the race

Pre-race

Wednesday morning I got up and went to the masters swim group. I was feeling good swimming (despite feeling not so great on Tuesday – at least that is what my notes say, but I don’t remember it) and was super happy I went. Then off to work for an action packed day. I had been having a really bad week at work, like longer than a week and like really bad, so I was ready for vacation but also stressed about leaving for vacation. My boss even made the comment that I didn't seem very excited about going. I was pretty overwhelmed.

Wednesday night Seamus had her pre-school play. They did Peter Pan. And it wasn’t starting until 7pm. We usually start getting the kids ready for bed around then, so to be getting ready for a play at that time was less than ideal. The play consisted of about 40 kids between the ages of 2 & 5 moving in large groups from one side of the stage to the other with one grown man leading the charge. He actually did a really good job of keeping the kids going and the play was quite cute. But it was long. Think hour and 10 minutes long. L-O-N-G. Especially since Seamus was on stage for about 4 minutes and I was wrangling Sirus. It was cute and Seamus did a great job in her part.

We eventually got in the car and headed to Yakima. The kids fell asleep which gave Eric and I the perfect opportunity to swing over to Dairy Queen in Cle Elum. But can you even believe it, they had a sign on their drive through saying they were all out of ice cream. What is that??? So Eric dug out the box of cookies from the back and I quickly ate 3 as though they were potato chips.

Not too much longer later we were in Yakima unloading the kids and putting them to bed. Then I fell asleep probably around 11pm.

We were up early and out the door by 8am. We hadn’t driven to Idaho in many years, since I was pregnant with Seamus. We passed the box farm and the place along I-90 where Eric asked me to marry him. Of course that was only after I yelled and cried and threatened him and stuff. Idaho is also the state responsible for me and Eric even getting together. If you can beleive it, once we weren't married and we got to know each other on the long drive home from a mtn bike race at schweitzer mountain. I wanted to sleep but he was driving my car and kept talking. The conversation went something like this "I like steak." "I like cats." Then we stopped at both Taco Bell and Dairy Queen and the rest is history.

We finally got to Idaho and headed up through Coeur d’Alene, through Farragut St park and to Bayview. We checked into the cute little cabin and headed over to the race course. It was so warm! And sunny! And absolutely beautiful! I was having some allergy issues since the morning but I thought nothing of it I was ready to get going!

We couldn’t find the start/finish area so we did our best and made some assumptions as to where we thought it might be. We wound up being wrong but whatever. We headed out on what we thought might be the run. The trail went right along the lake. It was so beautiful! At some point it caught up with what we thought might be the bike course but it sure did seem to overlap a lot. At one point there were no signs so we went right. Another place there were no signs and I highly doubted Eric was directing us in the right direction. But he did say we couldn’t go left because that fence was the border for the state park. We had stopped running at this point and only walked. We saw Danelle Kabush riding up the giant road hill climb and then after a total of 7 miles we were back at the car.

Then we got on the bikes. There were to be two loops, the first being 12 miles and then 2nd being 6, so we headed out on the 6er. It was fun for me since it was all gravel road or mowed field. Not technical, not hilly, nothing. But we did wind up being out for 40 minutes, yikes!

We went back to the cabin and took a shower in the mini shower. It was the weirdest thing and I had the hardest time. The shower head was hooked up only slightly higher than the bath tub faucet. It was strange and awkward. And you couldn’t even stand up the whole way because the ceiling was slopped. Whatever, I got clean.

By now Tom and Jeff were around, we had seen them when we were coming back from our bike ride. They got clean then we headed to dinner. I had some totally awesome lasagna. So good I could go for some right now.

I was in bed pretty early. Friday morning I was feeling terrible. The allergies or whatever had gone full force. My throat and ears were totally thrashed and just super painful. My nose was a complete mess as well. I figured sometimes exercise makes these things feel better so we headed out to do the big loop. We found the start/finish area and started out. The ride was fine. It seemed kind of long but it was fine. Until we got back and saw the poster stating that they were ditching the short loop and instead doing two big loops. Oh no!

So we headed down to the lake for a little swim. It was cooold. But I paddled around a little and got used to it. The water was perfectly flat and the lake was beautiful. When I came into shore I was startled by the fact that I could see the bottom and even more startled by all of the huge monster fish I saw swimming around. I was in the water maybe 6 minutes.

We went back to the cabin and I took a 2hr nap. I was feeling terrible by this point. Tom & Jeff had ridden the run course and clocked it at something like 8 miles!!! Then we all piled in together and went to get our race stuff. Eric and I weren’t on the start list but we got it all figured out. I got my pink cap and Eric got his white one and then we all went back to the cabin. I laid down while they all made dinner. I decided I missed the kids terribly and just wanted to go home. Then I had some dinner, took some Nyquil and went to bed around 7.

7am came very quickly and I was slow to get out of bed. My throat and ears were feeling better, I think the Nyquil gave them a chance to heal some. I was still a little weary but I was feeling pretty positive. I had some pancakes and then at 9 had the standard pre-race pb&j. Around 10 I started to suit up and we rode our bikes to the race site around 10:30.

We racked our bikes and got marked. We chatted with all the friends we had there and that is where the fun ended. I stood in horror up by transition where you could see the first buoy of the swim. There were white caps! There was a pre-race meeting where he told us the swim was lengthened a little and turned to go with the waves instead of against them, the bike was shortened a little to accommodate the two long loops and the run was shortened to 6.5.

The Swim

We walked down to the beach for the start of the swim. Oh the horror of it all! I got in and dunked myself and then got out. The cold was not a factor, but the waves! Oh the waves!! I have read a few blogs about the race and have read everything from 2 to 5 foot swells. Ok, I don’t think there were any 5ers but there were definitely the occasional 2ers. I also read the water temp was 55 but that was irrelevant to me at this point. How would I ever get through two loops??

They started us in waves, hahaha, and in no time I was out there. I didn’t even feel the cold. I couldn’t. I was too busy trying not to drown. I did approximately 0% freestyle on that first loop. Not even to the 2nd buoy I was lapped by the pros. I figured they would lap me but when those caps started turning yellow, then white, orange and then pink, I knew I was flailing. I even talked to a guy as I was floating in that last leg of the first lap and discussed what our next steps might be. He said he was done and that he couldn’t do it again. I got out and stood on shore not sure what to do. There was another woman there and we chit chatted a little bit then she grabbed my arm and said lets go. So I did.

The waves seemed to have mellowed out a little and OMG I actually did some freestyle. Actually, it might be safe to say that I did it the whole way to the first buoy. Then it all went downhill again. I tried to do some freestyle with the waves but I couldn’t time it right. It wasn’t working so I just tried to make forward progress anyway I knew how. Around the 2nd buoy I started to think that I was feeling warm and that the cool water would feel nice on my bare arms, maybe I should take off my wetsuit when BAM! I got hit by a major wave and started to choke. I started to panic because I couldn’t breathe and I started looking for a rescue boat. Then I remembered what the race director said in the pre-race meeting – if you get into trouble, remember that the first thing you need to do is panic. He was kidding of course, but I just calmed down, stopped moving and floated there. I remembered that I was in my wetsuit and therefore was totally safe. I got my act together, swam by that guy that I had talked to on the first lap (I was happy to see he went back out and was going to make it!) and made my way into shore.

I sort of ran along the beach until I got to the stairs up to transition and made my way up them. We were worried that the stairs with all the rocks and prickly grass would hurt our feet but it turned out to be fine.

Swim time: really long

T1
Into transition and then off on the bike I went. Nothing too big happened here, it was probably one of my better legs of the race. Wetsuit came off easy and I even managed to get some gloves on without much of a struggle.

The Bike

This time I taped the Clif Shots to the bike and this worked well. I took the first one right away since I had been in the water for so long. April, who I had swam the 2nd lap of the swim with, caught me on the bike pretty quickly and we rode a short distance together. She went into the single track along the lake first which was good because she has better tech skills than I do and I didn’t want to mess her up at all.

The first big climb was the 2nd time during the race that I contemplated dropping out. I just could not get up that hill. It took everything I had to get up it. Ok, I did get off and walk some. I was totally bummed. I should have been able to ride up it but I couldn’t. Laaame. I watched April as she went up it and rode away.

At the top I jumped on my bike and got back into it. I looked at my watch and saw that I was about 3 miles in. I made a mental note that at the same time in the next lap I would feel like I wanted to quit but if I kept going I’d feel better soon. 17 minutes into this first lap I was caught by the first pro dude. He was flying. Then not too long after I was caught by a group of 3. Then Conrad Stoltz came flying by me. Then a few others, and one of Eric’s friends, then one dude, I could hear him coming so I totally pulled off the trail and stopped. As he went by he yelled “you’re awesome” and that made my day.

Most of the bike ride I was just riding along. A few times I would think to myself that I should start racing so I would but it would only last a short while and then I would be just riding along again. I didn’t have it in me.

At one point I saw April on the side of the trail. She was busy fixing her bike, something had gone wrong but she said she was fine so I kept going. It wasn’t long until she caught and passed me again.

When I got to the transition area and was headed out onto lap 2 I was happy to hear someone cheering for me. That made me really happy. Another one of Eric’s friends was finishing up the bike right as I was headed out. This is when I took the 2nd Clif Shot and swapped my bottles around. I also caught back up to April and I rode behind her a bit. Then she started to slow down asking me if we were going the right way! Yikes! I told her I was busy just watching her so I hadn’t been paying attention. Fortunately we were going the right way and she headed into the single track ahead of me again.

At the semi technical root that was the subject of many hours of conversation and anxiety, I got off my bike and started to maneuver around it. Just then, one of the pro dudes came running along and passed me. I never did catch him again before the two trails diverged.

I rode along, got to the big hill, walked it again but was ok with it this time because I knew I’d be doing it and got back on and rode. And I rode and I rode some more. I ran into a few of the pro dudes and one of Eric’s friends who were running the opposite direction and I ran into that first pro dude who passed me when we were going the same direction.

Then I was on my own. I did pass some people while out on the bike and other than being lapped by the pros, I wasn’t ever passed. At some point I did pass April one last time. I took the last Clif Shot less than a quarter mile from the finish. I finally made it back to transition just as one of Eric’s friends was wheeling his bike out. He moved to the side so I could run in with my bike. His race was finished but mine, albeit slow, was still going.

Bike time: could have been, should have been faster, but at least I had some fun out there

T2

I think this went quickly, I got everything changed out, I had my pony tail holder handy, I grabbed my garmin off the bike and out of transition I went.

The Run

As I started the run Eric and Shannon were right there cheering and taking photos. I was happy to see that Eric was done with his race. He warned me that the start was steep and it was, so I was careful. I also had to pee, I did go through two water bottles after all. I decided right then and there on that hill that I would just get it done. Some guy came running down so I yelled to him to not look and he laughed and said he was thinking about doing the same thing. It didn’t take long for me to catch back up to him and I ran with him for quite a while. I walked through the water stop and drank an entire cup of water and about ½ cup of Gatorade. Then I caught up with that guy again. We ran along. At the point where the bike and run courses split, the bottom of that big hill that I had to walk each time, we saw a runner make a wrong turn and head up that hill. We yelled to him that he was going the wrong way. Luckily he heard us and he came back down. I passed the first guy and then just kept going along.

I got to the big run hill and power walked up it. At one point you head right up the “high point trail” to which I thought I really didn’t feel like going to the high point but oh well. Once it leveled off I started running again. I was happy there was another water stop where I drank another cup of water and ½ cup Gatorade. I actually enjoyed the run. I was surprised it went as quickly as it did. I wasn’t racing and never got into race mode but instead just ran along. I was ok with that. I continued to pass people and didn’t get passed back.

The worst part of the run was that less than a mile from the finish you make a left hand turn and go straight up this super steep mystery trail. It kind of veered to the right so there was no way to tell how long it went. I walked up it but started running again at the top. And next thing I knew I was pretty much at the end. I crossed the finish line and there ya have it.

Run time: Ok

Total Race Time: 4:08, I’ll let you try to figure out what the individual splits were.

I was happy to be done. I wasn’t tired really, or sore, or anything really, but I didn’t really push myself either. I was happy to see April cross the finish line and I was happy to see the guy from the swim that had talked about dropping out finish, too.

I was really happy to hear that Eric had a great race and qualified for Worlds.
I have mixed feelings about the race as a whole. Even if I had been “racing” I doubt my placing would have changed. There was a pretty big gap between me and the next finisher up. I recognized quite a few of the ladies in my age group and knew going into the race that they are super fast, so I wasn’t expecting necessarily to place well, I was just expecting to have given it my all and that I did not.

I have made huge leaps and bounds in my fitness though. Eric made the point that had I tried to do this race last year I very likely wouldn’t have been able to. I definitely would not have survived the swim and I wouldn’t have had enough endurance to run after completing that bike. Even just at the pace I went, this race was significantly more difficult than either ½ Ironman I have done. After pre-riding, everyone was commenting that the course was fast and had no hills. I was pretty sure I must have ridden a different course because I rode quite a few hills. After reading some of the blogs, even the pros, there seems to be a consensus that the race turned out being harder than expected. This made me feel a little better, too.

That evening I drank a victory beer and hung out for some BBQ and for the awards. The next morning we packed up and headed to pick up the kids. Grandma and Grandpa brought them to Ellensburg which saved us almost 2hrs of travel time. Then we made our way home.

I just finished up a round of antibiotics, am on some allergy medicine, have a few stitches in my arm and have been taking it easy. My coach reminded me that I am mid season and have no other big races planned for a while. We're skipping the Xterra this coming weekend since its not super important for me to go to it, especially since I'm not 100% and its freaking far away. We'll chill out at home this weekend, hooray!