Race Report--Richard B. Russell Park Olympic Triathlon--August 13, 2011

 My First Olympic Distance Triathlon :)

Start time: 7:30 a.m.
Weather:  Overcast with a breeze (Thank God!), but still hot and humid
Swim: 1500 meters (1650 yds, 0.9 miles)
Bike:   22 miles
Run:   10K (6.2 miles)


Getting there and set-up:

The race location was 2.5 hours away, so we decided to drive up Friday afternoon and stay the night in a nearby hotel.  We also went ahead and scoped out the course and picked up our race packets Friday evening.  This was the best decision by far and made for a much more relaxing race morning without having to worry about finding our way there in time. 

When we arrived race morning, it was about 5:30 and of course completely dark.  Thankfully I had a little flashlight attached to my key-chain that greatly helped me out while setting up my transition area.  Everything was good, and I had time to walk through the ins and outs of transition and enough time to do a little stretching and warm up swim. 

Pre-race in transition area

The Swim: 

The swim was a 750 meter triangle that we did twice.  After the first half, we got out of the lake, ran a little around some cones, then jumped back in for round 2.  There were a total of 4 swim waves that started within 3 minutes of each other, and I was in wave 3 (the pink caps).  The guys were in the first 2 waves as usual.  

As the start of the race was approaching, it was all so surreal to me.  I was in a happy/nervous/excited/slightly worried daze.  I forced myself to snap out of it to focus on my swim plan briefly...that being to hang back a few seconds and let the crazy flailing of arms and kicking legs get out of my way.  This plan seemed to work well in my last sprint tri, so I thought I would give it a shot here.  

    3...2...1...go!

We were off and I soon realized the problem with my swim plan: I didn't account for the possibility of really slow people being in my way within the first 4 strokes.  Because you can't see very well in the lake water, I sighted a lot during the beginning of the swim so that I could maneuver around people and find an open space.  Some people were veering too far to the right of the buoy, and sighting was essential to ensure I was heading in the right direction.  Throughout the first half, I continued to maneuver around other swimmers and soon began catching up to a few of the male stragglers. 

I got into a nice pace and seemed to be cruising along just fine, then my hands would hit some feet in front of me and I'd need to maneuver around them.  Occasionally someone swimming next to me would suddenly decide to veer in my direction and we would rub shoulders.  At one point someone smacked the back of my head with their hand and it jostled my goggles a little.  They stayed on, but started leaking a tad in my left eye.  I was approaching the shore to start round 2, so I just kept swimming and then adjusted them while I ran around the cones.

The second half of the swim was a lot faster and more enjoyable.  Before I knew it, I was getting out of the water and running uphill towards transition.  It was a bit of a run from the swim to transition, and I was worried about running barefoot on pavement since my foot is only recently healed.  Because of that, I made the decision to take it a little slower.  Unfortunately the time it took to run from the beach into the transition area counted towards our overall swim time.  I really wish I knew what just my swim time was :(

 Running to transition--still smiling!

The Bike:

Once I made it to my transition area, I took a few deep breaths as I dried off my feet and put on my helmet.  I put on my socks and cycling shoes, grabbed my bike and was on the way.  I had to run to the complete opposite end of transition for the bike out and it was pretty congested in those aisles.  Also, the asphalt we were running on was super smooth and my cleats were slipping.  I think I was murmuring "baby steps, baby steps, baby steps" to myself :P  But I made it, clipped in without a problem and was heading out for a 22 mile ride :) 

The course I guess would be described as rolling hills, with one pretty tough hill after the first few miles.  I have GOT to keep working on my climbing skills.  If I tucked myself just right I could pass people on the downhills, but they would, in turn, pass me on the climbs. 

I passed some people, some people passed me, and there were times when I felt all alone having no clue how I was doing.  I made every effort to stay positive throughout this race and encourage others along the way as well.  People were encouraging me too as they passed, and it really lifted my spirit :)  People throughout the race (volunteers, spectators, and participants) were all so nice and positive that I think it was the best race experience I've had to date! 

Before I knew it the bike was over--still smiling!

The Run:

I should mention that after dismounting the bike, it was quite a run to the transition area (on the slick asphalt I mentioned earlier).  My cleats were again slipping and my tired, shaky legs weren't so stable.  A spectator was watching me and told me he saw some people stopping to take off their shoes.  That sounded like a good idea to me, so that's what I did.  However, then I was running with my bike and my shoes in my hands and was really clumsy dropping things along the way...ridiculous!  I wasn't smiling so much at this point...but took some deep breaths and told myself  "It's ok, you just have to run! Now Go!".  I grabbed my run stuff and was off!

The run was a 5k loop that we did twice.  The first half mile was a trail run UPHILL...I was warned about this hill so it didn't discourage me too much.  We had received an email prior to the race that stated the run course was mostly "fast and flat", so I was under the [false] assumption that this hill was possibly the only hill that we would do twice.  Maybe for SOME people the course WAS 'fast and flat'...but I actually considered it hilly :)

I plugged along trying to remain positive.  Once I got out on the road I started seeing familiar faces coming the opposite direction, and it was good to see some friendly smiles and hear encouraging words again.  I knew I was running slow, and I also was alternating run/walking.  "It's alright, just keep going, just keep going!".  Around mile 3 I noticed a familiar pain of blisters developing under the arches of both my feet.  My socks had been wet since I first put them on for the bike--Lesson learned: ride the bike sockless AND put tri-glide on my feet!  I also began to feel the sting and burn of chafing under my arms.  I put on tri-glide before the race to prevent this from happening, but apparently it wore off by the time I started running.  Lesson 2 learned: REAPPLY TRI-GLIDE!!!  I recognized that this was uncomfortable pain, but also recognized that it was minor and something I could totally push through.  And so I began reciting the famous Monty Python line: "It's just a flesh wound!  Come back here, I'll bite your legs off!".

Slowly, but surely I was on the home stretch!
 

I have to mention, again, that people were so encouraging throughout this race.  The volunteers were super supportive and all smiles.  It was truly a great experience.  :)

My training buddy and I were both sporting the Ironheart Racing Team tri top and a few other teammates happened to be there racing as well.  They weren't wearing our team tops, but came over and introduced themselves.  It was great to have more Ironheart support around!

We also met up with Swim Bike Mom and Swim Bike Dad.  I'm a huge fan of their blogs, and it was great to race with them!

Us with Swim Bike Mom :)  Great Race Ladies!!!

What the Brick?!

This past Thursday was brick day at Stone Mountain.  Due to traffic, the car ride over took longer than expected, and we were racing daylight.  We decided to do 3 loops around the mountain (about 15 miles), then run about 2.5 miles. We were originally gonna shoot for a 5k, but it was too dark and we had a friend waiting and watching our bikes (THANK YOU!)  :) 

Chuck Norris' forecast that I mentioned in my last post definitely came true.  Just to refresh your memory:

It really WAS cloudy!  The cloud coverage and rain earlier in the day made the temperature much more bearable.  Of course, being the hilly course that it is, there was pain involved as well...but it was a GOOD kind of pain--the kind that let's you know you are pushing yourself and it is rewarding (or so I tell myself over and over :P) 

The bike was good overall.  I know I still need to improve my climbing skills and strengthen my legs more, but that will come in time.   I came upon 2 older guys on road bikes who I paced with for a bit.  I passed them a few times on the downhill and flats, but they would pass me on the climbs...a reminder that I HAVE to keep working on getting stronger!  It was getting dark on my last loop around the mountain, and I was startled to see a deer run across the road in front of me!  Thankfully there was enough distance between us for me to slow down and look around for other 'family members' who may decide to cross. 

After making it back to the car safely, I racked my bike and transitioned to the run.  Despite all the hills on the bike, it didn't feel that bad when I started out running. Within 5 minutes though, and in the middle of a hill, my legs were beginning to complain.  Also, since I wasn't running with my mp3 player I was very much aware of every sound, including my awkwardly heavy breathing which even had ME questioning my own wellness, "OMG, am I okay?  Why am I breathing so heavy? what's going on? oh yeah...I'm in the middle of a brick session...it IS okay!".  But I did it! Mission accomplished!   :)

Saturday, training buddy and I woke up dark and early and were on our bikes by 7:15 a.m. riding 40 miles on the Silver Comet.  Throughout the ride it seemed really windy...as if I were going slightly uphill.  At one point I turned and asked "Is it just me, or is it windy??".  I wasn't alone in the feeling...phew.  But there was only one curious thing about this issue of it being windy...no trees or grass, or anything was moving!!!  When we came to a stop it was completely still, but as soon as we started riding it felt so incredibly windy that it was hard to hear.  We came to 3 conclusions:
1) The Silver Comet Trail is some kind of wind tunnel
2) We were actually going soooo fast that we were creating the wind ourselves
3) We had a special patch of wind following just the two of us around like a rain cloud

It felt windy going in both directions, but we actually finished the 40 miles in 2:25 (faster than my previous 40).  I'm curious to know if anyone else thinks the Silver Comet feels 'windy' despite the stillness of the trees.  The mystery of the Silver Comet Trail wind continues...dun dun dunnnnnn.

That's it for this past week's update!  The Olympic race is in less than a week and I'm currently traveling for work...this makes me slightly anxious as I'm having to try extra hard to get in my training sessions and keep eating healthy.  But I'll do it! 

 If I ever complete an Ironman, I am absolutely buying this shirt!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Training through a heat wave....

It's August...in Atlanta...and it's HOT!  It's so hot you could cook an egg on the brick outside my house...no, no, I take that back...it's SO HOT you could cook an egg on my forehead after I do a brick!  For those of you who don't know triathlon lingo, a brick is a back-to-back training session in at least 2 of the 3 sports.  It gets it's name from how your legs feel when you get off the bike and start to run...heavy like bricks. 

As if training for this sport wasn't challenging enough, trying to do it in this weather adds another degree of difficulty.  There's a lot more to think about considering hydration and proper fueling when you sweat buckets like I do in this heat!  With a race looming around the corner, I am trying to get outside as much as possible to train so that I can at least attempt to acclimate to this weather before participating in my biggest race ever!

 Well, I'm no Chuck Norris, but here's somethin to work towards!

Last week was my first full week of swim, bike AND RUN training sessions since the stress fracture.  I'm happy to report... so far, so good!  Starting up running again wasn't as horrible as I was predicting, but I am taking it slow and being very aware of running form and how my body is feeling.   As usual, my lower back and hip get a little messed up whenever I run, but I am just making sure to visit the chiropractor once or twice a week so things get put back in place :) 

My training buddy and I were given a little tip that the olympic distance race course starts with a big hill and then is followed by rolling hills.  Hearing this and realizing I had only been riding on low resistance and flats while recovering my foot, made me instantly plan a ride out at Stone Mountain.  So last Saturday we hit the mountain loop 5 times (almost 25 miles).  Some of the climbs on this route are really fun and easy, while others are gradual inclines that seem to take a while to climb while burning your legs even in the easiest of gears.  After the third loop, I was drenched in sweat and starting to feel some chills, so I stopped to take a little 5 minute breather.  I hydrated, ate a honey gel packet and started to feel much better within minutes.  At times like those it is so easy to let negative thoughts creep in and start to think of calling it a day and heading home.  But I got back on that bike and did 2 more loops!  Woohoo!  

Thursday training buddy and I are planning a brick at Stone Mountain.  Let's see what the forecast is looking like:

Yup, just as I suspected...