Columbia Triathlon – Race Report
Posted by Admin on May 18, 2009 in Training
Before I finally got into bed Saturday night at Marty’s house in Bethesda, Maryland, I stood in his screened-in patio looking the rain hitting his pool cover and wondered what was in store for me/us on Sunday morning. Is it going to be a day of suffering, will I actually be able to have fun out there, will any of us get hurt? The gang had been talking a fair amount of smack to one another which, although playful, definitely sunk into my mind as I laid in bed. Sure, we’re all in this for our own personal benefits, but beating a friend is a fringe benefit. To have lost to Fernando by a mere 20 seconds at St. Anthony’s three weeks ago never really wore heavily on me because I raced well and felt like I put together an effective and fast race strategy. The smack talk… that’s the part that sucked!
Uncharacteristically, I didn’t fall asleep within the normal 25 seconds of the head hitting the pillow. I don’t normally carry stress with me in my life’s travels and I don’t think that was the case Saturday night. Eventually, I fell asleep around midnight and woke up several times in advance of the 4:45 alarm. Once up, I was a ball of energy. I didn’t yawn in the car on the way to the race, nor did I feel sluggish, particularly hungry, etc. All signs pointed to being alert and ready to go. I wondered, just for a moment, how I’d fare at day’s end following the race, the drive back to NYC, football playoffs, and a few post-game beers. But, for the time at hand, I was revved up.
It rained fairly heavily throughout the night, or so it seemed. When we arrived however, the rain had stopped but everything was still very wet. There were some muddy areas but overall, the transition area seemed well-situated. In the interest of brevity (as best I can; if folks didn’t know it, I can be a little wordy!), here are some quick comments on the rest of the race:
– Fern checked my bike into transition the night before, I so brought my bike pump to make sure the tire pressure was right. I inadvertently pulled out the valve from the tire and the tire deflated rapidly. Instant panic. I thought, “That’s it; race is over before it started. Why didn’t I bring down a spare wheel set?!” But, I remained relaxed, jimmied the valve back into place, pumped in air, and dodged the first bullet of the day.
– Timing got a little funky when I had an inkling to make one final adjustment to my transition area after having already left things in place. By the time I got out of the transition area and began walking down to the swim start, I was pressed for time. When I finally got into the water, it was with 3 minutes until our start. That’s WAY too close. Oops.
– Just as I was about to enter, I hear someone in a wetsuit ahead of me call out my name. Turns out it was a classmate from my home town named Joel. First question from him: “You from around here?” My answer and follow-up question: “No, I just like to race. I didn’t know you were into this stuff.” His answer: “Humph, hell yeah!” We wished each other good luck and that’s the last I saw of him. I checked his results afterwards: he did very well but blew it on the run. I know that feeling. This is a very difficult run course as you’ll soon read.
– Water was 70 degrees or so and tasted great. Lake swims are almost always so enjoyable. Some of the guys in my group complained about seaweed, but I had no such issues. As the the starter went off, I charged ahead. That lasted four strokes before my goggles malfunctioned. I tried in vain to get the right seal and it just wouldn’t happen. Finally, after treading water for a good minute, it got them sealed correctly and started the swim. Bullet number two dodged.
– Finding a rhythm in the beginning was tough and the first set of buoys of our rectangular course weren’t marked well, but once we rounded the first and second corners, the long swim back was well marked and I set forth a strategy to swim hard to every buoy, do a few breast strokes, then get back into a fast freestyle. My time isn’t reflective of the effort and had the goggles not been problematic, I might have come closer to my goal of 30 minutes. Instead, it took me just under 32 minutes.
– At the end of the first transition, I chose to not to do the “flying mount” and to instead put on my socks and shoes next to my bike. It took a little more time than usual, but at least I was more comfortable. I looked for Fern but didn’t see him. It immediately occured to me that he must have had a great swim and was just ahead of me on the bike, or that he would soon appear in transition.
– I got out on the bike and immediately got into an easier-than-normal gear. I had previously studied the topography of the course, so I knew that there were some moderate climbs in the beginning. It wound up being a good strategy and I found myself passing many people. In all, I must have passed 100 or more folks, mostly on climbs or on descents.
– On one particular descent, I was going 40+ mph when it began to drizzle. With no facial protection, it felt like pellets or sleet. I could only look up once every few seconds. It subsided but the roads were super slick. On another descent, I was north of 35 mph but at the bottom, the road bent to the right at 75 degrees or so. With what looked like leaves or some debris in the road in addition to the shiny wetness, I hated having to apply brakes but it was the best decision to, you know, remain upright! On a dry day, would have taken it at full speed. After the race, my bike computer revealed that I had achieved a maximum speed of 45.5 mph during the bike course, so I was very pleased with that.
– With about 7 miles to go on the bike leg, I took a quick assessment of the important elements… leg strength/stamina, cardio condition, nutritional status… and determined that I could put forth one last surge before the very difficult run course. I didn’t blow it out or put in a max effort, but I did reel in a number of folks ahead of me. As I neared the end of the course, I stretched a bit on the pedals and craned my neck at different angles for another stretch.
– I was in and out of Transition 2 fairly quickly, but I felt a little clumsy. Muddy and wet grass made things a little slower for everybody. As I neared the transition exit, I saw Marty’s wife and daughter cheering me on. That felt great!
– This season, my goal has been to begin every run leg at race pace and not at some introductory slow pace from which I could ease into going faster. The beginning of this run was flat and consistent in terms of gradient. I felt good, my pace was on, and I thought that being able to be consistent would eliminate any threat of Fern catching me. This great mindset lasted a whopping total of 4 minutes once I began the first of many steep hill ascents. This first one featured a switchback; I took my time, had good technique, and got over it without a red zone effort. What it did to me, I now realize, is take a lot strength away from me. On the next steep climb, I was a little more hunched over and my foot strike was very heavy. On the third climb, my body screamed at me to walk (or crawl). I considered these progressively slower ascents to be failures and open invitations for Fern to make up a lot of time.
– The thing about these kinds of races is that it makes racers nuts not knowing where the competition is. Fern and I started in the same swim wave, so truly, the first across the finish line wins, but I had no idea where he was on the course. I had to walk twice on the course, both times for about 30 seconds during which I found myself itching with paranoia that the next set of footsteps approaching me from behind were his. That wasn’t the case, but the stress of the potential was annoying.
– My mile 3 and 4 splits were identical… and both slow! But, once I got to the mile 4 marker and passed it, it began to dawn on me that maybe I had a chance. If I could make it to mile 5 and if Fern were to pass me then, maybe I’d find another gear and stay with him just long enough to have a finish line sprint. I began counting down how many more minutes would be left till the sweet and glorious finish line, but that approach had me looking at my watch every 30 seconds adding even more stress.
– When I passed the mile 5 marker, I grew more and more confident… and surprisingly, my legs felt more and more resilient. The mile 5 split was 45 seconds faster than the mile 4 split, and the mile 6 split would wind up being just ten seconds slower than my strong first mile!
– Just before that mile 6 marker, the run course featured a long straightaway with a 90 degree turn at the end. When I made that turn, I looked back along that straightaway to scan the long line of runners for a certain dark-skinned, red-shirted friend named Fern but found no one close to his description. Before long, I was in the finishing chute and was all alone. The race announcer called out my name as I neared the final timing mats and I couldn’t help but hold up both arms with clenched fists as I crossed over. I looked around for anyone I might know and found no one, but that had no effect on the BIG smile on my face.
– I kept my watch running to see how long before Fern came in. After a little while, I began to wonder if he had already finished way ahead of me and was mulling about. Finally, a little over eight and a half minutes later he crossed looking forelorn. I made sure to direct him to one of the volunteers handing out finishing medals. That particular volunteer was Chrissie Wellington, the fastest Ironman woman in the world with something like an 8-0 record at the Ironman distance. That honor of having her put his medal on didn’t have a huge effect on him or so it seemed; he looked gaunt and upset.
– Fern said he wanted to quit the swim within 3 minutes of it starting. Call it a panic attack or blame it on being too amped up, but he stated that he would have called one of the kayaks to rescue him had he been close enough. Lucky for him, none of the kayaks were close, so he backstroked for a while and took his long time before calming down enough to truly begin swimming. He was devastated by this experience, but I whole-heartedly believe that he was the ultimate victor on Sunday: to face such dire adversity and to feel so panicked that the only option is to quit… but to continue to fight and eventually persevere and finish… that’s a quality of tenacity that truly admire. Kudos to my great friend.
– This stuff that we do is of our own choosing and is supposed to be a fun, albeit healthy, hobby. However, we can learn great lessons about ourselves through these experiences and though it’s been a while since I’ve felt that same set of despair, and while I do have sympathy for Fern, in a way, I’m glad that he went through this relatively unscathed because it’ll reset things. He will grow from this experience and come to his next race hungry and eager.
Finally, I feel good that I put together an effective race strategy. At no time did I max myself on the bike which in and of itself is a victory in having restraint, a quality that I’ve hard time preserving on the bike in the past. I remarked later that I felt like I had overtrained for this race, but I know that couldn’t be the case. Why then my legs felt so damn heavy is puzzling. I’ll get back to training this week and work hard over the next few weeks, but I’ll be sure to taper properly before the next race so that this doesn’t happen again.
Our gang got some beer and appetizers at a Mexican restaurant afterwards to talk about the day, but I bolted early to get back to NYC for football playoffs. Because of traffic, I didn’t get to the game until 5:15 but luckily for me, they hadn’t started until 5:12. I thought I’d have no legs after the race and the 225 mile drive (with lots of clutch work thanks to traffic!), but my first play in the game was a long sprint. I jogged back to the huddle and neither felt fatigue or any cardio issues. I was totally focused on football but I do remember feeling happy about that!
I had a good day with some good catches including a long bomb reception, but the team lost. We haven’t found glory in a while and it was disappointing to walk way from being so close once again. Fortunately, we all seem to have a good perspective and most joined in for post-game drinks.
When I finally closed my eyes last night, it marked the end of one of my busier weekends. I remember remarking to Elizabeth Saturday morning, “here begins the craziness”, so it felt good to close this latest life chapter successfully. I feel like I am living an exciting and action-packed life and these adventures keep me focused in so many other facets. Too much of any one thing can be bad, so I like having these diverse interests. Dad thinks that I may be sacrificing other things for all these athletic pursuits, but I know my priorities will change once I become a Dad. I know he can’t wait for that day but I wonder if it’s more because he wants to be a Grandpa or the “I told you so!”
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