For the second week in a row I had to set the alarm clock for an early morning wake up on Sunday morning. The transition area opened at 5:30 AM and I wanted to be in the park before 5:30 AM since the parking is very limited. When I got to the park at 5:15 AM there was a long line of cars waiting for the rangers to open the gates. Eventually we were allowed in the park around 5:30 AM. It was a beautiful morning, cool with low humidity but the grass was wet and my shoes might not dry out before the triathlon starts.
The transition racks were the low kind and if you rack the bike by the nose of the saddle you have problems getting the bike off the rack. I have a TorHans Aero bottle mounted between the aero bars so there is only a couple of inches of the aero bars available to lay on the transition bike rack. That was my best option so that is how I racked my bike. The water temperature was 74 degrees and I debated not wearing the wetsuit but in the end I wore the wetsuit. I finished setting up my gear and grabbed my wetsuit before walking down to the lake.
There were four swim waves and I was in the second wave. The first wave swam out to the first buoy and waited for the triathlon to start. We were still standing on the boat ramp when the triathlon started and right away a couple of swimmers wanted to quit the race. I don't think I've ever seen so many people quit so quickly. My wave was given the go ahead to enter the water so I took my practice swim and lined up at the buoy. There was only one buoy and the staff kept yelling to have people move back. I hope next year they have two buoys so we can tell where the imaginary starting line is located.
The swim course had a slight turn at the first buoy but it was mostly a straight line across the lake. Unlike in the Nation's Triathlon I was able to swim a straight line in this triathlon. The exist from the lake was a sandy beach that was easy on the feet as I left the lake and ran for my bike.
I started up the wrong row and had to double back to find my bike. I put on my sunglasses but they were fogged up so I lost valuable seconds wiping off the lenses. I reached for the bike computer to turn it on and knocked my bike off the rack. More seconds lost picking up my bike. Sunglasses on, helmet on, chin strap buckled, I grabbed my bike and ran out of transition. It's an uphill run to the mount line and then an uphill bike ride. Did you notice that my bike shoes are clipped to the pedals and I ran out of transition in my bare feet?
Good thing I had the bike in it's lowest gear. I climbed the first hill and the rolling hills to the first turn. I passed a number of riders on the next hill and really cranked up the speed on the next down hill. At the next turn I backed off the speed, stayed upright and grabbed the brakes and hung on for dear life. I survived the hard turn and the bump where the road transitioned to the bridge. Then I turned onto the long flat section of road and hit the biggest gears I could find on the bike. That section went well but on the next section I was standing on the pedals climbing a hill when I heard a "ping" sound and the rear wheel started to wobble. I didn't know if I had a flat tire or a broken spoke or some other issue. There was a driveway up ahead and I debated (briefly) stopping to check out my bike. Instead I decided to slow down and see if the wobble would go away or lessen. I found out going slower lessened the wobble so I just kept going. I'd have crossed my fingers for good luck but that's not a good idea when you are riding a triathlon bike. There was one more issue on the bike ride. I saw a car up ahead on the left that pulled out ahead us. The driver of the car could not pass the rider ahead of us and the car couldn't move over to the left to let us pass on the right. Eventually two of us decided to squeeze past the car and continue on with the race. We climbed another hill and then we had a downhill ride to the dismount line. I was able to pull my feet out of the shoes and coast to the dismount line.
I raced down the hill; racked my bike and dropped off my helmet. I always wear socks with my shoes but today there wasn't time to put on socks. I pulled on my shoes, and put on my hat and race belt as I ran out of transition. I passed two guys who slowed down for water and I just kept chasing down anyone running in front of me. This was a two mile run and there wasn't time to stop for water or small talk with the other runners. I made the turn around the orange code and headed back to the finish line. Along the way I passed a friend and I yelled hello. A girl ran past me and it dawned on my that she was the first girl to pass me today. There was a narrow path to the finish line, a barrier on the left side and orange cones on the right side didn't leave much room for passing. I managed to pass two more runners as I ran down the narrow path. I never even looked at the clocks and I almost forgot to stop my watch after I crossed the finish line.
Carol showed up a couple of minutes later and we walked over to talk to my friends. Tom had already checked the race results and he told me I finished in 24th place. We hadn't seen each other since the triathlon boot camp in January so we had a lot to catch up. Tom's wife was still running so we waited for her and another one of my friends to run across the finish line. When I walked over and checked the race results I discovered I had finished 3rd in my age group. Finally, after two 4th place finished I made in 3rd place. I packed up my gear and waited for the award ceremony.
I'm on the podium for the first time.
Photos by Carol Gannon
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