"If you never try
you can never succeed. If you try and do the best you can, you will never
fail." –Jim Rodgers
In my attempt to gradually work up to the bigger races, both
in popularity and distance, I decided to start off my second official triathlon
season with a bang. Prior to this, I had
only done local races in Georgia
that were about half this size. Last
year I participated in
Tri the Parks Race Series--2 sprints, 1 aquabike, and my
first Olympic, and I had a really great
experience. I’ve heard many many good
things about Rev3 races and thought “Why not?”.
I read through the course description and it sounded
doable: Swim 0.9 miles in a river (ok, I
can do that), bike a hilly 25 mile course (Sure, I can do that), and run a
relatively flat 10k course (niiiice, yes, please). I even convinced my good friend/training
buddy/teammate Kimberly to sign up with me!
Getting there and
pre-race events:
The race was on Sunday and we drove up Saturday, getting
there a little before noon to do race check-in, bike check-in, and a practice
swim session in the river. On the way
down to the swim we passed Matty Reed and were star struck. I smiled big and said “HI!” in a much higher
pitch than my normal voice, and he gave a head nod. We ran into him again later and got a picture.
The swim practice was where we would be exiting the swim
during the race. We donned our wetsuits
and hopped in—Holy Moly it was cold…66 degrees to be exact! We swam up river for a bit and the current
wasn’t strong at all. Getting out of the
river required us to hoist ourselves up out of the water like you do when
exiting the pool (only in deep water).
When I realized this, I started to get a little nervous, wondering if I
would be able to do it during the race or if a volunteer would have to help me,
and if the volunteer could hold my weight, etc.
You know, all the typical fears a ‘woman of substance’ (not skinny) has
running through her head. Luckily at
the practice I was able to get out on my own—not so graceful—but I found a
technique that worked. You know how
penguins shoot out of the water and slide on their belly? Yeah, well that was my approach, except in
slow motion and *slightly* bigger than a penguin ;)
With check-in and swim practice out of the way, we hung
around the expo a bit and then grabbed dinner.
Pre-race jitters were starting to set in and I had a hard time settling
down to go to sleep. I fell asleep
around 10 and woke up at 4:00 a.m. to start the day!
Race day!
Walking into transition that morning was intimidating,
exciting and nerve-wracking! First off,
you walk by all the pro bikes, then enter the big transition area and it all sets
in that you are really doing this.
Transition was set up in a parking deck, which was nice because our
bikes stayed dry and it was well lit.
They didn’t have the typical metal bike rack, but rather wooden boxes
with thin spaces for your rear tire to sit in.
Everyone had their assigned spot and designated space and this allowed
for bikes to be crammed together in a much more organized way. I was on the last row, which was also near
the bike in and out, so I was able to find my area easily (sigh of relief!).
The pro race started at 7:00 a.m. followed by the Half Ironman
distance race at 7:30 and the Olympic Distance at 8:00. Transition closed at 7:00 and we began our
barefoot walk down to the start a little before then so we could watch some of the
pro race.
SWIM:
After watching all of the other waves start, it was our turn
to hop in the cold river. Some people
were sitting on the deck and sliding in, but I just jumped in—going under
completely and getting over the initial shock of it all. I was awake and alive and ready to get this
race started!
I started near the back of the pack and tried to stay out of
the washing machine of flailing arms and power kicks. Thankfully I did manage to avoid getting hit
or kicked and after about 10 strokes with my head up, I put my face down and
got into an actual rhythm. Little by
little I started passing people. The sun
was directly in our eyes before the turn around buoy and it was very difficult
to see. I also sighted a lot more than I
usually would throughout the swim because people would suddenly stop and rest
and I didn’t want to run into them.
It is so bizarre for me to say this…but I actually found
myself enjoying the swim! I was never
much of a swimmer until I began triathlon 2 years ago, and I still need to
improve more, but I have come a long way.
Also shocking was the fact that I was wearing a wetsuit and didn’t mind
it so much. My only other experience
racing in a wetsuit was horrible and involved a minor panic attack. Because of that, I made sure to get out and
practice open water swims in the weeks leading up to the race, and it
apparently helped me a lot! I think
that I also was more grateful for the wetsuit because of how freezing cold the
water was, and it forced me to finally embrace our friendship.
Some people get a song stuck in their head for the entirety
of a race, but one thing about me is that I carry on a dialogue in my head
during races…it’s just what I do, I talk to myself (silently). At one point in the swim I said to
myself: “Heyyyy, look at you! You’re swimming in a wetsuit and you’re not
panicking!” My negative self then chimed
in “What? Did you say the word panic? Oh no, maybe I should be panicking!” But I quickly shut up Ms. Negative and
continued with “No, no, not you…you don’t do that any more. Look at you, you’re fine. And you’re swimming in a RIVER…a beautiful
scenic river! Who gets to do that? YOU do!
You are doing this and you’re enjoying it!”
Maybe carrying on a dialogue in my head is a sign of
insanity, but isn’t doing triathlon also a sign of the same?
I needed that dialogue to keep my outlook positive because the
swim seemed like it was taking a LONG time.
Near the end someone came up from behind and started brushing along my
side and leg with her arm. The first
time I let it slide, but the second time my reaction was to give her a frog
kick…oops, I hope I didn’t hurt her because she really dropped off. Shortly after that my calf muscles began
cramping up—big time Charlie horses. I tried
my best to kick them out, and soon enough I was approaching the exit deck and visualizing
my penguin plan. Volunteers were
standing around in case we needed help, but I put on my determined face (tongue
out, eyes crossed) and lifted myself out onto my belly. I believe I let out a laugh because I knew I
must look ridiculous, but I quickly stood up and was on my way! T1 here I come!
This is how the pros do it!
BIKE:
“Join us on a dynamic bike ride which begins adjacent to
Neyland Stadium. Athletes will make their way through downtown Knoxville as they journey out onto the rural country roads
of Knoxville.
Enjoy challenging ascents, rapid descents and picturesque scenery before making
your way back in to town.”
Perhaps I should have asked what their definition of
“dynamic” was in advance. I knew that
the course was going to be hilly, I mean check out the elevation chart
below. I just didn’t quite understand
HOW hilly. I also wasn’t sure what the
rectangle shaded in grey meant…until I was at that exact same spot on my bike
and found my legs quivering.
I never dismount mid-climb (except once on a big hill at Stone Mountain that I wasn’t prepared for), but this one
kicked my butt! Half way up, I saw 2
guys who had gotten off their bikes and started walking, I tried to hang on as
long as possible, but once my legs were shaking and I felt like I was going to
tip over, I clipped out and began the long walk to the top. I felt like I was seconds away from bonking
so took the opportunity to suck down a honey stinger gel and drink some of my
HEED mix. I immediately started to feel
a little better and when I got back on the bike my legs felt good after
stretching out with the walk.
The rest of the bike ride was much more enjoyable. I zoomed on the downhills and caught up to
some of the people who passed me on the hard climb and then made a bike buddy,
Laura. We passed each other back and
forth and had an ongoing conversation.
She nicknamed me Downhill Elizabeth (hopefully because of my downhill
speed and not because I make everything goes to sh** when I’m around :P) and we
encouraged each other on the second big climb.
That climb was long and winding through a tree-lined road, and I was
surprised that I actually enjoyed it!
There is something priceless about the feeling you have after conquering
a long climb—it’s just really rewarding!
And having others around encouraging you along was an added bonus!
The course was beautiful and scenic; I have to hand it to
them for choosing a great race spot.
Some areas of the roads were pretty bad and bumpy, but for the most part
the Rev3 reps had gone out and marked hazardous potholes and bumps. The only
complaint I really have is that there were no mile markers, and since I don’t
have a Garmin I was pretty much clueless as to how far along I was on the
course. All I could do was just keep
riding and pushing myself.
(I normally would put a picture of me on the bike here, but there's no way
I'm sharing those photos ;) So here's a pic of the pro bikes.
Check out how high up Matty Reed's bike saddle has to be since he's so tall!)
We finally rode into the downtown area, meaning that there
were just a few miles left, and BAM another steep gear grinder. It was short at least, but man, on already
tired legs it took all I had to get to the top. I seriously was saying
“circles, circles, smooth circles” to myself, trying to concentrate on using
all my leg muscles. I still haven’t
learned how to do the standing hill climbs…one more thing to add to my
list!
Bike Buddy Laura and I stuck together to the end of the
bike, both dismounted without any problems and headed to T2.
RUN:
Laura and I headed out on the run together, and we were in
sync…until I had to drop back and walk after only less than a mile
running. I tried to push through but
something was up and I wasn’t feeling right.
I usually experience some signs of overheating and dehydration near the
end of the run portion, but it was all happening so soon! I got chills and goosebumps despite the fact
that I was burning up and the sun was HOT. My stomach was also not feeling so
great and I had some cramps going on. At
the first aid station I asked for ice and stuffed some under my hat and down my
bra. It was just what I needed. I walked about a mile just trying to cool
down and get the weirdness under control.
I passed Kimberly (my training buddy) around mile 2 and she was on the home stretch. She finished about 35 minutes before me—Yay
Kimberly!!
At that point the course had turned into a nice path through
some shaded areas and was flat, so I started run/walking. I would run until the chills came back, then
walk a bit. During the month prior to
the race I also had been experiencing a flare up of hip/glute/IT Band pain that
I unfortunately was not able to get under control in time for the race. Even the Active Release I had done Saturday
didn’t help, so with each step there was a sharp pain in my hip. I honestly was prepared to run through the
hip pain, but the chills and symptoms of heat exhaustion scared me and I wanted
to be wise about how much I pushed.
And then just as I
was debating how much I should push myself, I made a run buddy. At the turn around point I met Kathryn. She is a Team in Training member and told me
“Let’s run the rest of the way! What do
you say?” and I agreed. After a little bit we amended it to “Let’s
walk through the aid stations, but run the rest of the way.” We did pretty well until we hit the long hill
with a little less than 2 miles left to go.
I ran up as much as possible, walked a little, but kept moving as fast
as I could.
Something Kathryn said really hit home with me. I was telling her how I was hoping to be able
to run the whole course and was disappointed in how my body was feeling and she
said “But you know what? You’re doing it and only 1% of the population
does this…. “ Dang, Kathryn, you’re so
right. I think that was just her nice
way of saying “suck it up, be proud of yourself for even being out here and
just keep moving!!!”.
And I did keep moving up the last long hill. I ran some and walked some, then when it
finally flattened out for the finish I started running with whatever energy I
had left and flashed a double thumbs up for the cameras!
Side note: That's NOT my time since we started
over an hour after the clock started ;)
I was so overcome with a mixture of relief, joy, pain,
feeling sick and disappointed with myself, that I actually started to cry. I had been holding back tears from the very
beginning of the run and now that it was over and I finished I just had to let
them go. It was hands down the most
physically challenging thing I have ever done in my life. The initial feelings of disappointment
quickly turned to pride as I sat and watched others cross the finish line. I had finished this race and conquered this
challenging course. What an honor and
privilege to be able to race!
"In the beginning
it’s hard to understand that the race is not against others, but against that
little voice in your head that tells you when to quit." –Charles Brenke
Total Race Time:
3:44:46
Swim (0.9 miles): 33:42
Bike (25 miles): 1:41:42
Run (10K): 1:19:48
T1: 6:19 --It was a long jog/walk to the transition
area, then walked bike out due to slick concrete and bike cleats not going well
together :P
T2: 3:14 –running in
my bike shoes on slick concrete turned into a walk
