Friday morning we packed up the kids, dropped them off at grandma's (sirus told everyone how they were going to stay 2 nights! he even told grandma in case she didn't know already) and then headed down to the portland area.
the drive didn't take too long and we went to the race site first thing. it was hot. i was cooking and we had only just gotten there. we talked to the race promoter some and to jason jablonski some, too. i complained about the heat and then we headed out on the preride. now i love me some hotter than hot weather, but it was a tad bit worrisome.
the course is a smaller start loop and a bigger big loop, so we did the big loop. the pre-ride took a long time, and i tried to take it as easy as i could but the longer we were out there the more worried i got about being out there so long. about 3/4s of the way eric got a flat so we stopped and fixed it, which was good since it was in the shade. he was running tubeless and i guess it sorta fixed itself but then later we had to stop again at some point to fix it some more, again in the shade!
i was supposed to do an easy 20 minute jog but after that hot, hells no is all i could say!
we packed it up and headed to the hotel. i was totally bummed that we couldn't get a room at the best western in forest grove where we stayed last year, where i threw my iphone in the trash only minutes after just getting it, and the fresh baked cookies they offered. alas, we had to stay in hillsboro at the comfort inn. the hotel was fine and i was super excited to find out that Pizza Schmizza WORLD headquarters were only a mile or so away. We went to one of their pizza joints in the opposite directions and gracious it was hotter inside that place than outside. then we just went back to the hotel, tried to hydrate and just relax.
the alarm went off in the morning and we were just like blah. we packed everything up pretty quickly and were off to the race site. i wasn't nervous but i was a little bit excited. we got to see mat and jason and i chatted with trish from black diamond and farragut. it was so freaking hot that we were all struggling to put our wetsuits on. it was nearly impossible since they were sticking to us like you wouldn't believe. once we nearly had them on and were about to check out the water the race director called everyone to the top of the beach, were we proceeded to cook during the pre-race briefing. imagine sweat just dripping off of your hands and feet and face because everything else was plugged up in a rubber suit. some might call that a fetish, i call it stewing in my own juices. next thing ya know, they call out, beach start in 30 seconds. we were all like what?? and we struggled to get caps and goggles on and then boom, the race started!
the swim:
it was good! and refreshing after stewing on the beach for so long! although hagg lake is a creepy aqua color and the beach feels all slimy, i really like swimming there. most lakes near by are black and scary, while hagg lake is a light colored and cheery. plus the water seems more boyant or something. since i was fiddling trying to get my goggles on right, i did not do an awesome running beach start dive in for the start. i ran down and then kept running until i was sorta deep and confident my goggles were where they needed to be. there wasn't a ton of contact in the swim but i couldn't see the buoy for the life of me. it was really really far away, and just no where in site. i continued to try to site but just hoped that at least some of the people around me were going in the right direction. once at that first buoy, the 2nd was even further away. a million miles pretty much, and it took a long time before it came into view. i did stop to de-fog my goggles eventually and once i had the buoy in site, i was surprised i was swimming pretty straight but got pelted by some waves which i think had to have been caused by boat traffic or something. round that 2nd buoy and along the shore and in. i totally saw some guy cut the course! he didn't swim all the way out to the 2nd buoy and instead just cut over and back. prolly 1:30-2 minute cut. grr, that is so lame. i felt good on the swim, my time wasn't stellar but i was happy with it and the distance seemed longer than last year, too.
t1:
holy smokes, the run to t1 is the worst! out of the water, up the beach, up a 2 ft dirt step up, through the prickly grass, onto the pavement... and 4 hrs later finally at my bike. haven't had the ab cramping issue these past few races but still slow because of the gloves and the wrist brace. out i went.
the bike:
this year there were some pretty strict no passing zones, with threats of DQs for crossing the white line. note DQ is DisQualified and not Dairy Queen. Had it been Dairy Queen I think most racers would have crossed that white line. the no passing zones turned out to be short and really not an issue, so it wasn't a big deal. the start loop went quick and then off to the big loop. the course was the same route as last year, just better. everything was super hard packed, although there were a few loose gravel sections and some super rutted places from where the mud puddles had hardened. the hills were mostly rideable for me, but i did have to hop off a few at the beginning behind a few other walkers, only to be yelled at to "MOOOOVE" by some guy coming up behind us. nice. i was having fun and working hard. and then... and THEN i noticed my rear wheel feeling funny. yes, i had a flat. grrr. i have only had one other flat and i didn't even fix that one, so this was going to be interesting. i knew i had at least another hr on the bike course so i had to fix it otherwise it was going to be a long long walk back. while changing the flat i thought it was funny that i had lead the flat changing clinic at the womens triathlon series race expo earlier in july and that LUNA had also just published this video of Alison Dunlap explaining how to fix a flat. how appropriately timed.
i got the tube out and changed, tire back on and then bam - how the hell do you use this CO2 thing? i read the instructions on the cannister but knew if i messed it up i would be screwed so i did my best and totally froze off my fingers, who needed them anyway! i checked the tire pressure and then added some more air. i probably spent more time trying to fold up the old tube than the rest of everything else took, but whatever. many many people passed me and i was surprised how many of them offered to help! what nice racers!! luckily i was good to go, and got back on my bike and headed off again. i passed a few of them back, but was happy once the end of the bike came. one thing i really like about the bike course is that you are riding riding riding really hard and then you go around a corner and BAM! there is transition! i went through a small and big bottle of electrolyte drink and 3 clif shots, the last one right before heading into transition.
t2:
hmm, it was tricky getting my bike onto the rack because it was kind of low and the other bikes were all over the place and i had to tip it over and blah blah whatever. got my shoes on, grabbed my hat and number and out i went.
the run, aka, the anti-run:
i started walking probably 100 yards from transition. i had nothing left in me. i had worked hard on the bike, that flat tired did a number on me and then to get back riding hard trying to make up time just did it to me. plus my running in general since i hurt my knee has been just bleck. plus it was really freaking hot out. so basically, i walked the ups, the downs, and anything in the sun. sadly there really wasn't any shade so sadly there wasn't really any running. it was a pitiful run. i made a friend though and we chatted for a good portion of it. she made my day by asking me if i was pro since she had seen my sweet yellow mavic mtn bike shoes while i was parked on the side of the trail fixing the flat. i am so far from pro, but it made me happy anyway. the mowed hay fields were terrible - ankle twisters and heat coming up from the ground it felt like. finally it was over. i crossed the line and went straight to the shaded picnic area and sat down. eric got me some drinks to chug and jason got me a wet shirt to wrap up in. it took a long long time to cool back down.
all in all the race was hot. it was fun though too. i was happy with my effort on the swim and the bike, happy i fixed my flat. not happy with my run. eric had ridden out on his bike to check on me and i told him after the race that although i was walking i was actually going all out. sad but true. my ears had plugged up, and my hr was super high, i was huffing and puffing walking out there.
eric was 3rd in his age group, jason won the overall, and mat won his age group, too.
i'd recommend this race to anyone wanting to try an xterra. its definitly a fun course. the bike isn't as technical as black diamond, but its definitly challenging with much more climbing.
next race is nationals! scary!
No comments:
Post a Comment