2008 Blue Lake Sprint Tri

My first medal!!!!!

Blue Lake Sprint Triathlon
Date: Saturday, June 14, 2008
Location: Fairview, OR
Distance: 800 meter swim/12 mile bike/5k run
Time: 1:30:01 -- Athena division, 3rd place!!!

Pre-race:

Coffee & banana, carpooled to the race, set up transition, and then milled about chatting with other Headhunters.

Nadine, Tracy, and I pre-race/post-body marking:
Warm Up:

Just a quick swim. One of my training partners has a huge fear of open water, so I spent about 10 minutes coaching her into the water and helping her get warmed up and comfortable. Which was great, because it alleviated my own anxiety.

Swim (800 meters):
00:15:52 (pace = 1:59/100m)

During the deep-water start, a lot of people were crowding towards the back and to the sides, so I said "hey, why not?" and swam up to the front inside spot to start. Suprisingly, it was not chaotic at all. The downside is that there wasn't anyone to draft off of until people passed me.

I got a little off-course in the first 200 meters, but once I sighted more often I didn't have any more issues. I had trouble finding someone to draft off, so I hopped from feet to feet until I found a pair that worked. I stayed on him from the second to the third bouy, and then passed him on the sprint into the finish.

I probably could have gone harder on the swim, but I hate coming into T1 with out-of-control breathing. I still knocked almost 3 minutes off of my time from last year, so I'm pretty pleased. I tied for first in my division coming out of the water, and was in the top 23% overall.

Coming out of the water:

T1: time = 2:48
I had the second fastest T2 in my division (she beat me by 1 second) and was about 20 seconds faster than last year. I felt slower, but I think I was a tad slower at my station but ran in and out faster.

Bike (12 miles):
00:37:56 (pace = 18.98 mph)

I definitely passed way more people than passed me, which was a nice change. I passed one guy who blew my mind when he decided to give me a lecture on proper etiquette --

Him as I'm passing: "You know lady, you're supposed to say 'on your left' as you pass."
Me: "yeah well, I can't breathe"
Him: "it's proper etiquette and you need to say it"
Me: blow snot rocket back towards him
Him as he passes me: "here, I'll show you how it's done -- 'ON YOUR LEFT'"
Me as I blow by him and leave him in my dust: "like this? On your left [dill hole -- that part was under my breath]"

My race strategy for the bike and run was to go as hard as I could until I puked. If I hadn't puked, I could still go harder. I was regretting this decision when we hit the head winds and I wanted to slack off. I told myself to suck it up a few times and then reminded myself that I didn't want to get passed by Mr. Dillhole again. Also, one Athena had beat me out of transition and I had leap frogged with another one and was currently in 2nd place. My run is the weakest and I needed as much distance on everyone as I could get.

As we headed back into Blue Lake park, I made the wacky decision to take my shoes off on the bike and try a flying dismount. I say it was a wacky decision, because I've only tried it once on a training day and I almost wrecked. My reasoning was that this was also like a training day and that trying new things would be okay. (Huh? Not sure about that reasoning...) I got my right foot out without any trouble, but my balance taking the left foot out was really shaky. However, running through transition with one shoe on would look absolutely retarded, so I kept trying and finally managed to get it off. My "flying dismount" didn't have too much "flying" in it, but it was nice not to run in my clunky cleats (Keo Look).

Me, on the bike:

T2: time = 01:56
Fastest T2 time in my division. I was 1 second slower than last year though. For the first time ever I had trouble getting my socks on. I have to wear socks due to blistering, but maybe I can figure out a better system. Perhaps a liquid bandage type of thing?

Run (5k):
00:31:29 (pace = 10:10 min/mi)
Well, running is by far my weakest event. I've been working on it a lot over the past year and while I've gone from a 13+ min/mi to a 10 min/mi, I'm just not fast. I saw one gal in my division pass me on the run right from the start and one had beat me in from the bike, so as far as I could tell, I was in third place. I felt a little defeated at that point because I was positive that I hadn't built enough of a lead to hold that position. Which looking back on is quite funny, because I never had any intention (nor thought I ever had any chance) of placing top three in my group. I don't know at what point it became important to me that day...

Anyway, my strategy was still to not back off on pace until I puked. I never did puke, but I was extremely uncomfortable the whole time. At the turn-around point I saw what I thought was someone in my division. That kept me motivated for the second half of the run and I never let her pass me!

I came into the finish chute feeling strong, but worn out. I think I left it all out there, which was my primary goal for the day.

Crossing the finish line:
Denise, Lisa, Dede, Julie, and I after the finish:
Event comments:

This was my first medal ever! When I found out that I had placed, not a single thing could knock me off Cloud 9. I'm still there, actually. :-)

Last year I did this same event as my very first triathlon. I finished happy, but hurting. One solid year of training later and I knocked 12 minutes off my time. In a sprint distance! This was an awesome confidence booster and reinforced that I've chosen the right fitness path for myself. Even better, my sweetie-pie was there to watch it all take place, and he couldn't have been prouder.

The course itself is flat and not very difficult, but it is a great first-time event and/or season opener. I think I'll be doing this each year so I can gauge my progress.

Third Place!!!:
Me, Denise, and Julie with our placing medals:

Cali Trip

Ken and I headed down to northern California last weekend for a mini-holiday. We had plans to attend a wedding, as well as spend some quality time with my family. We left Portland on Thursday afternoon where it was overcast/sprinkling/windy and arrived SUNNY California!

Cute photo of my Mom:

The view from my parent's house:I managed to get in some short runs, as well as an open water swim at Hidden Valley Lake. The rest of the time was filled with cards, yard darts, and eating. Mostly oreos.

Me getting into the cold lake without a wetsuit:

My brother and I taking a break from beer & yard darts:
The wedding was that of an old high school friend and it was nice to see so many faces from the past. Sadly, we had to head back home on Sunday night and back to reality...

Ken and I before Drea & Jared's wedding:

On the way home from the wedding, being goofy in Napa Valley:

2008 Starlight Run 5k

Starlight Run 5k
Date: 5/31/2008
Distance: 5k run (3.1 miles)

Every year during the Rose Festival in Portland, OR, they kick off the week with the Starlight Parade. The Parade routes through downtown Portland and along the waterfront. About an hour prior to the parade, they hold a non-competitional 5k run with a costume theme. We all know how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE costumes! This year's theme was "The 70's" since this was the 30th anniversary of the festival (started in the 1970's). I had the perfect material in my sewing stuff!

A couple of days before the event I started working on Ken to get him to do it with me. As much as I'm not a runner, he's even more so not a runner! And he HATES costumes! But I sweet-talked him into participating, and I even got him into some snazzy polyester green pants and mullet wig.

We took the Max train (again) to the event and put up with the stares and questions (again) as people tried to avoid running into my "boobs". Upon arrival at Franklin Highschool, the start of the run, a reporter came up to me and took my picture. He then asked me a couple of questions about my costume and this is the reply he got:
"Well, I'm wearing a fro wig, I have fem-bot boobies with confetti popping out of the nips, my sparkly-ass skirt is barely covering my heiny, and I have the most awesomest psychedelic fur leg warmers on."

He gave me a horrificly embarassed look and went on his way. Laughing, Ken and I roamed about to find the Crouchers and Gilberts. Bob was Austin Powers, Denise was Felicity Shagwell, their son was Elton John, and their daughter was a hippy girl. Fantastic costumes!

When the run started, we got separated, but still had a blast. There were tons of spectators on the parade route and the children would line up on the side to slap our hands. It was like a 3-mile finish line! The rest of the photos are here.

Cervelo Rides

Instead of posting individual reports of my rides, here area few shots and descriptions of my favorites (and one not so favorite) over the last month. In reverse order. Lots of fun miles so far!!!!

June 1, 2008:

Northern RACC Route. Cue music "dun, dun, dun...dududun". We met up at Battle Ground Lake at 9am for a quick open water swim and then changed into our riding clothes and prepared for a day of climbing. But a few of us weren't REALLY prepared. Haha. Two hours into the ride we stopped to regroup and compare computer data. Only 15 miles so far! And Bob had a reading of 1800 feet of climbing already. It was going to be a loooooonnnngggg day.

Around mile 30 we stopped again in La Center and had my sweetie-pie Ken come grab Nadine. She hadn't been on her bike much this season, but she kicked major butt by making it this far into the ride!!! About 10-miles later I had him grab me so that we could make it home in time for our wine bottling appointment. Priorities, you know.

Anyway, the ride really was specatcular. It wound up past the East Fork Lewis river, through lots of back country and farm land, past the upper Lewis River, and back through thick cedar forests and lightly populated towns. Lots of wildlife and scenery -- we even saw a bull elk (heard it too!) and a few deer here and there. And honestly, the climbing was EXACTLY what I needed!

Ride time -- 40.40 miles, 3300 ft of climbing, 02:53:42 (13.86 mph pace)

Nadine, Natalie, and Jeff checking out Molton Falls:

Bob at the Molton Falls stop. By the way, this dude kicks some wicked heiny on the bike:

Me at the stop at Molton Falls. I wish I could photo-shop that goofy ass cheese-grin off my face:

May 12, 2008:

Beaches Ride! Every Monday night, the "big kids" meet up for a flat and fast ride out past Vancouver Lake and back. One of two things typically happens: 1) they ride easy on the way out so that I can hang on and then take off fast on the way back and that's where I get dropped, 2) they ride fast the entire time and I get dropped in the first couple of miles. But THIS time, I hung on almost the entire ride, and only fell off when the pace hit 28 mph. Woohoo!!!

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. I was too busy riding! But here's the ride data -- 28.62 miles, 21.20 mph average which includes some of the puttin' around riding at the beginning and end.

May 9, 2008:

The week leading up to this Saturday ride was a particularly high volume week for me. So I was tired, my attitude sucked, and the last thing I wanted to do that morning was hop in the pool and then climb on the bike for a 3-hour ride. The plan was to go from the club, across the river into Portland, down Marine Drive to Troutdale, then climb up to Crown Point...and then back. About 2 miles into the ride I got dropped from the main group and was pretty much ready to call it a day. A couple people hung back with me (pity ride!), but once I got to Troutdale I knew it was time for me to turn back. K-Dawg turned around with me, and then we met up with Jeff and Natalie (they were on their way to Troutdale, but turned around when they saw us), and we all rode to the club together. So the 3 hr 50-miler turned into a 2.5 hr 37-miler.

Me on the way back. Hey, at least I pulled out a smile!:

May 4, 2008:

I had ridden Ride Around Clark County 67-miler the day prior to this ride. But the sun was shining (a rarity in May) and I hadn't seen my friend Kris in ages. She lives out in the gorge across the river from Hood River -- a beautiful area -- and I just couldn't pass up a play date with her. We drove a few miles from her house in order to avoid the bigger hills (note the 67-miles the day before...) and rode until we reached snow and couldn't go any further. At one point 2 elk jumped across the road right in front of us. Awesome!

We took a slightly different route back to the car in order to cross the Little White Salmon river. I had never seen the put-in for that stretch before, so it was fun to have a picture in my mind for when people talk about kayaking it.

Ride Time -- 20 miles, 01:25:00

Kris and I at the turnaround:

Me at the turnaround (note the snow in the very top of the photo):

Lochsa 2008

Last week I found myself sick with seasonal allergies and a lovely sinus infection. It came just in time for some scheduled rest days -- our annual pilgrimage to the Lochsa River in Idaho. We left town the Friday before Memorial Day and drove 10 hours through to camp. It's really only a 8-9 hour drive, but we got sidetracked (yet again) in Walla-Walla looking for a place to eat. I HATE that town. It's a time sink hole.

This is me being totally fed up in Walla-Walla-Crap-Crap-Town:

We showed up to the welcoming crew: California Kelly, California Eric, Montana Billy, and Montana Dano-the-Mano. Some college friends from Bozeman also rolled through our camp shortly after arrival. The sun was shining, so we set up camp, then pulled out the chairs and some col' beers. Ahhhh, vacation...

Ken about to get rowdy in Lochsa Falls:

Cali Kelly - River Boarder Extraordinare:

The entire weekend was filled with tons of sunshine, great company, some kayaking/rafting, LOTS of carnage at Lochsa Falls, and plenty of relaxation. It was sad when we had to pack up and make the trek back home.

Some of my favorite carange pics at Lochsa Falls:

Eric, Me, and Cali Kelly:

Cervelo Upgrades

Since I'm posting pics of new gear, here is the most recent saddle I have on my P2C. It's the third so far, but it's the keeper. Specialized Phenom. I am totally in love with it. I have almost 500 miles on the bike so far, and have yet to have any discomfort on this saddle. Wow, I've put more distance on the Cervelo in THREE WEEKS than I did in one entire year on my old road bike!

And I upgraded my crankset to DuraAce. I also have the Keo Look pedals and now that I'm used to them (it was definitely a change from my SPDs), they totally rock.

And lastly, my TriVent shoes that are so freakin cool. They are mostly mesh, have multiple openings, and the carbon soles are reflective so they supposedly reflect heat from the pavement away from your tootsies. I can't wait to ride them in the hot weather...

My Feet Have Graduated!

I realized about a week ago that I'm overdue (again) for new shoes. It used to be that a pair of running shoes would last me about, oh, five years. Now that I'm actually using running shoes to RUN, they don't even last five months. Not even close. I often forget to replace them until miscellaneous aches and pains start showing up after my long runs.

I went into Fit Right NW today to have my gait re-analyzed. The last time I did that was a couple pairs ago, and I figured that since my body has changed so much, maybe my running style has too. Yep! My old shoes were clunky heavy things that helped to correct my over-pronation. Now I have lighter, flexible beauties. (Still Mizunos though.) YAY! Aren't they pretty?

RACC

Saturday I participated in an organized ride called Ride Around Clark County (RACC). Mileage options were 18mi, 35mi, 67mi, and 100mi. I opted for the 67 miles and am happy that I didn't try to tackle the 100 miles. All routes had a fair amount of hill climbing and my quads were pretty much toast after the day was over. Here's my race report:

Event: Ride Around Clark County - 67 miles
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2008
Location: Clark County, WA
Distance: 67 miles
Time: 04:35:53 (pace = 14.57 mph)

Pre-race/Warm-up:
I showed up at the club at 6am to get my packet, get my swim workout in, and prep the bike in order to be ready to ride by 7:30am. As far as a warmup, I think an 1800m swim at a 1:50-1:55 pace qualifies as a warm-up!

Me, at the club before heading out:

Nicole realized that she had a flat (we both have the new P2Cs), so everyone got together for a super-quick tube change. It was a great learning experience for me to watch!

Ride:

Forecast for the day was light precipitation in the morning, but warming up to low 60s and sunny skies after 11am. Plus 3000ft of climbing, which I anticipated would warm me up a bit. So I donned a tri-top, arm warmers, tri shorts, and my trivent bike shoes with no socks. At the last minute my unofficial coach, Denise, threw me a pair of her socks so that my tootsies would be a little warmer. Good call!

We all started at the club instead of the official starting line, but since we also finished at the club, the mileage was the same regardless. However, this put the first rest stop only 2 miles (downhill miles) from when we began. Of course we had to stop for cookies. We had just done a hard swim and needed fuel!

The majority of the ride was on gentle rollers through back country property and farms. It was a pretty area, but if it had been sunny, I think it would have been gorgeous. We made it to the second rest stop right about the time we were all needing to use the facilities, so that worked out great. The restroom had a blow heater for drying hands, but I took my feet out of my shoes and tried to warm up my toes with it. Rather unsuccessfully, too bad for me.

I downed more cookies, some chips, some more cookies, some trail mix, and a few cookies for good measure. Unfortunately, a notable hill came up to bat right away and those cookies in my belly weren't feeling too yummy anymore...

One thing about me is that I hate hills. Detest them. And when I'm on group rides I won't shut up about them. Me: When is the next hill? Is the next hill big? I don't know how I'm going to get up that hill? I hear a big hill is coming up, do you know when? Where is that hill?

It's ridiculous and I'm sure irritates the crud out of everyone, but I can't help myself. On this ride, I had heard of a notorious hill coming into the town of Felida. Soon enough, we were climbing a pretty big hill and I had to stand for the last 1/4 of it. I get to the top, totally gasping for air, and ask Denise if the Felida hill is worse than this. She laughs and says that WAS the Felida hill. Whew, no more hills!

We took off at a nice clip and I had no problem keeping up because I knew I was done with difficult climbs. Yay! Cue another big fother-mucking hill. WTF? Where did this come from? I had to stand about half way up and had to repeat lines from Bob's spin class in order to keep from stopping. "Don't be a SISSY! Suck in your fat gut! You don't want to be a SISSY, do you? Take the pain!" Thankfully, that really was the last of the big hills. :-)

We made a quick stop at a local Starbucks to warm-up, another stop at Clark College to check on a t-shirt that Tom never received in his packet, and then headed back to the club just as the rain started to come down. 67 miles actually went by pretty quickly.

Nikki and Tom at the Starbucks stop:

What would I do differently?:
Wear clothes!

Warm Down:
I donned my swimsuit and jumped in the jacuzzi. After a hot shower I went out for hot coffee with the girls, then took a hot bath when I got home. What can I say, I was having difficulties warming up! The rest of the day was spent lounging and getting some much needed R&R.

Comments:
Well, I do kinda miss my granny gear that I have on my road bike. But the new P2C performed like a dream. And I think I want to marry my saddle.

This is a great organized ride. Maybe next year I'll do the full century...

Before & Now

This past Saturday I met Ken and Brian at the club for a ride around Lacamas Lake. Each loop is about 12 miles and I needed to do it a few times to get my mileage in for the weekend. We only ended up doing 2 loops, but it worked out because I did almost 40 the next day with Denise C (2 Bridge Loop with some meandering through Vancouver for coffee).

Rewind to about a month ago when I was going through some old photo boxes and trying to make the miscellaneous piles smaller. I came across a select few "before" photos that make me cringe to even keep around. But it's a good reminder of how far I have come. Fast forward back to Saturday, when Ken took a photo of me and my new bike. Here's a comparison.

Photo 1: Me, 2.5 years ago. Keep in mind that this is about 10 pounds lighter then when I was at my ultimate heaviest (I don't have ANY photos from then because I refused to let people take them).

Photo 2: Me, on Saturday (4/26/2008).

50 Down...

Today marks the day that I have lost a total of 5o pounds. Woohoo!

I came home from work and my friend Brian was there visiting with Ken. He had also brought me these as a congrats for my weight loss:

I should mention that Brian, his wife Nadine, and I all began a weight loss competition about a week ago. It began at the same time that I began my training for a half ironman and majorly changed up my diet, so in one week I lost over 5 pounds. We still have almost a month before the final weigh in and Nadine and I are each determined to beat the other person. So while Brian brought me flowers today, this is what she gave me:

My First Triathlon Award

I got my very first triathlon ribbon today. Jenn came up to me in spin class and gave this to me. It says "Sarah Gets Faster Each Race Award." Even if I ever get a podium finish, this one will still be my favorite!

Bridge to Bridge to Brews

I did a run called Bridge-to-Bridge-to-Brews this morning. I think it's been put on in Portland for a number of years, but it used to be just Bridge-to-Bridge. They have since changed the course to go over the Fremont Bridge (only event in Portland to do so) and the Broadway Bridge. It starts and ends at Widmere Brewing in NE Portland. Very convenient for a post-race beverage!

I had another PR (personal record) today!!! I am very pleased with that considering my super hard workout day yesterday. I won't get into too much detail, but it started with a long swim and ended with back-to-back spin classes. I also did a bunch of yard work after the gym. Needless to say, my legs were toast before I even started the run today...

Here's my race report. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos because my memory card for the camera was left at home.

Race: 2008 Bridge-to-Bridge-to-Brews 8k Run
Date: Sunday, April 20th
Location: Portland, OR
Distance: 8 km (4.97 miles)
Time: 00:53:09 (a new 8k PR!)

Pre-race/Warm-up:

Oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. Carpooled with the girlies: Angie (long-time friend, not a Headhunter), Nadine (fellow Headhunter and training partner, read previous posts for more about her antics), and Jenn (also a Headhunter and training buddy). It was about 36° out and we arrived a tad early, so we all huddled in the car to stay warm. Made a quick porta-potty stop and lined up for the race.

Run:

I wish I had taken my lap times, but it was something like this --

Mile 1 = over 11 min/mi (very hilly as it started by climbing up and over the Fremont Bridge)

Mile 2 = low 10 min/mi

Mile 3 = low 10 min/mi

Mile 4 = haven't a clue

Mile 5 = slower due to climbing up and over the Broadway Bridge. That, and I was t-i-r-e-d!

What would I do differently?:

I would of course be able to run faster, but since I had fried legs, this was a hilly course, and I still managed to have a personal best, I have zero complaints.

Warm Down:

Met back up with the girlies, shivered in the cold temps, downed a free IPA, and drove home to take a hot shower.

My New Bike

Cervelo P2C Ultegra

Coming soon: Dura Ace crank, super fast & fancy race wheels (Zipps or HEDs perhaps?), X-Lab hydration setup behind the saddle...and a name! My baby needs a name! Any suggestions?

See, I had to buy it. It was looking at me longingly in the bike shop:

Ken (best boyfriend ever) wiring up my cadence sensor:

I Heart Sunny Rides

For the first time in what seems like decades, the sun was shining today! Over a dozen people met at the gym for a sunny bike ride. The plan was to do the 2 Bridge Loop (from the club into Vancouver, across I-205Bridge, along Marine Dr in Porltand, back into Vancouver via the I-5 Bridge, and then back to the club), with an option for an extra 10-20 miles out to Vancouver Lake.

I've been fighting either a nasty cold or allergies all week, so it was a miracle that I even got out of bed. I was going for just the 2 Bridge Loop (32-36 miles depending on who's odometer you trust), and thankfully Denise came along and had the exact same thing in mind.

Denise after crossing the I-205 bridge into Portland:

And here are some token shots of K-Dawg:

2008 Beaver Freezer Sprint Tri

This past Saturday I ventured down to Corvallis for the first triathlon of the season, Beaver Freezer. Along with a couple dozen other Headhunters. It was also the very first tri for my friend, Kristin. I think the best part of the day was watching her finish! You can go here for her blog and details of the day. Jeff also has a fun blog. Here is my race report...

Race: 2008 Beaver Freezer Sprint Tri
Date: Saturday, April 5th
Location: Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Distance: 500 yd swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run
Time: 01:29:18 (and a 5k PR!!!!)

Photos here.

Pre-race:

On Friday afternoon I met up at my club, Lacamas Swim & Sport, with all of the other Headhunters silly enough to do a triathlon called Beaver Freezer. As the wind howled and the rain clouds loomed overhead, we loaded up the van and made our way to Corvallis where we were staying for the night. Conversations ranged from socks/no socks in transition to swinger parties to who was going to get a mohawk at the hotel.

Bike trailer on the HH van:

Upon arrival we drove the bike course (paying special attention to pot-holes and gravelly corners...still present from sanding the roads due to snow no doubt). Next was packet pick-up, dinner of pizza and beer, and a mean game of volleyball in the hotel pool. Instead of going to bed since it was already approaching 10pm, we piled into Jon's room for head shaving and huddling on the bed intensely watching "Rock of Love". Finally after getting our transition bags ready and numbering our bike, we all drifted off to sleep. My sleep was restless as I listened to the rain coming down outside, geese fighting over territory, and fretting about getting my first flat tire. That's correct, 1000 miles on the bike and I have yet to get a flat.

The alarms went off across the hotel at 5:30am. We wiped the crusties from our tired eyes, marched down to breakfast, loaded up the van, and drove in silence to the race site at the Oregon State University campus. For some reason, the classic circus tune was going through my head. "Doo doo doodoodoodo doo doo doo doo." Odd, but fitting. And it drove everyone nuts as I walked around muttering it under my breath.

We arrived on campus, set up transition areas, covered everything with towels/plastic bags, and wandered into the pool area. I was separated by everyone from this point and sort of lost, so I just followed the "Pool: -->>" signs. I walked through a door, realized I was in a locker room, looked up to see a bunch of men staring at me, and suddenly felt the blood rushing to my face. At the same moment I heard, "um, maam, this is the men's locker room." Yes, I turned around and left. No, I didn't get any pictures.

Warm Up:

The swim was in an indoor lap pool with 8 lanes; there was a diving pool available for warm-up. The heats were seeded by estimated swim time, with the slower swimmers going first. Most of the Headhunters are decent swimmers, so a lot of us were in the later heats. We sat on the pool deck and cheered other Headhunters on. As it got closer to my wave, I had the most irrational fear that I had forgotten how to swim. So I hopped in the warm-up pool for a few laps to calm my nerves.

Swim:
00:09:14 (pace = 1:51/100 yard)

There were 4 of us in our lane. Three of us were Headhunters; the other one admitted to sandbagging her time and would surely be faster than us. Thankfully she was in Position 1. I was position 3. We were sent off in 5 second intervals. I was given strict instructions not to let Kevin (Position 4) pass me until after 100y because he has a tendancy to go out too fast. He did good pacing himself though and didn't even want to pass in those first two laps. After about 250yd we passed Natalie (Position 2), then Kevin passed me, then the stranger girl passed all of us. However, the three of us did a pretty good job of sticking together and drafting off of each other. The entire time my breathing felt totally under control, my arms weren't burning, and I never felt like I was going too fast. Before I knew it, they signaled that we were on our last length and we were climbing out of the pool headed into T1.

What would I do differently on the swim?:

Maybe go faster on the second half of the swim. However, I was enjoying drafting off of Kevin for those last couple hundred yards. If I had attempted to pass him I probably wouldn't have gone much faster, but I would have expended way more energy.

T1:
00:01:42 -- third fastest in my age group!

I had laid out arm warmers and a long sleeve top in transition just in case I came out of the pool shivering. Outside air temps were pretty dang cold, but I decided to just throw on bike shoes (no socks) and helmet. The ride was only 12 miles, so figured I could just tough it out. As a result, I had a fast T1. The only thing I might do differntly is get new shoes that don't have ratchets. My shoes are smelly anyway and it's to the point where I cringe when I have to put them on my feet.

Bike:
00:44:58 (pace = 16.01 mph)

Since we had driven the course the previous night, I knew what to expect. It doesn't look like much climbing, but there are slow and gradual hills with some false flats. And lots of turns as you make your way out of town. Denise had told us, "if you find yourself going like 12mph here, don't freak out." Going slow wasn't freaking me out, however, I have been stressing about the possibility of my first flat tire. So for the first few miles I was convinced that I was going slow due to a flat. I kept looking down and behind me to check, but I couldn't really see anything. I finally asked Jenn (yet another Headhunter) who passed me, as well as some volunteers, if my rear tire was low. Nope. I was just going slow...

After the final turnaround it was mostly flat and downhill. I picked up a lot of speed here and managed to pass a handful of people. That was a blast, since I'm usually the one getting passed. As we got closer to OSU, I had so slow down quite a bit for the turns again, and also due to more congested traffic.

What would I do differntly on the bike?:

Go harder. Since it was a short distance I should have stayed outside of my comfort zone for longer. I also need to work on the 90-degree turns. On a dare I made "woosh woosh" sounds to simulate race wheels every time I passed/got passed. At least I was having a good time!

T2:
00:01:11 -- fourth fastest in my AG, even with all the nonsense.

Someone had racked their bike poorly and it had basically fallen over onto my stuff. Their gear was also strewn over about three spaces. I had no place to rack my bike and I couldn't even get to my running shoes. I always take care to keep my transition area neat and out of other people's way, so I don't have a lot of patience when others don't do the same. Really, you can have a fast transition and still not make a big mess out of other people's spaces. I threw the bike out of my way and went on with my business.

I really wish I could do a super cool flying dismount, but I'm scared to even practice it, let alone do it in a race situation. Maybe someday...

Run:
00:32:13 (pace = 10:23 min/mi) -- 5k PR!!!

I had heard about this one "hill" on the course that gives people issues, so I was concerned about being able to run the entire course. I was also curious to see how my injured (but getting better) knee would perform. I didn't care how fast my run was, I just didn't want to have to walk.

Coming out of T2 my legs had the usual rubbery feeling, but I felt much better than I have in the past. The hill appeared about 3/4 through the loop and ended up being basically a hump in the road. I am lucky enough to live/train in an area with A LOT of hills, so pretty much anywhere else seems flat in comparison.

My first lap was WAY too fast. I have yet to run less than a 10 minute mile on a TRACK, let alone a rolling course after swimming and biking. My first mile on this course was right around 9:45. I sort of scratched my head and tried to figure out if I had read my watch incorrectly. I felt solid, so just kept pushing.

Lap 2 was a little harder and I had to work to control my breathing, especially after the "hill". I focused on getting deep breaths and keeping my body loose. I also concentrated on my gait and keeping my feet lined up properly. This seemed to help, since I finished lap 2 with a 10:30ish pace and my knee still felt strong.

Lap 3 was a little tougher since I was still running faster than I normally do, but I was happy to almost be finished. And my knee still didn't hurt!!! I came into the finish chute with a sprint. A REAL sprint this time. Felt great.

I glanced down at my watch and realized that I had beat my goal time by over 5 minutes. No one could have wiped that grin off my face if they tried.

Warm Down:

I walked over to the drink coolers and crossed my fingers that the unmarked container was water and not Heed. It came out clear so I was hopefull. I took a big chug and OH MY GOD, BLEH, GAG, YUCK, YUCK, YUCK. It was warm, gross Heed and tasted like someone had spit their mucousy grossness into my mouth. Thankfully a Headhunter (Terry) had a bottle of water with her and happily gave me the rest.

Kristin was still out there and I really wanted to watch her finish. But I was cold and my sweatshirt/camera was a few blocks away in transition. I ran over there, grabbed what I needed, and ran back. On the way back I saw her coming around the corner and decided to run her in to the finish. When she saw me she told me that she still had another loop left. I shrugged and started trotting next to her for that last mile. I veered off before the finish line so that I could watch her cross.

Event Comments:

For a small event, the OSU Triathlon Club does a fantastic job putting it on. It was well organized (with the exception of the pool signs leading me into the wrong locker room). There were TONS of volunteers at each turn on the bike course. Lots of cheering students along the run course. And plenty of raffle prizes and winners awards. This is surely going to be my favorite way to kick off tri season in future years!!