›Pacific Crest Olympic Distance Triathlon
Race date: June 26, 2005 (Sunriver, Oregon)
by Joe Barrett
Lessons
There will be a triathlon today and I get to participate! The weather is nice so don’t get too excited now. The Pacific Crest Olympic Distance waits. Even though I have had SI pain for a week, I should be able to compete. I’ll just have to tame some of those competitive juices and take it easy…. Yeah, right….
Thanks to my trusted support crew things start out well. Dad has agreed to provide help even though it is an early morning. He sleeps as I take a hot tub to warm up. Being that this is a point-to-point bike, he will have to drive the car back down to Sunriver after the swim. We have to park way the hell and gone down a dirt road. And though we have made good time, the race is set to start in 20 minutes.
As I walk to the start line I try to stay cool. It’s probably not a good idea to ride my bike with a bag full of wet suit and gear. LESSON #1- listen to your own voice of reason. But, I’m sure I can make it o.k.. Well the bag got stuck in the spokes and I went ass over handle bars. Just a scrape on the knee, but did it have to be right in front of another racer! I’m now bleeding as I roll the bike into T-1.
Of course things are pretty packed in the bike racks at this late a time. I finally notice a spot on the rack and will need it because I have some problems with my trusty steed. It appears that a crunched the back cartridge doing my little flip. I crank on the whole thing trying to free it from the spokes. It finally seems in place. At this point I am not feeling too great in my prospects for a good race today.
The swim changes my ill feeling. The water is surprisingly not too cold. The sleeveless wetsuit works well and I feel like a seal knifing through the waters of Wickiup Reservoir. I come out of the water in about 26 minutes for 1500 meters of swim. I approach my bike and pray it will be operational. Slowly I head out on to the bike and things are running well. Maybe I’ll make it the whole 25 miles! Pretty soon I see Gina from team fast standing next to her bike on the route. She looks bummed, I know how she feels.
The rest of the bike portion goes very well. The spinning classes with Cherrie combined with a few rides up Skyliner has paid off. I feel very good crusing up the hill portions of the route. Unfortunately I still get passed on the downhill grades. LESSON #2- take your bike lock off the bike the night before the race!
I cruise into T-2 feeling well. I’m at about 1:40 and ahead of schedule. I know that my run will be slow, but the competitive juices are really flowing now. In fact I delude myself into thinking that I’m a real triathlete and those guys don’t wear socks. LESSON #3- stick with the original plan. Sure, the first few miles feel good, but I haven’t trained without socks! So, the obligatory blisters start to rise. I cruise a 53 minute 10K and battle pain towards the finish.
It still feels great to have my name heard over the loud speakers. The cold water never feels or tastes so great as after a race. Dad is dutifully waiting for me and I wish I could dally a bit. Luckily I see Bob, the swim coach, who is always good for words of support. But, I have to still go to work today.
LESSON #4- Just finish and have fun. Tame the competitive pain
Joe
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