to head around a woman in front of me, but no matter which way I swim, she changes directions and ends up in my way. Ok enough of this. I swim to the far right and sprint in leaving her behind.

As I sprint towards T1 I see the husband of a woman I met at the motel who was doing her first Tri. "Great swim" he yells as I run by. I appreciate the encouragement and smile & wave as I run by. Now focus, I remind myself. I know my T1 can be much faster than it's been this year. Amazingly I remember the zippers at the ankles of my wetsuit and am on my bike quickly.

As I start the bike course I focus on spinning my legs and trying to get comfortable for the ride. By the time I hit the main road I've already passed 8-10 women. I' m wondering what's wrong? I rarely pass anyone on the bike. Hey this is exciting. If I can pass that easily, forget my heart rate, I'm going as fast as I can! I shift into a higher gear and lose count of how many women I've left behind. I check my cadence and it's staying around 98. Time to check my heart rate, 168! Yikes I'll never make it through the run if I keep it that high so I gear down and let my heart rate fall. Maybe if I get in to my drops I can keep passing people. It works. I've only been in my aerobars a few times so I'm afraid to try them in a race. Before long volunteers are motioning me to slow and dismount.

It's hot when I start the run; even though the course is flat, it seems hard to find a comfortable pace. Glad I didn't push harder on the bike. All the women I passed on the bike are now passing me! I get angry and frustrated, then I remind myself I just starting running and I'm going much faster than if I was walking. Focus on quick feet and run your own race, don't worry about anyone else. As I approach the finish line I see my husband cheering me on. This is the race I've been training for, no asthma, no side ache from warm GuH20, everything went as planned. I'm happy.

I check my time as soon as it's posted, 1:39! Yes. I'm thrilled! Anything under 1:50 would have been good, but this is great. A fifth place finish, who cares? I'm so excited about my time, placing doesn't matter. This is my fastest race by 20 minutes. I'm completely exhausted. I head back towards Bend wondering, how fast can I finish next year.

 

return to main race reports page!