- Listen to your coach and good things happen
- No alcohol two days before a race = no GI problems
- All that MAF running has paid off
- The power meter on my bike was a good investment.
Saturday, June 8: Blue Lake sprint tri
For my first race of 2013, I wanted something that was short in distance that allowed me to open it up a bit. Blue Lake, in Fairview, Ore., is perfect for that. Warm water. Pencil flat bike and mostly flat run. The goal for this one was to race it - all out. My previous best time for a sprint was 1:53, so I set 1:45 as my unofficial goal time (hoping to finish below that).
I spent the night before the race at the home of good friends, Ron and Susie, in Hood River. It's a beautiful spot, right on the Columbia River and features one of my favorite Oregon spots - the Full Sail Brewery.
A first in a series of firsts that weekend - I never set foot in the place.
I was plagued with GI problems in the 2012 season. It was determined that dehydration and a shortage of sodium were to blame. In the offseason, I switched to Skratch lab products for my hydration (it is very high in sodium) and stopped eating anything with more than 3g of fiber during workouts. But more importantly, Coach Cody laid down the edict - no alcohol two days before any race. As much as I love beer, abstinence seemed like a fair trade for multiple stops in the Port-a-Potty on race day. Alone in the Hood River house, I ate a good dinner, drank 64 ounces of Power-Aid Zero and water and turned in early.
After a so-so night of sleep, I got up around 4:30 and had my usual breakfast - coffee, oatmeal with chia seeds, almond milk and blueberries. I set up my race gear the night before, so all was ready to roll. I hit the road for the 50 minute drive to Fairview around 5:40, drinking water and Nuun during the drive. Race start was slated for 7:30, with my swim wave going at around 8:20. I wanted to get there early to get my transition area set up, but also so I could be sure to get in a warm-up swim. This was key since this would mark my first open water swim of the season.
It's a good thing I did leave early since there was a huge back-up to get into Blue Lake park (there were close to 800 participants for the sprint and My First Tri that day). After getting body marked and urinating for the first of 4 pre-race pees (did I mention I was working on hydration?), I squeezed into my wetsuit and headed for the lake to warm-up. I dipped my toe into the lake expecting chills. Instead, I thought I'd mistaken the lake for a sauna. It was a toasty 72 degrees. Nice!! The warm-up allowed me to loosen the wetsuit and give myself plenty of room in the shoulders. I was ready to go, but had to wait almost an hour since the race start was delayed because of the traffic jam getting into the park. All that was left to do was relax, picture myself moving through each segment of the race, remembering to worry only about what I was doing at that very moment, not thinking ahead to the next leg. And peeing. With about 20 minutes to go before my wave, I ate a banana to pre-load some calories.
As I entered the water to await my wave start, I turned on the Multisport setting on my Garmin, seeded myself on the left, toward the back, and waited. I've done a ton of work on my swim during the offseason and knew I was faster, but didn't really know how that would translate in open water. I was shooting to do the half-mile swim in 16-17 minutes, but mostly I wanted to keep my elbow high and sight as straight as possible. I remained in the main pack of my age group throughout, felt relaxed and strong and exited in 18:58. Not as fast as I'd hoped but, staying in the moment, my next goal was to clear T1 quickly, not my usual 8-10 minutes, which is death in a short race. While struggling to get my wetsuit off as I ran to my bike, I inadvertently hit the stop button on my Garmin, which I didn't discover until I went to hit the lap button to start my bike time. Note to self - take Garmin off before trying to pull off my arms on wetsuit. And don't get hung up on gadgets. Not exactly blazing, but I got out of T1 in 4:39.
The goal for the bike was to just hammer it. It's flat and was wind-free that morning, so I just went for it, knowing I only had to run three miles when I was done. My power output was at 177 - just above my threshold, and I pretty much held it. I averaged 17 mph - another first!! - for 12 miles and came in at 43:38, another first!
Now, to clear T2 in under a minute. I put my race belt on before starting the bike and thanks to quick laces on my shoes, it was a fast shoe change, putting on my visor and out I went - 1:59!
For the run, I wanted to stay as close to my t-pace, 10:18, as possible. Well, that didn't happen (more like 11:00), but I felt like I had fire in my legs. I focused on making sure my foot strike was mid-foot and my leg turnover was quick. I was running pretty much all the way with the same woman - who was a year younger than me. She would slow down, I would fast her, then she would speed up and pass me. And so it went for 2.5 miles, until I saw Chris and Dena on the road, cheering for me, just before I headed into the park for the final sprint. She passed me one last time as I smiled and waved to my friends.
But once we got down the hill in the park, and was running along the lakefront, I blew past her and never let her catch me again. In fact, I sprinted across the finish line, just missing a pass of another runner at the end. 33:17 (another first!) to finish in 1:42:32 to set a PR.
Lesson from the race: Stay in the moment. Forget about the gadgets. Check yourself constantly and remember - still no beer until after Sunday's relay.
Sunday, June 9: Blue Lake Olympic relay
On Sunday, I teamed with Dena Singleton to form the relay team of Double D Tri Machine for the Olympic race. I did the swimming and running and Dena was our cyclist. My goal was to do the mile-long swim as comfortably, straight and quickly as possible, otherwise, Coach Cody wanted me to negative split the 10K run.
Fortunately, the swim wave for the relay was pretty early so I didn't have to wait around more than an hour to get started. I seeded myself again to the left and mid-pack but felt very sluggish at the start. It's always somewhere around 300-400 meters when I ask myself why I keep signing up for these long swims -- and I like to swim! -- but it always passes, usually as I find my rhythm. This year was a big departure from previous seasons -- I am swimming continuously. No breast stroking. No breaks at the buoys, I just keep going. I attribute that to the many offseason swims of 4000-plus yards. It paid off.
I did a good rob of signing, zig-zagging a bit around the 300-400 meter mark (hmmmm) but pretty straight and right on. Turns out, I finished the swim 2 minutes faster than last year -- 36:45!
After a very quick transition, Dena headed out on the bike and I made a bee-line for the Port-a-potty to change closes. It was a very cool, gray morning and the thought of standing around in wet clothes was not appealing. After my costume change (to last year's uniform), I kept hydrated and had a Stinger waffle, and waited. I had to make a few trips to the Honey Bucket to pee (good sign of good hydration), trying to time it so that I would be back before Dena came in. Fail! She came in during my last trip and was waiting for me! Good news, she wasn't waiting long because our T2 time was 1:32.
My legs felt great -- plenty of fire and no aches and pains. I wanted to pace myself at the start so I could be sure to negative split the last 5K. I walked the water stations but I kept my self in check -- relaxed hands and shoulders, full-foot strike, steady, quick turnover. At the turnaround, I started to push the pace (10:30) and marveled at how steady my GI tract felt. The run seemed to go by easily. I ended up at 1:10 on my run, but realized at the finish I could have gone faster. It was a good day.
Total time -- 3:29:31, giving us 1st place in our age group (OK, it was a group of 1, but that's beside the point).
All in all, it was a great start to the season.
Sunday, June 9: Blue Lake Olympic relay
On Sunday, I teamed with Dena Singleton to form the relay team of Double D Tri Machine for the Olympic race. I did the swimming and running and Dena was our cyclist. My goal was to do the mile-long swim as comfortably, straight and quickly as possible, otherwise, Coach Cody wanted me to negative split the 10K run.
Fortunately, the swim wave for the relay was pretty early so I didn't have to wait around more than an hour to get started. I seeded myself again to the left and mid-pack but felt very sluggish at the start. It's always somewhere around 300-400 meters when I ask myself why I keep signing up for these long swims -- and I like to swim! -- but it always passes, usually as I find my rhythm. This year was a big departure from previous seasons -- I am swimming continuously. No breast stroking. No breaks at the buoys, I just keep going. I attribute that to the many offseason swims of 4000-plus yards. It paid off.
I did a good rob of signing, zig-zagging a bit around the 300-400 meter mark (hmmmm) but pretty straight and right on. Turns out, I finished the swim 2 minutes faster than last year -- 36:45!
After a very quick transition, Dena headed out on the bike and I made a bee-line for the Port-a-potty to change closes. It was a very cool, gray morning and the thought of standing around in wet clothes was not appealing. After my costume change (to last year's uniform), I kept hydrated and had a Stinger waffle, and waited. I had to make a few trips to the Honey Bucket to pee (good sign of good hydration), trying to time it so that I would be back before Dena came in. Fail! She came in during my last trip and was waiting for me! Good news, she wasn't waiting long because our T2 time was 1:32.
My legs felt great -- plenty of fire and no aches and pains. I wanted to pace myself at the start so I could be sure to negative split the last 5K. I walked the water stations but I kept my self in check -- relaxed hands and shoulders, full-foot strike, steady, quick turnover. At the turnaround, I started to push the pace (10:30) and marveled at how steady my GI tract felt. The run seemed to go by easily. I ended up at 1:10 on my run, but realized at the finish I could have gone faster. It was a good day.
Total time -- 3:29:31, giving us 1st place in our age group (OK, it was a group of 1, but that's beside the point).
All in all, it was a great start to the season.
