Here in Chelan, I met up with a long-time friend, who came to cheer, sherpa, support, and take pictures of me. Once settled into the hotel, we went to pick up my race package and check my bike into transition. We went for supper and then to Safeway to get some breakfast stuff and made an early night of it. I slept like a dead thing. This is the first time ever that I didn't have any race anxiety.
This morning, we took the shuttle to the park where the race started. I set up my transition and took note of my bike's location. We were pretty early so we sat by the lake and enjoyed the view. It was warm and sunny and the water was smooth as glass. Eventually, I pulled on my wetsuit and walked down to the beach.
The Swim - 800 metres
I was in the third of three waves with everyone 40 and over. Apparently that's the old folks! There were about 100 of us. I got stuck behind a couple of people who waited to start after the gun went off but quickly found my way around them and got going. The water is gorgeous. It's perfectly clean and clear and bottom is sandy. It's almost like swimming in tropical water. As I swam, I found the white line that runs six feet down, which makes it easy to swim a nice straight line. Of course, everyone wants to follow that line so there was a bit of congestion along that narrow stretch and I never quite found that open spot to swim in. I felt calm and relaxed, although I realized that my arms still felt yesterday's 2100m swim. We rounded a couple of buoys and in no time we were heading back toward the beach. For the last 200m or so the water is very shallow. I swam over some rocks with only about 6 inches clearance. A couple of times, my hand touched the sandy bottom. Being that shallow, I think it made me slow down without realizing it because it gives you the feeling that it's time to stop and stand up. Once I was very close to the swim exit, I did stand up and run out of the water. My swim time was 19:23. I was OK with that but would have been a little happier with even a minute faster. I felt great in the swim and enjoyed it. Looking back on it now, I realize that there were some frustrations but they weren't of great consequence and it was definitely a pleasant swim.
T1 - Let me tell you, this took way too long! (3:41) Like a complete and total newbie, I couldn't find my bike! I had landmarked its location before the race but for some reason I couldn't get my bearings in the moment. I realized after the race that a neon flag that had been on the end of my bike rack wasn't there anymore during the race and the small tree I thought was by my bike was the wrong small tree. Sheesh! Finally, after wasting at least a minute, I found it and carried on with what would have been a good transition!
The Bike - 21 km
The bike course was an out and back that ran entirely along the lake. It was a beautiful, rolling course with good spectator support. This is the first race I've done in years in which I didn't ride my tri bike (I sold it last week). This time, I rode my road bike, which is more comfortable for me with my hips. It was a pleasure to ride and it performed well. I felt great on the bike. The temperature was heading for 36 degrees and already it was around 27 when I was on the bike course. I made sure I drank plenty of Gatorade and I ate a few Sharkies, too. I rode as hard as I could, playing leap frog with a 14 year old on a mountain bike (I beat him!). I totally loved the ride and loved how my bike felt. My time was 47:06, which pleased me, considering my "modest" training level this year and the loss of strength and flexibility that has come with the arthritis in my hips.
T2 - This transition went a little better! Bike racked, helmet off, shoes changed, off and running. 1:42. I felt like it was pretty slick. The extra few seconds were because of a bit of extra distance to run between the dismount line and the transition area.
The Run - 5K
The run follows the same course as the bike ride - out and back along the lake. This was the part that I knew would be impacted by my hip situation. I never expected this race to be a high performance event for me. I knew I would walk the run. For most of the first half, I did walk, although I tried to run for a minute or two here and there. At the turnaround, I felt suddenly peppy and thought, "I can run all the way back!" I must have warmed up and settled into the run. So I started to run and felt great! The turnaround is at slightly more than halfway so I probably ran about 2K. I was pretty pleased with myself, since I haven't run for a year and a half and my hips are pretty sh!#ty. I ran that glorious home stretch, finishing the run in 43:40.
Total time: 1:55:34 (I was not DFL at all.)
This is about 20-25 minutes longer than usual for a sprint for me. Reasons for the extra time: lack of training due to crappy hips, slowing down in the swim when the water got shallow, losing my bike like a fool(!), and walking most of the run.
All things considered though, this was a great experience! It felt so, so good to race again and it was a great event to do. I was happy with how I did given the circumstances. It made me feel like I was part of it all again. That, after all, was the real goal.
Chelan is a hot, beautiful wine-making region so naturally, some very excellent wine was consumed post-race.
Great work Sarah! - Bro P.
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