Falling into Place.....my 2nd Oly Race Report

Race Report-- Camp Pendleton International

Finally. FINALLY! A race I can be proud of, where it all came together (mostly) and my training came through for me. I have to admit, after Iron Girl, I seriously questioned why I wanted to try my hand at an Oly again. That race really sucked the soul out of me....I cannot describe it in appropriate words, but it stripped away some of my love for triathlon and I didn't want that to happen again. But Pendleton was all about revenge on the distance. I was out for blood.

Pre-Race- Woke up insanely early, but was probably the last to hit transition around 6am. I blame it all on my Sherpa husband, who is worse than a woman when it comes to leaving the house on time. Parked my bike in transition right next to Carrie and Ly Ly, then got body marked and mugged for photos. I took my Sportlegs an hour before start time, then headed off to the start with my hubby and all the girls.

The Swim-Wow. It didn't look as long as Iron Girl, but it certainly felt longer! An out and back course, in the saltwater, but with no waves or fear or bizarre ocean creatures. I was in the second to last wave, and waded into the water toward the front. The whole time, we were all saying, "why do we do this? What are we putting ourselves through?" Seriously, it never fails to creep into my head during every single race.

Eventually, the horn blew and we were off. I tried to grab some feet and draft off of some of the faster girls in my heat, but nobody was swimming in a straight line! At one point, this random girl swam horizontal in front of us. It was almost comical, but I was getting annoyed because my plan was to draft.....and it just wasn't working out. I eventually settled into a groove and stayed there for the entire swim. It was pretty boring, to be sure, and the smell of the exhaust from the jetskis all around us was starting to turn my stomach a little bit. Bleh! Finally, I could hear the announcer say "and the first of the blue caps is coming in to the swim finish!" and I was pretty excited, because I was only five minutes or so away from the finish and honestly, I'm quite happy to be 5 minutes behind the swim leaders....


So, out of the water, looked at my watch, and it said 28:16. I felt phenomenal, and I let out a "score!" after I saw my time. HUGE smile across my face. Hubby thought I came out of the water too fast and was afraid I was going to be too tired to finish the rest of the race, but he was dead wrong. I had a comfortable swim and felt fantastic. Iron Girl was not a true swimmer's mile, but this one certainly felt like the real deal. I couldn't wait to get on my bike.




T1: HUGE run to transition. Up the sand to the asphalt, and then a long run into the transition area. I got out of my wetsuit as soon as I hit the asphalt.....I didn't want to try getting out in the sand and becoming a sand donut like Coach last year. I also knew the timing pad was ahead, and I would rather have the wetsuit removal come off of my swim time than be included in my bike time. (No transition times for this race--- the bike leg takes the brunt of the transition) I got back to my rack and noticed that there weren't many bikes out yet. And Coach's bike was still there, too. Woohoo! (Secretly, I wanted to make her sweat a little before I let her beat me...I mean, I did have a 5 minute head start. How embarassing if I lost it in the swim of all places?!) Grabbed my socks and overzealously placed them on my feet......ripping a huge gaping hole into the heel of the right sock. Oops. I just kept going with my low rent ripped sock, and headed out of transition. I saw 33 minutes on my watch at this time, so transition took at least 5 minutes. I could have run through the sand, but in retrospect, there really was no need. It all worked out.



Bike: Ah, the reason why I love triathlon. I love the bike, and this was no exception. From the start, I felt strong and determined to attack the course. I was in the big ring for all but two hills, and really pushed the downhills and flats to make up time. At Iron Girl, I got passed on all the hills, to the point where I was mentally deflated. Today, not a single person passed me going uphill. What a shock! I must admit, that Stuart Mesa hill seems like a little pansy compared to the Santiago Rides I've been doing every week with the girls. And having my hardcore bike training partner's voice in my head, shouting profanity at me while I climb, also seemed to egg me on a little. "You climb like a pussy!" (Yes, she says that.....and yes, it motivates me to try harder!)

I felt like I was flying out there......until I hit the turn around and caught my first glimpse of Coach on my tail. She started 5 minutes behind me in the swim, but there was no way she was more than 2 or 3 minutes behind me on the bike. I freaked out! The fear of her beating me badly on the bike kept me focused and motivated all the way back to transition. Thankfully (or not), I held her off and made it to transition by myself.


Nutrition wise, I only managed to take 2 sips of my gel and a few sips of electrolyte drink.....I craved water and that was all I really took in during the bike....everything else made me feel a little nauseous.

T2: Too many choices here. Do I bring my gel? Is it hot enough for Endurolytes? Should I spray sunscreen all over? Do I take my Arm Coolers? Next time, I'm eliminating the choices. If it's there, I'm wearing it/taking it/eating it. Otherwise, it's not allowed in transition. The Arm Coolers decision probably took a few too many seconds....I opted to forego them this time around, since it was still overcast and I wasn't very hot.

Run: Oh, my not-so-favorite part of triathlon. My nemesis. My limiter. But today, I had a secret weapon.

Lucy.

I have to admit, when I left transition I started to choke back some tears. My legs felt phenomenally strong and I wasn't feeling cardiovascularly challenged...but thinking of Lucy started to upset me......Since crying has resulted in hyperventilation on two occasions with me so far this month during my runs, I decided to save it for later.

The run was a 2-loop course, sort of t-shaped, so that you did a lot of back-tracking and got to see your competition multiple times. My first 5K was awesome. I felt strong, but the whole time there was a stalker behind me, coming up faster and faster. I knew that I would be overtaken eventually, but I just didn't know when...... Right before the turnaround, Coach (aka "marauding water buffalo") made her move, but not before she humiliated me in front of the Ladera Cyclery boys. It's all good, though. I've got a thick skin. Yes, Coach, even with a hangover and no formal plan post-Ironman, you can still hand it to me. I bow down. I'm not worthy.


Anyway, with that over with, I finished the first loop and headed out to loop #2. I was more tired this time around, and starting to get hot. At the first aid station, I could feel myself getting nauseous. The only way to keep it in check was to walk and douse myself in water. Anyway, the pain really hit at the top of the big hill, probably around mile 5. I saw Coach at the turnaround and told her I was starting to lose it. I think she secretly wanted to see me hurl....apparently you could see my face making that pre-barf look that is oh-so-sexy. I reserved that honor for my friend's mom.

Somehow, I managed to finish this race. I kept moving forward, backed off the pace, and tried to hold in the throw up. I was so relieved to see the finish chute, with my hubby and pals cheering me on. There was no sprint in me today....I just trudged over the line and stopped....and then threw up. Ah, gotta love it. I can't seem to control myself at the finish line these days, but you know what they say--- if you can't taste it, you didn't try hard enough.

I think I broke a 1-hour 10K for the first time in my life during this race. In fact, I'm pretty darn positive I did, and to be honest....I can't help but attribute it to Lucy. Surely, it took some divine intervention to keep me in the chase out there. Oh, and I am so thankful to Robin for her post-race Motrin and Denise for the miracle spray.....I have never felt so much muscle pain in my life!

Overall, I am exceedingly happy with this race. Yes, it took a lot out of me. Yes, it was hard. But I wasn't tortured like Iron Girl. The bike was amazing and fun. And the run was comforting because I saw all of my teammates around every corner. We had an amazing group at Pendleton today, and I was so, so proud to be able to share the course with them and to call them my training partners and friends. I never thought I was capable of throwing down an Olympic like I usually do with the Sprint, but I came pretty close today. (For me, at least--- the top age groupers are super human!) Personal bests in all three sports, and I had a blast in the process. I'm going to miss my Divas. :(