ONE 0 ONE - TriathlonLong Course

Swimming is by far my worst event, and the one place where I didn't spend enough time in training. I cut a few of my workouts short and skipped a few others all together, so I was quite worried about this distance. It was a mass swim start from a tread water start, and since it was mostly guys racing, I was nervous about getting bumped a lot in the water. Luckily, there was only 130 people or so racing, so the start went very smoothly. I still had a hard time getting around some people in front of me, and it took me a good 15 minutes to feel comfortable in the water.

Once I relaxed, it wasn't so bad. The time went by pretty quickly, and soon enough we were on our second loop. The bouys were on our left, and I can only breath on my right, but despite that, I had no problem sighting. The water was perfect- not too clear, not too dirty and decidly NOT the ocean. Overall, since I consider myself a poor swimmer, I was quite happy with getting under 1 hour.

Swim more leading up to the race and warm up in the water before the start of the race.

OK, so my transitions- yeah, they're terrible. My one excuse is that 1 week before the race, I got the worst sunburn of my life (totally my fault). It has been peeling like crazy and has created this awful rash on my chest. My number one concern was getting more sunscreen on my body before I headed off on the bike, and that took a lot more time than I would've liked, but I needed to protect my skin. Also, I wanted to make sure I had everything because I knew it was going to be a long day!

Not be a stupid idiot and get a sunburn one week before my biggest race.

I was very excited that I survived the swim and was thrilled to be on my bike. I had no idea what the course was supposed to be like, so I just went out with the hopes of having a strong bike. As soon as I got going, I had a few people in my sights to pass. One of those people turned out to be MikeB, so I said Hi as I went by and continued enjoying myself on my bike (I love my bike, by the way).

Drinking and eating were going well and my only complaint was that my hamstrings felt tight. They've never felt tight before, so I stood up a few times to stretch them out. When that didn't work, I just ignored them, which seemed to work. The course was wonderful. There was a flat part starting out with some sketchy pavement, then a decent climb out of town, leading to a nice patch of flat by the highway. Another climb got you to a smooth out and back that consisted of gently rolling hills. I love rolling hills because it is so fun to power downhill then coast and spin up the other side. This was followed by another flat section with the only steep climb at the end of it, then a big curvy downhill into town. The downhill was on some tight curves, and since the course wasn't closed, I had to break to make sure I didn't end up in the front grill of someone's pickup. The road into town was a bit rough, but no big potholes. I was very comfortable in the aero position and so far, the weather was beautiful. On the first lap I was happy I passed about 4 women and a dececnt handful of guys out there, none of whom ever caught back up to me.

On the one section of out and back, all of the pros were coming back as I was heading out. It was really fun to see those hot pro men speeding through the course. The girls were looking strong out there too, and they weren't too far away from the guys! Triathletes are hot :)

On the second lap it seemed like the wind picked up a bit, and I noticed my speed dropped. I felt like I was doing everything the same, but just wasn't going as fast. It was also kind of annoying that I knew I'd have to do the same route one more time. My nutrition consisted of shot blocks and carbo-pro in my gatorade, as well as a hammer bar and various other bars. I never was too hungry or thirsty, I just ate when I thought I should.

By the third lap, the wind was even more noticeable and I lost some juice to get up and over a few of the longer hills. I also really had to pee, but there was no way I was going to pee on my brand new bike. I had to wait till mile 65 for the port a potty and my legs were quite wobbly as I got off the bike. Once I got back on, one guy finally caught up to me and passed me, but he was only the 2nd guy all day to pass me, which I was happy about. Towards the end of the 3rd lap, I was happy to be off the bike, but this was the first time in my life that I was actually dreading the run.

Also, my garmin had the bike course at almost 82 miles, which is significantly longer than the usual margin of error for Garmin. I don't really know if it was long or not, but if it was 82 miles, than my average speed was 19.0mph, which I am way more proud of than 18.7, but oh well.

The volunteers on the bike course were the best I've ever seen. At each and every turn, a volunteer was there with a flag, either stopping traffic or making sure you knew where to go. They were also very enthusiastic as you went by. There was no way you could get lost on the course, and although there weren't a whole lot of people, each and every person out there made sure you knew they were cheering for you. I felt like a rockstar! The volunteers at the aid stations were terrific as well, and I didn't have a single problem with a bottlet hand-up. I was soo, so impressed with the organization, execution and enthusiasm that the volunteers demonstrated on the course. A++

Go a little bit slower on the first lap and save more for the end. Overall though, I am very happy with my improvements on my bike. This wasn't an easy course, but it was very fun!

I couldn't get my darn garmin off my bike- I need the quick release thingy! Also, the sunscreen...damn I am sloooow in transition. Um, I also didn't want to go run? It was soooo nice to just sit....

Everything!

After I FINALLY left transition, my legs were just doing their thing and my pace was at around an 8min mile. I knew that was too fast, so I backed off as best I could, knowing what was lying in wait. Like I already wrote, we drove one lap of the run course and realized that 'hilly' was an understatement. I hadn't done too much hill training in the past 1.5 mos since I ran Boston, and so I knew I wouldn't have the run that I was expecting from myself. Even though I adjusted my goals for the course, I still didn't think it would be as hard as it was.

The first mile was only slightly uphill, then a small up, quick down, around the corner and BAM, one huge, steep, curvey road. The 3 people ahead of me were walking up it. I was determined not to walk so I shuffled up past them. As I got to the top, the pro women were rounding down to the finish their first lap. I cheered them on and kept moving. My pace was already slipping to 8:30's and I tried not to let it get to me. At the first aid station I realized my legs might not have it in them and for the first time, I might find out what it's like to bonk. I've never taken endurolytes before, but I figured now might be a good time for some experimenting, so I started popping those pills.

By mile 4, I had already run up and down 8 hills. I am not lying, go look on the website for yourself ;). The thing is, each blip in that elevation graph reprents a significant climb. Most of the hills weren't super long, but they were so steep that walking was almost faster. The downhills were no help either, because they used every muscle that you just destroyed on the bike and gravity became your enemy. I didn't end up walking a single hill, but that was just because I was worried I'd never be able to start running again.

Luckily the wind that was bothersome on the bike was a welcome relief on the run. The temperature stayed mild the whole time and there was a few sections of shade that also provided relief.

The absolute best part of this course were the volunteers. I have never felt so taken care of in my life. As you came up to each station, one of the kid volunteers would ask what you wanted- gatorade, infinit, gu, water, ice, salt, cookies, a spray with the hose? The options were endless! Then, they would shout ahead, and when you (finally) got there, they had everything ready for you. Each aid station was like that, and they were everywhere! It was absolutely amazing, and I did everything I could to thank them all. There were also a fair number of people cheering, and some even had their hoses out for you if you wanted. For being such a small town and a small race, they really did everything they could to make you feel comfortable. Again, I was extremely impressed with the planning and effort that went into pulling off this flawless race.

OK, back to the course. I can't even tell you how demoralizing this course made me feel out there on the run. I was hoping to pound out 8:15's before I drove the course, and after seeing it, I thought 9's were possible, but that course was the hardest thing I've done. Counting up the hills on the elevation chart, and if it was accurate and only counting the obvious ones, there were 32 uphills- 16 per lap. Not a single one was gradual and each downhill was just as bad, if not worse. Once the race was over, everyone kept talking about just how brutal it really was.

One of the other fun things that happened on the run was when the pro women finally lapped me as they were coming in for the finish. Leanda Cave (who won) ran by me on an uphill like I was standing still. She is HOT! I blurted out some words of encouragement and she was looking like she wanted that $10,000 prize purse bad!! Hillary Biscay went by as well and she even said "you go girl" to me, which I thought was really aweseome!

Going out for the second lap was really sad, because now I knew just how hard it was, and also knew there was no way I'd be able to get under 8 hours. I ran as hard as I could, and was really focused on how my muscles were reacting to this distance. As I continued to push myself, I kept taking the endurolytes and eating my shot blocks and gu and running under any sprinkler I could find. I never felt too terrible out there, but I never felt too strong. My muscles hurt a lot and as I got closer to the end, I just wanted to be done running more than anything in the world. That was, by far, the hardest run I have ever done. I never passed any women on the run, and I knew that there weren't any close behind me. I tried to catch a few guys, but 1 guy passed me and I couldn't get him back. It got a bit lonely out there at times, and not having anyone to catch or keep away from made it that much harder to push myself. If I had a girl to catch up to, I might have been able to push myself at the end, but at that point, it just wasn't worth it.

Crossing the finish line was so incredible. I knew I worked my butt off to get here, and it was really exciting participating in the inaugural event. As soon as I finished, the volunteers were right there making sure I was OK. Then, one of the women who was helping me out told me that I was the second amateur female to cross the finish line! Holy crap- second place overall!! AWESOME!

This is the tough question. They changed the course about 3 times leading up to the race, so I couldn't have actually known that it would be THIS hilly. I wish I knew to train more hills, or had just done them more for 'fun' but even with hill training, it still would've kicked my butt. Also, in hindsight, I probably went out too hard on the bike, but that is what I wanted to do, improve my biking. Overall, though, I placed 40th on the run, and only 2 other women had a faster run split.

Hobbled around a bit, ate some oranges, tried to stretch. Eventually I got a massage, which was amazing. Once I felt normal again, I went over to Leanda Cave and congratulated her on winning. She was really friendly and I enjoyed talking to her. I also got a chance to chat with Hillary Biscay and she seemed like a really fun person to hang out with as well. I loved that the race was so small that the pro's were just that approachable!


This race- both the course and the distance- was harder than I thought it would be, but a really great challenge. Hill training would've helped, but it was still a ridiculously hard course. At the awards ceremony, the race director said that Leanda Cave commented on how they couldn't have made the course any harder, and the RD said, oh yes I could've! I think it was hard enough, but at least it was hard for everyone.

If you are planning on training for this distance, don't think of it as a long half ironman. It is a long race, and it will be easier to finish it if you think of it more as an ironman. There were a lot of people who DNF- I think almost 20 out of 120 people who started- and I think that is because it was hard to know what this distance would feel like. Overall I was very pleased with the race and my performance.


The race organization was absolutely top-notch. Even though there were only 150 people racing, they still took care of every little detail and treated us all like we were pros. The city of Lakeport was extremely encouraging and very supportive of the race. There were tons of cops and volunteers all over the place making sure we were safe and it seemed like everything went off without a hitch. The area is absolutely gorgeous and I wish I could've stayed there a few more days to do some wine tasting and jet skiing on the lake. I really can't say enough about the volunteers, and everyone I talked to after the race agreed 100% that they were just spectacular.

The distance its self is really cool. I wanted to race it a bit faster, but I am still new to this sport and it definitely made me realize I have to work on balancing my bike/run efforts a bit better, especially on a brutal course. I hope this series succeeds because it is a great distance to have available and the RD did everything right.

There isn't much I can complain about my performance, though, because I got 1st in my age group, 2nd overall amateur female, 39th overall including the pros, and 19th when you don't include the pros- not too bad considering my first tri was less than a year ago!!

Thanks to all my BT friends for encouraging me to do this race and having the confidence in me that I would succeed! Also, thanks MikeB for putting up with me ALL weekend and to Gina for being an amazing person and an incredible volunteer! I think she worked harder than us athletes out there!!