Tri #2 Complete

I finished the Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon yesterday at a slow, but respectably 1 hour 31 minutes and 49 seconds. I should have pictures up soon.

I woke up at 5:00 AM, a bit groggy and tired. I had a night of fitful sleep, it wasn't a good sign. I had my usual breakfast, whole wheat pasta, a banana, and a cup of coffee. Last time I overdid it with the liquids, loading up on water and Gatorade. I thought it was a good strategy until I had to pee halfway through the bike portion, I was hoping to avoid that mistake this time around.

I took a long hot shower to wake up, loaded up my gear and headed out for the race. I stopped for gas, and realized I forgot my bike helmet. Nice...so much for arriving early. It turned out to be a short drive to the race site and fortunately I arrived just as they were closing down the roads for the bike portion. I had to call Ann and give her a heads up, which didn't much matter as she ended up lost when she came later with the kids.

I arrived with plenty of time and pulled into a spot as directed by the race volunteers. As I unloaded the car and my bike, I headed out to get my registration packed and get marked. Marking involves writing my bib number (267) on my left shoulder and left calf and my age on my right calf. It was an embarrassing moment as I had to hold my bike up with one hand, hold my back pack while I pulled off my sweater to gain access to my shoulder for marking. The folks behind me, I could only imagine because I refused to look out of embarrassment, must have been either grumbling at the wait or laughing at my comedic undressing and awkward balancing act. Their final laugh happened when I threw my backpack over my shoulder after putting my sweater back on and having my helmet, which was strapped on to the backpack, swing around and smack me in the back of the head with at thwack.

The bike racks were not the long rows, but rather a small rack that sat on the ground and held a maximum of four bikes with two on each side. I pulled in my rented road bike front wheel first. There was only one other bike on the opposite side of the rack, so I figured I would have plenty of room to set up and relax. Unfortunately, I bumped my bike and because the front wheel was in first, and not the solid back wheel, the bike toppled over jerking the rack sideways and nearly dislodging the bike opposite me. The guy politely said, "you need to rack it with the back wheel." Flush with embarrassment, I switched the bike and went back to checking my gear and getting ready.

I put down my towel pulled out my running shorts and disconnected my helmet from my back pack. I looked around to see if anyone was getting on their wetsuits yet, I didn't want to be first and look any more like a beginner.

I was excited because I had a new toy to play with...my wonderful wife Ann bought me a Timex Ironman wrist-watch. It makes me feel very athletic that I can keep my own time. The guy opposite me also asked for the time, which I gladly provided. The new watch allows me to track my time and my splits, it’s very exciting.

A woman behind me was chatting with another racer about astroglide, a gel stick you apply to your body to ease the removal of your wetsuit. She said her neighbor had come by that week and asked her if she could borrow some Pam non-stick spray, to which she comically replied, "no, but I have astroglide." Ahh...traithlete humor. Pam non-stick spray is used for the same purpose, easing off the wetsuit after the swim. I probably wouldn't have gotten the joke had it not been for my previous race where the competitors around me were spraying themselves with Pam. I choose to avoid lubricants as a matter of principle.

On to the race, I pulled on my wetsuit and waited until the last minute to take off my sweater. It was a cold morning and I didn’t want to freeze. The walk down to the beach was hard on the feet, the transition area was in a parking lot and there were lots of sharp pebbles and stones. You think it would have killed them to have swept the transition area, oh well. The beach wasn’t really a beach, it was just dirt. The funny thing about Colorado is their lack of sand. I guess I always took for granted that beaches had sand. Not in Colorado where most of the bodies of water are manmade reservoirs. The beaches don’t have the benefit of centuries of waves pulverizing stones into nice soft grains of sand. Instead, it’s just mushy stinky dirt. Oh well.

I put my feet in the water and thought this is nice and warm, big mistake. If you want to check the water temperature, wade out a little bit. The first few inches tend to be a lot warmer than the rest of the water. It was selected ignorance, I hate jumping into cold water and the process of acclimating to frigid cold, better to live in denial.

At the pre-race briefing the organizers announced that the exit area on the beach was carpeted to the transition area, which resulted in a loud cheer from the racers. I guess I’m not the only one peeved that they didn’t sweep the area.

I walked back into the water, careful not to get in too deep for fear of realizing how cold the water actually is and waited for my wave. This time around, I was in the second wave, men 34 and older. There were fewer waves that were larger for this race. I was scanning the crowed looking for my pit crew, but they were nowhere to be seen, apparently with the street closures both Ann and my sister and brother in law got lost and couldn’t make the start.

The first wave of racers went off and I eased myself into the icy cold water. Yuck…denial is a bitch. Next time I plan to jump in the water and warm up a little bit. My stomach was feeling unsettled and I was afraid it was going to be a long race. I also had to pee, so much for easing up on the morning liquids. I didn’t have much time to be nervous, my wave was next and I set the watch and waited…one minute warning…thirty second warning…off we went. Triathlon two was under way.

I started into my breaststroke, but realized I could still walk a little bit and get accustomed to the cold water. I popped up and walked, I had chosen to start on the outside to not get caught in mess at the first turn. It didn’t matter, as I hit the first buoy I was thwarted by four exhausted swimmers stopped in front of me. The two racers in front of me were alternating with a back stroke trying to catch their breath and the two racers in front of them were stopped calling for the kayak. I had to go around them which slowed me down considerably and forced me to take a longer line to the first turn.

After hitting the first turn, I realized how long the swim would be, the next buoy seemed a mile away. There were two more swimmers in front of me who were zigzagging back and forth. I’ve practiced keeping my head up to ensure a straight line when I swim, these guys weren’t paying attention and at one point, a racer swam directly in front of me going perpendicular to the course. I thought about yelling to him, but wanted to save my breath, he’d figure it out eventually, hopefully before he hit the beach.

The other racer had a slightly better grasp of geometry but was still cutting angles back and forth, by the next turn he had to swim back to the buoy and come around, which allowed me to catch up and eventually pass him on the final leg. I started with some front crawl and my speed increased considerably, I was on the beach and ready for the first transition.

Swim: 17 minutes and 26 seconds, good for 170 overall. A little slow and disappointing, but I didn’t drown.

The organizers had lied about the carpet through to the transition area. The carpet stopped about ten feet short, and I was tiptoeing over the stones and sharp objects to my bike. When I arrived, I realized that the person who came in next to me made the same mistake and racked their back front tire first. Their bike had fallen sideways into my bike and was in the way, beginners. I choose to wear socks this time around, my right foot had been hurting and I thought a little cushion would help. It cost me about one minute per sock.

Transition #1: 3 minutes 26 seconds, next time no socks

I rented a fancy road bike for the race from 3X Fast, the local triathlon store. It is relatively speaking on the low end of road bikes (only about $1,100 retail), but it was a great deal better than any bike I’ve ever rode before the race. I was hoping for a fast bike, my goal was to average over 20 MPH for the twelve miles. I was confident I could meet that goal with my fancy road bike propelling me to triathlon respectability. I headed out for the first of three laps through a local neighborhood and back down a main road. It was largely flat and fast.

At the entry way, I caught site of Ann and the kids cheering me. They had a tough time finding a place to park and so they missed the start of the race. Ether way, it was nice to see them and Connor, my three year old seemed to be very excited.

About halfway through the first lap, the elite racers sped by and I tried to keep up but they were going much too fast. The overall winner of the triathlon averaged 27.3 MPH. At one point, I thought a car was coming up behind me but it was just a guy on a high tech bike with a closed back wheel, aerodynamic helmet and front handle bars that extended straight out from the bike. The way to tell the difference between a “road” bike and a “triathlon” bike, “triathlon” bikes have gear shifters on both the extended handlebars, and the regular handlebars unlike road bikes which only have gear shifters on the regular handle bars.

I was feeling very good on the bike, and while most of the elite racers had passed me, I was actually starting to catch and pass some riders that had beaten me in the swim and a few of the non-elite riders from the first wave. At the start of the second lap, I started to pass some of the racers from subsequent waves, I was passing racers pretty steadily midway through the second lap, I looked back and realized another rider was drafting off of me. I wondered if he had mistaken me for a competent experienced triathlete.

He passed me at the beginning of the third lap and sensing a challenge I pulled in behind him and began drafting off of him. He kept up a pretty good pace for awhile, but he let me pass midway through the final lap. I finished ahead of him by a minute or so. I missed the final turn coming around the final lap and was scolded by one of the race officials, “bike to the left,” he screamed.

Bike: 37 minutes and 32 seconds, average speed of 19.8 MPH…bummed, I missed my goal by .2 MPH.

On to the second transition, I racked my bike and took off my helmet. The racer who was drafting me during the bike shouted, “great ride,” on the way out. It was a nice bit of encouragement from a fellow competitor

Transition two: One minute 28 seconds

My goal for the run is under 30 minutes. I wasn’t optimistic, my legs felt heavy after the bike and they needed some time to loosen up. The run was a simple out and back on a dirt road. Ann was at the exit of the transition camera in hand snapping away. I tried to stay to the side to take advantage of the softer dirt. My brother in law Dan was parked on the side of the road with my sister in law Claire, my nephew Liam with Connor and Aiden. Dan started filming a video asking me questions, and shouting encouragement. It was a nice break to take my mind off the run.

The run was pretty mundane, though being a slow runner some of the racers that I had passed on the bike were now passing me on run. It added to my running frustrations. The focus of my off season workouts would be running. I need to get better.

I still had to pee, the run was out on a country road and there was a corn field off to the right, I thought about stopping for a leak, but I thought the better off it. Strangely, it helped me keep my mind off the run. There was gentle incline, but nothing too difficult. I rounded the cone and headed back, I was able to see all of the racers still behind me.

When I hit the two mile marker, I decided I wanted to finish the last mile or so less than ten minutes. I picked up the pace and to my surprise, my legs felt better. I caught sight of the finish line and picked up the pace to a steady run, I was almost there. With about 100 yards to go, I heard the announcer yell, “MIKE SCHOLL….LOVELAND, COLORADO.” I noticed Ann and Dan snapping pictures and let out a big smile and raised my arms in victory. Run over, triathlon number two in the books.

Run: 32 minutes even, missed my goal.

Final time, one hour thirty one minutes and forty nine seconds, good for 151st out of 299.

(more thoughts will be forthcoming, but right now I need to go to bed)