Well I did it! Back in March I achieved step one of this year’s goal, which was to qualify for Nationals. This past Saturday I achieved step 2, which was to do the race. Here are my thoughts about that race.
The day before the race, at bike check-in, I was able to sync up with two fellow athletes from Team RW&B. Mike and Laurie are super nice people, great athletes and an asset to the team. I especially like Laurie’s enthusiasm towards her volunteer work.
This was a big race, perhaps the biggest I’ve done so far, but certainly the largest Olympic distance race I’ve done. There were a lot of bikes out there, and just about every one of them was a time-trial bike. There were also a LOT of very fit looking people there. Normally when I go to a race I can walk around as one of the more fit looking ones – not so in Burlington. It wasn’t until the sprint people started showing up that I saw people who weren’t in incredible shape.
The venue was awesome! While it was warmer race day than it typically is in Vermont, it was much cooler than what I was used to in Houston! The water was warmer than I’d expected, and wished briefly that I’d brought my sleeveless wetsuit, but once the race started I never thought about it again. This picture was from before the race started, when I was in my “I need to vomit” mode.
The water wasn’t very clear, but it was calm with minimal current and didn’t taste too badly. I started near the back of the swim pack to avoid getting mauled. Everyone was so fast that I was quickly alone and swam almost the entire race by myself. By the time I got out of the water, I only saw one bike left in my area. When you are racked by age group that isn’t typically a good sign!
It was a very nice bike ride, and I’m glad it was only 25 miles. The course was one of the hilliest I’ve raced so far, and I would have struggled on the run if I’d had to do 56 miles. I’m not sure if the first part was hillier or if it was the wind, but I was much quicker on the back half. Everyone out there was quicker than me regardless. There was a constant stream of bikes going by me, men and women both, and the only people I passed were in there 70’s! The hills were steep enough that I think I used every gear I had. I stood up on a couple of them to try and power up past people, but the exertion required was distressing my hamstring and I wanted to save it for the run. As it was I hit and held power thresholds I’ve never seen before. While it ended up not being my fastest 25 miles, it was by far the most intense!
Pretty quickly I was off my bike and out on the run. I had no idea how I was doing relative to my goal, but I was so far back in the pack that I stopped to give high-fives to all my fans that were there.
They were on both sides of the road, so I had to zigzag for a bit, but it gave me some extra motivation. I would need it too, as the first 1/4 mile was up a serious hill. Every time I thought I had reached the top I would see that the road had turned and we still had more uphill to go. I passed several people walking, which gave me hope that I might make up some of my lost ground.
Someone told me before the race that it was all downhill after the first hill. That got me through the first hill, even though it took me another 1/2 mile to get my breath back and HR down to a maintainable range. They had lied to me though. There were a couple more hills and a long false flat. The latter appeared about the time I pick up the pace, and I doubt I ran much faster.
I remember thinking a couple of things on the run: My water is hot, why am I still carrying it? Where are the downhill sections? Mostly though I thought about walking. My leg hurt, I wanted some cool water to drink and I was plane old tired. I kept thinking about what coach had told me: no one will know if I walk but me and how I had people waiting on me. In the end my mind held up and I kept running.
Everyone was there cheering at the finish. I took my medal, water and stumbled away from the crowd looking for them. At this point all the pain and suffering of the past year fade away and everything is smiles and happiness. You ask why I race, this is why!
Of course this doesn’t hurt the cause any: Ice Cream from the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Stowe with my parents.
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