Yesterday was my first ‘big’ triathlon of the season – the Columbia Triathlon – an Olympic distance event. Here is my lengthy rain – I mean race – report! They were predicting rain Saturday and Sunday with thunderstorms, too. They certainly got it right.
Saturday morning I met Marlene for a latte at Caribou Coffee where we went on to meet Harriet at packet pick-up. Columbia requires athletes to rack their bikes the day before. So after pickup we headed to the race site for a short brick (30 minute ride then 15 minute run). I usually cover my seat and bike computer in bags but for the first time (per race director’s ‘suggestion’) I used old swim caps. They actually worked quite well! I know if it rained during the race my stuff would get wet but at least it would be protected the night before and until it was time to ride. Post-brick we had lunch at California Tortilla. Had never been there before but had a delicious small honey lime chicken burrito. Mmmmm. It was very good! And how nice that they have a 'small' option!
Saturday night the rain started. And the thunder. And it woke me up. More than once! Then 3:30 AM arrived and up I rose – it was race morning! My plan was to be out the door by 4:15 AM and I pretty much was. The icon on my computer said it was cloudy and that there was a 40% chance of rain in my area. Um, yeah. I opened the door to head out…and it was pouring! I took it slow on the way there as needed as there was water in the roadway and it was scary! I wished I had left at 4:00 AM instead! I managed to make it to the race site by 5:15 AM and by 5:25 AM I think I was parked…It took nearly 10 minutes to get into the park entrance and park because of traffic. Not too bad. Parking was interesting – I was in my Honda Accord and was directed to park facing uphill on a slick, grassy slope…I was afraid I wouldn’t make it! And then worried how hard it would be to leave later. (But actually leaving was not a problem…) Oh, it was STILL raining. Hard at times.
First order of business – body marking and tire pumping. Check. The body marker had a guy holding an umbrella for her but I still got rained on. The magic marker was not working all that well. Got the tires pumped then made the first visit to the port o potty. No lines! (The rain did keep some athletes away and some even picked up their bikes that morning and left.) Next I went back to the car to get the rest of my gear for transition. I had pre-packed each pair of shoes in bags to keep them dry, initially. I did not bother to lay out a towel this time. I did have a small hand towel in the bike shoe bag to clean my feet off after the walk/run from the swim exit. At this point I went over to see if Marlene and Harriet had made it and they had. Their bikes were racked near each other so we all got to visit. I almost forgot my sunglasses! If Harriet had not mentioned putting the clear lenses in her for the ride I would have completely forgotten and definitely would have missed them! So back to my bike to take care of that. Thanks, Harriet! Somewhere in there I made a second trip to the potties. Still a pretty short line!
At this point it was about 6:15 AM (I think). I decided to head to my car to dry out somewhat so I could get my wetsuit on. I was using my full sleeved suit. This plan worked pretty well. I put it on half way then started walking to the swim start barefoot. Ouch! (At times…) I had disposable flip flops but decided not to use them since it was so wet and slippery out. Once at the swim start I learned that the start was being delayed by 15 minutes. No problem….I got into the rest of the wetsuit and asked a fellow competitor in my wave to help zip me up. Then I in turn did the same for another person. They had the National Anthem and the first wave of professionals got in and finally the race was underway. About 10 or so minutes later it was finally time for my wave to get into the water, where I was able to pee once more, in my wetsuit no less. I think that is a sign of luck.
Swim: 29:01, 31 – I think my open water swimming and sighting is really improving. I hardly had to make adjustments. Only occasionally to get out of the way of a slower swimmer...as I did not want to swim on top of them. I did have to adjust my goggles a few times when they took in water. Not my best swim split, but between my goggles and the full suit (which slows me down a little compared to sleeveless) I was happy. I like Centennial Lake in May – the water is not super clear but it does not taste funny at all. And I don’t think it has ever been really choppy.
T1: 5:27, 56 – Any time I am taking off a wetsuit I do not expect a fast transition. Oh well!
Bike: 1:39:03, 54, 15.4 mph – I can’t really remember if it was raining when I started the bike, but I was worried about slipping going up the hill and out of transition. I had just seen a guy fall on his way through transition from the swim! The mount line, I thought, was not clear. I finally decided to mount and was almost taken down by a guy riding up beside me. He was wobbling! Whew! Anyway, I think I later passed that guy, and then he passed me, back and forth a few times on the course. I do remember rain on the course though. I do remember the rain stopped, I just can’t remember when or where! So, I just figured I’d take it easy on the down hills so there would not be any mishaps. Despite the icky weather there were a lot of cheering folks out there, which was nice. It was a pretty uneventful ride, but I did enjoy the cows who probably thought we were crazy out there in that weather! I passed a dead skunk on the side of the road. Ewww. On the way back a Team Z guy passed me and then a short while later I saw both Marlene and Harriet out on the course. They were in a swim wave about an hour after me! All in all it was a nice ride. I’m still a sucky climber, but I will strive to make some improvements this season. And future seasons! It was a better split than last year, even with the weather.
T2: 2:45, 37 – This was better than T1, but wow, could have been faster!
Run: 1:06:21, 52, 10:41 pace – The first mile and a half went pretty well. I managed to jog up the first awful hill, the switchback thing. I probably went a bit too fast because the hills got harder. Oh well. I let myself walk and tried not to feel bad about it. I took Gatorade from most of the stations because that seemed to help. I saw Julie from Team Z at the DC Tri Club water stop! (She is also a DC Tri member!) She handed me my drink on the way back! I saw a few Z-ers out there, too. I managed to run the last mile and a half, too! It must have just been the middle three-ish miles that were the worst! All in all I was happy with my split as it was also better than last year!
Final: 3:33:35, 47 out of 78 finishers – Again, my finish time was better than last year so I’m happy that with a rainy bike I was able to improve there. I will most likely sign up again and challenge myself to improve!
Post race I got a little bit of food and chatted with a new-ish Team Z person before heading back to Transition for my gear. I managed to stuff everything into my bag and prop that on my handlebars to get out. I was surprised to see a biker come into T2 when I was heading out. I made it up to my car with no problem and got stuff loaded. I was able to change and while I wanted to go back to the finish to see Marlene and Harriet part of me just wanted to get going. I think the stress of driving in the rain and the pre-race rain wore me out! Not to mention the disruptions to my sleep due to the thunderstorms. On the ride home I had my post-race Snickers and Diet Coke! I was still hungry when I got home and had a little left over pasta then took a shower and a much needed nap. Of course a few hours later I was hungry. Again.
Next up: Zooma Annapolis 10K. This is a nice hilly event. I can’t wait! The course map is finally up and I see that it drops 10 feet below sea level and goes as high as 62 feet above. I think if I practice the Regina hills (112 feet in 1/8 mile) a couple more times I should be OK! The cool thing about this race is that is starts and finishes at the Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. How cool is that?
Happy Training!
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