Race Report - Deer Creek Olympic Triathlon

Or, "Sunny/95 is a better radio station than weather forecast"

After arriving a little close on time for the OSU race, we made sure to get down to Deer Creek in plenty of time on Sunday. We got down there around 6:30, taking note of how high the water was on the way into the park. You could see side roads blocked off that just went straight down underwater. Once we got signed in and situated in transition, we went down to check out the lake. It was so high that you could see the railings to the stairs down to the beach...but they were just sticking up out of the water. The stairs were completely covered. A couple practice laps out to a buoy, and we were ready to go.

Before the olympic start, there was a sprint triathlon going on as well. The women's wave was a complete debacle. The lead woman sighted off the wrong buoy, and half the field followed her diagonally across the course. I have no idea how many of them corrected course, or how the officials would deal with so many athletes going off course.

My swim wave left before Meredith's, and when the horn went off, we squished down through the muddy grass into the water. This was my first open water race, and there were definitely some anxious moments as I was grabbed, poked, and pushed. I'm pretty sure I did just as much in return, and I tried to stay as calm as I could. I tried to keep my freestyle stroke going as much as possible, but I did find myself having to breaststroke just a bit when I needed an extra moment to find a line. The swim was definitely a mental fight for me. I alternated between running into people, and feeling like I was the last one out there when there was no one around. One other issue I had was getting behind someone who was just a tiny bit slower than me. I didn't know whether to slow down and hang off their feet, or try and go around. I chose the latter, but it took some energy out of me to keep hitting them. The lake was so murky that you had no idea if someone was near you until you hit each other.

Because I felt alone, I figured I was going to come out in the 45 minute range, and decided to be okay with it. When I hit my watch on the way out, I didn't really "get" the number on it, and so I just went on without really thinking about it. It was only after the race that I looked at it and was proud of myself. My time was perfectly competitive with everyone but the fastest couple people in my age group.

Swim: 30:02

I walked a little going up the hill to the transition area as I got my arms out of the wetsuit so I could get my legs back under me. In transition, the girl next to me was also there (who must have rocked her swim), so we chatted as we changed. I tried to be a little more efficient about things this time around. Apparently, I failed, as it was the second slowest transition in my age group. I got out just in time to see someone just getting on their bike topple over much like I did on our ride a couple weeks ago. At least it wasn't me this time!

T1: 3:58

The bike course was two loops of a 12 mile course. I didn't know a whole lot about it going in, so I arbitrarily chose a strategy. I decided to stay in a smallish gear until the first turn so I could get my legs loosened up, and then I'd kick it into a higher gear and go. This seemed to work pretty well, though I have to say it was pretty discouraging to hit 24 mph (probably my fastest flat-ground pace to date) and still get passed like I was standing still.

On the last couple legs of the loop, we had to hit a headwind as well as a couple short but steep hills. As I hit the first hill, I attacked it pretty hard, which may have been a mistake. Though I passed a bunch of people (many walking up, one more falling over), it got my heart pounding pretty hard and I had a hard time getting my speed back up afterward. The second hill was a little longer but not as steep, and basically finished off the loop.

Continuing on to the second loop, I was starting to feel a little fatigued, so I kept the bike in a little smaller gear. That sacrificed a couple mph, but I was trying to stay fresh. For the most part, the second loop was a lonely ride other than getting passed by a few women from the wave behind me.

Then the first big issue of the day hit me. As I was getting my gatorade from the cage behind my seat, I felt the cage come loose, as it had done on our last long ride. That wasn't a big deal, though I knew it would annoy me by bouncing around the rest of the way. But then, maybe a mile later, I hit a little bump, and it felt like the back of my bike exploded. It took a couple seconds to realize what happened, but I looked back and saw the cage bouncing along the road, with one of the bottles heading the other direction. I think it might have hit my wheel as it fell, which is what sent it flying. So, I had to choose between time and money. I chose to go back and get it, but had no way to reattach it. Fortunately, there was a police officer in sight, and I rode it up to him and he agreed to turn it in for me at the finish line when he closed the course. I didn't catch his name, but thanks again!

In retrospect, I made a critical mistake here. My aerobottle was almost empty, but I had one spare water bottle in a cage on my frame. What I should have done was empty that one into the aerobottle, then swap one of my gatorades into my frame cage before handing it off. Instead, I only had water and a gel for the rest of the course. Those who know me know that I am a...how to say it..."profuse" sweater, so this is a big issue for me.

On the bright side, my bike was a little lighter, and I went on to finish the rest of the second loop. I took the hills a little easier this time around, and had more success on the flats immediately following them. I came back into transition starting to feel tired, but still pretty good.

Bike: 1:26:53 (17.1 mph)

The second transition was pretty uneventful - hat for helmet, swap shoes, and go. I was jealous of all the sprint triathletes packing up their things, as the heat was really starting to take effect.

T2: 1:36

As I went out onto the run course, I actually felt pretty good. I decided to just run at whatever pace felt good for the first mile, and reevaluate at that point. When I hit the first mile marker, I was at an 8:10 pace by my watch. Probably a little fast, but I still felt okay. At that point, I had 50 minutes to finish the last 5 miles and get in under 3 hours. No problem, right? I tried to slow my pace a bit to be conservative.

And then it hit me. I got the world's worst stitch in my side, and just could not shake it. I tried breathing as deeply as I could, stretching my arms overhead...everything I could think of. My conservative pace dropped to a jog, and then to a walk. I kept trying to cool off by pouring water on myself, but it wasn't any use. I was overheating, and it was all I could do to just keep one foot in front of the other. They had 4 water stops in the 6 miles, but I could have used one or two more, just to try and stay cool and hydrated. I could feel that I was dehydrated, and ended up showing some symptoms post-race as well. My fingertips were all pruned at the end, which I now read is a sign of dehydration.

I've never seen so many people walking in a race as I did on Sunday. Probably 80% of the field in my sight was walking at any given time. It made me feel a little better, but I was still frustrated that I was so close to my "reach" goal of 3 hours, and wasn't going to make it. Meredith caught me around mile 4, and I wished her good luck on the way back in. Finally, in the last mile, my stitch eased up, and I was able to start running between some of the cones.

It was a pretty sad way to end the race, but I'm honestly not sure what I could have done differently. I might have been able to push myself to run a few more intervals, but I don't think I could have pushed hard enough to do the 10K in an hour without taking risks I don't want to take. We saw two people get carted off in ambulances on the run course, and I didn't want to be a third.

Run: 1:16:52 (12:24/mile, blech)

Total: 3:19:20

All in all, it was a fairly successful first effort at a longer race, and one with an open water swim. In 75 degree weather, I think I could have broken my 3 hour goal, but with my struggles in heat, it just wasn't meant to be yesterday. Still, my swim and bike times were wins for me, and maybe next time I can put the run in that category as well!