Big Rock Olympic Distance Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Water was very choppy near beach. Not a fan of having to swim through that 2x. Got some snootfuls. Didn't have to pummel anyone on the swim; didn't get pummeled. Got to practice a little drafting, but wound up pulling ahead.

PR for Oly swim and swim pace in any OWS.

Remember how short the swim really is and start hammering earlier. Find some folks to swim with who'll push me in practice. Actually practice.

T1 was 1/4 mi UP from the beach, most of it on soft sand. It was COM-E-DY getting out of the water and running up the sand ... pitter patter pitter patter pit-ter pat-ter pit-t-t-er paaaatter ... putt puuutt puuuuutt ... walk. I was laughing. I eventually went so slowly I just about pitched face forward into the sand. Not my strong suit!

Other than I can never get the wetsuit off my heels fast enough, things went VERY quickly once I pulled into and out of T1--overtook some of the folks who had overtaken me on the run.

Have less fun on the way up? Nah. :) Practice running on sand? Eh--not so much, not a fan, ankles tend to turn.

I CONFESS.

When I had Chelsea fitted to me, the LBS guy said that the bike was a bit small for me, and maxed out the settings to give me space. This involved jacking the seat way up (which fits my legs fine) but also lowering the handlebars considerably.

He said it was an aggressive position even for someone coming off a road bike (not to mention a sit-upright beach-cruiser-bars position) and to take the readjustment very slowly in building up distance, allowing my body to adapt and build the necessary musculature ... taking about two months.

This was one week ago.

So, in my infinite brilliance and slight over-eagerness, I figured 25 miles wasn't THAT FAR ...

Whimper.

By the start of the 2nd loop, I felt like I was being stabbed in the small of the back (slightly less so in my neck), banging my nethers on an iron rod (I've never actually ridden ON the pubic bone), and my entire right foot was asleep. I wasted a lot of the last 4 miles standing up on the pedals to get some relief. [It's pretty bad ... there's bruising and broken skin in sensitive places despite good lubing. Ew! My fault!!!]

On the bright side--this is still the fastest pace I've ever averaged on a bike, and I spent every flat straight moment I could in aero (yep, never done that in more than 30s increments, either), which was excellent practice.

I do not recommend on-the-course, crash-course learning as far as tri-bike riding is concerned.

Everything went just peachy until I tried to stick my feet into running shoes that were still laced up.

Untie my shoes and leave them open for me to stick my feet in.

Never had a problem or pain or "brick-feeling" legs off the bike (not even at CA 70.3--everything just hurt then) until today. First two miles were *really* tough--felt like I was being batted in the groin and another shoved up my ... uh ... other side of groin, and that numb foot was LOUD in coming back to life.

What a joy to see Tim coming in as I was going out--lifted my spirits for the rest of the run. It was so sweet also to see Verna, Faeron, and Matt out there.

As I stretched out my running legs and got into rhythm, the pains subsided somewhat and I gathered a little speed. I held onto a 2:00/:30 run/walk ratio, which was my goal and this is the first time I've done it in a race. The last solid mile, which I ran straight, was the fastest I've ever done in an over-5K race. So everything was going runningly until ...

Anything look odd about these splits, say, after 6 mi?

Mile 1 16:00
Mile 2 14:00
Mile 3 13:00
Mile 4 12:45
Mile 5 12:30
Mile 6 11:40

Mile 0.21 8-11 minutes

Wait, why is this 0.21 mile going so bloody long? (I mean, I know it's the "longest" part, but ... ) Why is the finish line behind me? But I'm still on the path ... ummm ... if I cut across am I cutting the course? Will I get DQ'ed? WHERE THE HELL AM I???

Finally I started yelling out to competitors who were getting in their cars, "I'm lost! Where's the finish line?" They shouted and motioned back. Groaning, I U-turned and headed back. I asked some volunteers how to get to the finish and one of them (one of the race heads) told me to run through transition again and double back, but he made his explanation really long and finally he said, "You need to stop right here and let me tell you how to finish." (I felt like saying, "If I stop, I ain't starting back up" ... and believe, me I wasn't running that fast, it wouldn'ta killed him to jog a few steps with me ... but he was an organizer and so I bloody well came to a complete stop while it took him 2 minutes to tell me "go through transition, make a U-turn, and come through the finish chute from that direction.")

So I just ran out of steam, and I was laughing at myself, and kicking myself all at once, and trotted through transition and came back to go across the finish line, shaking my head all the way.

Even with the snafu, this is a 10K PR for me.

I'm famous for my propensity for getting lost, and I wouldn't change a thing about myself. It's frustrating, especially in races, but it makes for hilarious stories and it's just a quirk of character. It wasn't a marathon today, after all (yep, that's happened, too)!

Packed up transition, walked with the Cool Kids to the parking lot.


One day, I will do a race when I'm well-prepared and peaking, well-rested, near goal weight, and during which I do nothing new on race day.

HA! HA! HA!

In the meanwhile, I am just going to be my chaotic, irreverent, bursting-with-life, having-a-blast self. I is who I is, and I wouldn't trade the fun I had today for the ideal race I described above. I will make that race happen in due time, and I'm glad it wasn't today. It wasn't the course for it, anyway ... it was kind of a chaotic, irreverent, bursting-with-life, having-a-blast course!

All that, and I still PRed over my last Oly. :)

1. Lack of swim challenge/practice.
2. Not adapted to bike (and had done heavy bike week, but it was in the plan, and this was not an A race, so no harm no foul. Just LOTS OF ICE!!!)
3. Navigationally challenged.

And yeah, I'm about 20 lb. overweight. In time. Lasting baby steps there.


This is a funky, friendly little race, with a nice BBQ afterward. I thought it was just lovely, with gorgeous views, a wonderful course/venue (even being a tri-and-a-half-thlon) and I would happily do it again.

The volunteers were plentiful and encouraging, and the cops did a pretty good job of patrolling intersections on an open bike leg.