Pac Crest Olympic Triathlon...HOT!

The weekend was hot. Very hot. Apparently summer is finally here and it arrived this weekend with a vengeance. The temperature in Sunriver Sunday the day of my Triathlon was a cool 102 degrees.

We started out at 6:30 Sunday morning by setting up our Bike to Run transition at Three Rivers Elementary School. Then we hopped on a bus to travel 30 miles to Wickiup Resevoir. For weeks we have been fretting over what the water temperature might be. There was still snow around the lake just 3 weeks ago, but as the air temperature started to climb over the last few weeks, so did the water temperature and we were lucky to swim in 64 degree water. Very comfortable with a wet suit.

My heat started at 9:10 am. I stayed toward the back as there were so many people and many of these people are hard-core triathletes. But, I held my own in the water. I was far from first, but I was not last.

40 minutes later, I ran (at least it felt like I was running) up the boat ramp to my bike. I stripped off my wetsuit, dried my feet, put on my socks, shoes, helmet and gloves and was off to the bike ride.

The race guide listed the bike ride this way "The first 12 miles are flat. At mile 12 there is a 3/4 mile climb with a total of 400 ft in elevation gain. The rest of the course is downhill..." NOT! The first 12 miles were rolling hills. Many of the downhills were steep enough that my momentum could carry me up the next hill, but it was still a workout. The 3/4 mile climb was actually 4 miles long, and while not extremely steep...as the temperature crested 90 degrees, it was hot (I found out later that the race book showed the hill as "3/4 mile" instead of "3-4 miles"...that's a slight difference).

But overall, the ride was great, and relatively easy. This is where I started making up some time. I finished the 28 mile bike ride in 1 hour and 38 minutes. As I rode up to the transition from the Bike to Run in Sunriver, there were 2 guys beating on drums and everyone was cheering. I saw Sean and Corbin as soon as I got off my bike and Sean snapped this photo.

Bonus -- for those of you who are fans of the TV show Lost, apparently Dr. Jack Shepard (Matthew Fox) was also there. Why Sean didn't take a picture I don't know...but he was cheering people on as they came into the transition area. Unfortunately, I didn't see him since he was on the left and the transition area was on the right. Although, if I had seen him...I may have fallen off my bike :)

So, into the bike to run transition. Less than 2 minutes and I was off and running...then walking...then running...then walking. Oh, this was a miserable run. It was now over 100 degrees, and there was very little shade on the course. It was so hot, I could hear the race organizers pleading with the volunteers on the course to stick with it and not quit their stations. I was drinking enough water to stay hydrated, but for some reason, my heart rate kept spiking way too high. I ran as much as I could, but I walked more.

Then I turned a corner (literally, not figuratively) and realized that the finish was just ahead. I was running at this point and I kept going. There were so many people cheering us on, calling out our numbers and shouting encouragement. The path curved again and there was the finish line. I made it!

It wasn't pretty. It will probably (hopefully) be the worst time I ever get on an Olympic Distance triathlon as I don't plan to ever do one in 100 degree heat again. But, I do plan to do this again. I am going to do a couple of the short ones this summer and maybe another Olympic distance at the end of the summer and see if I do better.

Triathlons are a huge challenge and the training and physical challenge are only part of the battle. Keeping yourself moving in the water when people are swimming over you and splashing water in your face. Riding that flat stretch of road into a headwind wondering if you have a flat tire, only to realize the road isn't really flat, it's slightly uphill (that's called a false flat...I hate those). Or forcing yourself to keep going even though you are hot and your legs are cramping and you can't run any faster than you can walk. It's a huge mental challenge. But I am so glad I did it. Afterward, other than being a bit sunburned and hot...I actually felt fantastic.

My total time was 3 hours 53 minutes...about 40 minutes slower than I thought I would be...but that just means I have room for improvement.

Blue Lake Triathlon

My number

My Age

Woo Hoo! I did a triathlon. What a great morning. This was a warm up for the Pac Crest coming up in 2 weeks, and Joni and I did great.

We did a Tri-It Sprint Distance. That means we swam a 1/4 mile, biked 12 miles, and ran 3.2 miles. (A regular sprint triathlon has a 1/2 mile swim).

We were the last heat into the water, but ended up passing most of the men in the heat before us :) during the swim...it was great to pass all the orange swim caps of the men in the Tri-it group and realize that I was in front of most of the pink swim caps of the other women in my group. My confidence in swimming definitely increased out on the water today, and I wasn't nearly as freaked out by swimming in the dark pond water as I was on Thursday in our practice swim.

The swim was quick, and then we were out of the water and running through the transition area to get our wetsuits off and our helmets and bike shoes on. Then, we were off again. This time running with our bikes to the start of the bike section. 6 miles out on Marine Drive, it was fast and flat and we average 18.5 miles (AWESOME). We passed A LOT of people on the bike ride.

We hit a bit of a head wind between miles 3 and 6, but then on the way back, we had the tailwind and sailed back to the Park...and back to the transition area.

We took off the bike shoes and helmet, slipped on the sneakers and were off again for the last leg of the event...the run.

Wow! Did our legs feel like they had bricks attached to our shoes! Luckily we have done some "Brick" workouts and were ready for that feeling. Going from the bike to the run is a very hard thing and your body takes some time to adjust. Joni adjusted much quicker than I did, but finally I got into the rhythm of the run and the last 1.5 miles were great.

Our wonderful friend Rebecca rode her bike down to the park. We saw her in between the bike and run section and she was able to get the pictures of us crossing the finish line. (except for the darn guy in front of us)

The Finish Line

I can't wait for the Pacific Crest Triathlon. I am totally prepared and ready to tackle this challenge. We'll see how I feel afterward, but maybe I am up for a Half Ironman next year...

2 Happy Racers

Pioneer Century

Training Continues...

We rode the Pioneer Century yesterday. It's a great ride split into 2 halves. The first 1/2 is 55 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation climbing. Then we all stopped for lunch back at the start and probably 75% of the people called it quits. The rest of us went on to the second half, 45 miles, mostly flat with with some rolling hills. I struggled on the 2ND half. Twice during the ride, my front brake decided to stick. Sean thinks it's because I hit a big piece of wood and now my tire is out of "true." Anyway, a couple of times, I hit a really big wall and struggled to keep going. We had a total ride time of 6 hours and 53 minutes for 102 miles and 4,000 ft of elevation. Not great, but not really bad either.

So, today we are waffling with the idea of going for a run. For my running training, I should go for an 8-mile run. But I think that I will stick with a 5 mile run since I rode yesterday.

Next week I am signed up to do a Sprint Triathlon...just to get the sense of the transitions, etc. Sean will probably go for a long ride with the group and training continues...