Our race-day wake-up call was 5 am to make sure we had time to drive two hours down to Bumpass, set up our transition areas, and be ready for the 10 am start. Jewel was nice enough to put my bike on her rack (since my Mini Cooper doesn't have one) and we caravaned down together. My dad was there to see me race, so he drove while I dozed, but I was really not that tired- my adrenalin was already starting to kick in.
When we arrived, I was astounded by how many hard-core-looking triathletes were there (at what I had considered to be a little po-dunk race at the very beginning of tri season). As we pulled into the parking area I saw dozens of Cervelos, Felts and other beautiful tri bikes, and I started getting pretty nervous. Though I am a somewhat experienced running and swimming racer, I had never done this kind of race, and many of these guys were obviously veterans.
Once Jewel, Cat, Pinata (my DC tri training buddies) and I got our packets and had our stuff together, we headed over to set up our transition areas. I had watched some youtube videos about transitioning (curtesy of Jewel) but I hadn't actually practiced them. I saw other triathletes meticulously setting out each of their gear items in a specific configuration for maximum time efficiency- some people even leave their cycling shoes clipped into their bikes in order to transition even faster. I had to make my best guess about how to set out my gear, since I really didn't know what would work best for me. Finally it was time to get on my brand-new DC tri club race top and bottom, chomp on some last-minute energy bars, get marked (i.e., volunteers write your number with permanent marker on your arms and legs) and walk down to the lake.
Though the lake temperature was about 65 degrees (not horribly cold), almost everyone was wearing a wetsuit. I struggled into my suit and put on my cap, which is color coded according to your swim wave. We were doing a water start, which means you are actually treading water out in the lake, then start swimming when the starting gun sounds, instead of a land start. I was in the women 35 & under wave, which was third, so we waited for the first two waves to get in the water before wading down into the murky lake.
I was surprised to find out that I was not that cold once I got in the water- the wetsuit kept me very warm, and it was a beautiful sunny day. I swam casually over to the start buoys with my competitors- I could tell everyone was sizing each other up- and my friends and I all wished each other luck. We treaded water for a couple of minutes waiting for the start, and we were all squished together by the current and by racers jockeying for a good start position. Seconds before we started, Jewel said to me "now, some of these girls are going to go out FAST. Don't follow them. You wait until the field thins out." I was already pretty nervous about the open water swim, but for some reason her last-minute advice calmed me. I took a deep breath.
Finally the starting gun rang out. It was disconcerting at first, not having a lane line to follow (like in a pool), and there were so many people swimming on top of each other and kicking up a lot of white water. I had expected this, but it made me understand why some less-experienced swimmers panic at the start of open water swims. I just took Jewel's advice and started swimming at a good pace that I felt I could hold for thirty minutes, not sprinting. I saw her as a breathed to my left a couple of times, but as she dodged nimbly around someone I lost sight of her. She was right- after a few minutes, most of the people in my wave thinned out and started to slow down. I was starting to feel stronger, so I began passing people, and by the time we reached the turn-around point I had caught up to swimmers from the first two waves (who were men- they did not like that). Every once in a while I would take my head out of the water to sight where I was in relation to the buoys, and once or twice I realized I was starting to drift in the wrong direction. For the most part, though, the most difficult thing was coming up behind slower swimmers and having to change direction to go completely around them.
By the time I was swimming on the back leg, I was feeling strong, but didn't want to push myself too hard- after all, it was a two to three hour race. I could see the finish up ahead of me, and I didn't see many people from my wave around me. As I started running up the ramp to the transition area I noted my watch time (around 23 minutes) took off my cap and goggles and started trying to rip off my wetsuit- but I hadn't practiced doing it quickly while it was wet, so I had a really hard time getting it off. I still had my arms in the sleeves as I made it to my bike, and it took me a little while to peel it all the way off... but I didn't realize that my race chip (which is on your ankle) was also pulled off in the process. I hurriedly threw on my glasses, helmet and shoes and started running out of the transition area- when I looked down and realized my chip was gone (Oy vey!). I had to actually turn around and go back in to find it, which confused a lot of people, and made my transition time very slow. Finally I got my chip back on and sprinted out with my bike, starting to ride.
The bike portion of the race was two 12 mile loops out through rolling countryside on paved road. I was expecting to do it in somewhere around an hour and twenty minutes, so I settled into a steady pace but tried to keep my average around 18-20 as much as possible. Cycling is not my strong suit, and many men passed me, but not too many women. I was actually pretty startled when the first person on a Cervelo came up to pass me (for those of you who are not crazy triathletes or cyclists, those are really fancy tri bikes)- it sounded like a whirring noise, almost like a car, but it was just a person on a bike, going at least 25 mph uphill! After the first loop I saw my dad cheering me on, and I waved, then started on lap #2. There were several times, too, when I heard people say "Yeah DC!" (referring to DC tri club) to me. It was very encouraging to have other people I didn't know but who were my teammates cheering me on. I held my own as best I could, trying to remember to hydrate and take shot blocks every once in a while, and finished the bike in a respectable 1:14.
I still felt pretty good, just really ready to get off the bike and start running. Unlike some triathletes I took the time to put on socks to avoid blisters, threw on my hat and tried to shovel down a banana as I ran out of the transition area. I saw my dad again at that point (he yelled "Jewel is only a few minutes ahead of you!"), but my legs were feeling pretty tired. I am fairly experienced at running, but I had failed to prepare myself adequately for the transition from long, hard biking to running for an hour. What's more, the running course was a dismal two loops of a three mile course which was mostly off-road on grass or painful rocks (my feet were killing me by the end). I told myself, this is only six miles. You can do this in your sleep. Just be steady.
So I didn't worry too much about my pace. I just tried to keep it up as best I could, considering how tired I was feeling- but, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I always remind myself that nothing is as bad as the pain from the Marathon, so I could get through this. Because the course was a strange out-and-back with several double-backs, I saw Jewel, Pinata and Cat at different times along the run. By the time I was on my final stretch, I was ready for it to be over but still feeling pretty good (except for the rocks). I got to the finish chute, saw Jewel, Pinata and my dad cheering me to the finish, and sprinted to the end. I did it! My time was 2:42, well under my goal of 3 hours, but more importantly, I had just finished my first Olympic distance tri! I was pretty happy.
I went to the recovery area with my tri buddies to eat and hydrate, and we waited for our friends to finish. I had not been planning on waiting for the results to come out (I was ready to head home as soon as we could) but after Cat finished she looked at the results postings and ran over to me, saying "you won!" I said, "What? Won what??" Turns out, I won the Athena division, which I had never expected to do. I was pretty surprised. I waited to get my award, and my tri friends screamed with glee when I went up to get it.
All in all, it was an amazing experience. I can't wait to do more, and I'm sure I'll get better and faster as I go. My next race is San Diego next month!
