Race Report: Cranberry Olympic Triathlon

Cranberry Olympic Triathlon
August 23, 2014
Swim .9 / Bike 26.2 / Run 6.2
Total Time: 3:47:19

I had signed up for this race under the influence of peer pressure and a post-race high. You know, the normal way. Ruthanne & Jerome were signing up and I thought it sounded like a good idea too. I had never completed an Olympic distance tri -- my only other attempt was Mass State last year, where I DNF'd by quitting in a hissy fit after the bike. My mantra for this summer was to keep everything fun, which translated into signing up for a million races but not really training for any of them. And yes, I guess I did train, just not conscientiously or purposefully. If it weren't for tagging along with Ruthanne and Jerome for half of their workouts, I might not have done anything except the races themselves. My only planned training day for Cranberry was going to be the Timberman Sprint the week before Cranberry (if you're new to triathlon, I don't recommend this method.)

But here's what happened at Timberman.... 
I ended up missing the race entirely due to vertigo. I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and on the way to the bathroom I got severely dizzy, which then triggered a feeling of motion sickness, which then made me puke. I went back to bed hoping to sleep it off in the next couple of hours. The room was spinning, and I was frantically looking at the time, wondering if I'd be able to sleep long enough to wake up feeling refreshed. Answer: no. I woke up two more times, and both times it ended up the same way, with me vomiting in the bathroom. I even did the math, wondering if I could wait it out long enough to get to the race just before my swim wave went off, but that still involved me getting out of bed which was the trigger for the nausea. So, Timberman didn't happen, which also meant my training for Cranberry didn't happen. This has sort of been my calling card for 2014, so it was par for the course.

Here's why missing Timberman was the best thing that could have happened...
I was nervous before Timberman. I was only doing the sprint, which I downgraded to from the 70.3. I think the feeling of nervousness was just what my mind/body thought it was supposed to do before "Timberman", since that's what consumed my entire life last year. I got to the expo on Friday afternoon to pick up my number, and I half expected that I'd feel disappointed that I wasn't doing the 70.3. I felt zero disappointment. I was all-in for the sprint, with not a shred of nostalgia or remorse or regret. But yet I still kept that same mindset that I had for the 70.3 last year: that I would be dead last, or that I'd be the only one walking my bike up the hill, etc. I seem to have been stuck in this negativity for a long, long time. So that's why, when I couldn't race at Timberman, I got a good healthy dose of perspective. I would have loved to be walking my bike up the hill and coming in dead last (which I wouldn't have, btw. I checked the results to compare my imaginary time against actual finishers.) Suddenly I felt gratitude for health and ability that I had been taking for granted. And I know that sounds totally cliche but that's what happened. The other weird thing is that my vertigo went away later that evening. I've had vertigo twice before, and both times it lasted a few days to a week. Is it odd, or is it God? I think this was a divine intervention to get my head back in the game. Which finally brings me to the actual Cranberry race report...

Race morning
When I woke up healthy on race morning, I knew it was going to be a good day. This was going to be my first Olympic distance triathlon, and even if I did come in last, I didn't care. I was so grateful to have the opportunity to do this race that I barely had any other nervousness or fears. The only fear I had was sort of irrational -- which was that my back tire was going to come flying off my bike because I didn't trust that I put the skewer in correctly. I stopped at the Landry's bike tent at the race site to have them adjust my rear wheel, which I thought would be a 5-second fix. They ended up taking the wheel off and putting it on some spinny thing and then adjusting all the spokes because my wheel was "crooked". EVEN THAT DIDN'T FREAK ME OUT! Instead, I was like, wow, good thing I don't trust my own wheel tightening skills or I wouldn't have stood in this line and I wouldn't have known my wheel was crooked. Thanks again, universe! I got to the rack in transition to set up; I was right next to my E3 teammates Ruthanne, Jerome, and Stephanie. We got ourselves ready and headed down to the swim.

The Swim - 31:34 (2:00/100yds)
I'm never really nervous about the swim because it's the event that I enjoy the most, and my strongest event of the 3. The swim was in Loon Pond in Lakeville, which was barely .9 around the edge. And when I say "edge" I mean that literally. We were practically crawling along some home owners lakefront property at some points in the swim. Besides the super shallow waters, the other notable thing about this race was that it was the first time I've ever done a time trial start in a triathlon. With a time trial start, you file into the water in two single file lines, 3 seconds apart. A lot of people like this because it reduces the amount of elbowing and jostling you get with a wave start (where everyone in the whole wave starts at the same time.) I personally didn't like the time trial start because all it meant was that there was a steady stream of people I needed to try to swim past, and others from behind who were trying to pass me. At least with a wave start, you quickly settle into your pace and after the first 100 yards or so, the whole wave has naturally organized itself by pace. And because the course was so shallow, it's not like you could swim wide to get some space. At one point, another woman and I were swimming so close to each other side by side that it felt like a drill that coach Karen did with me at Walden, where she laced her fingers over mine and guided my arm with hers. So, I pretended that's what was happening and focused on faking good form. (haha!)

T1 - 2:45
The run from the water to the transition area was a little tricky. There were steep, uneven stone steps that led from the water up to the grass, then a bit of a run around transition to get into transition. It was long enough that I had time to make a joke to a fellow athlete that we must be taking the scenic route. I tried something new with my nutrition for this race, which was to load up my tri shirt with my nutrition before the swim so it was one less thing I needed to do in transition. I figured any pond water that got into the sealed packages would be no more than what I'd have already swallowed in the course of the swim. Seemed like a good idea in theory, but it failed in practice. When I took my wetsuit off, all of my nutrition fell out of my pockets. I didn't notice this at first. Instead, it was like, "Hey! Mandarin Orange Gu! I have one of those too! Oh wait, that's mine." "Hey! Black Cherry Shot Bloks! I have one of those too! Oh wait, that's mine." So I re-loaded the two escapees into my tri top and headed out of transition with my bike. It was like Hansel & Gretel, because I kept finding nutrition on the ground that was clearly mine, that must have fallen out as I was taking my wetsuit off approaching the bike. I was able to get everything I had dropped. Lesson learned... loading up your tri top with nutrition does not save you any time if you end up in a scavenger hunt for it later.

The Bike - 1:44:36 (15mph)
Listen up, folks, because you might not ever hear me say this again: I LOVED this bike course. And it was so pretty too! I am famous for being oblivious to amazing scenery during races. Friends will be awestruck by mountains and lakes and foliage, and I'm like, "did you guys see all those potholes?" But not this time! This time I noticed it all and I was having a blast. The course was mostly flat. Uphills are my nemesis, but there were only a few of those, and they weren't horrible so they didn't kill my overall average speed like they usually do. I stayed in a pretty good mental space during the bike, which was pretty easy to do because I really was having a fine old time. It helped that I started singing a little song that used to help me when I was training for Timberman 70.3 last year. You all know the song, it's "Whole World in His Hands" from your Sunday School days. The way I sing it on the bike is to be aware of my surroundings and, for lack of a better word, "pray" for those people by singing a song about them. For instance, "He's got the sweaty man in spandex, in his hands. He's got the sweaty man in spandex, in his hands. He's got the sweaty man in spandex, in his hands. He's got the sweaty man in his hands." And so on and so on with "woman in the purple", "volunteers", "crazy crazy drivers", etc. It really helps me get out of my own head and focus on the things around me. I probably did about 8 iterations of that before I needed a new tune. I switched to Zac Brown Band's "Let It Go" (not the Frozen version) which has a refrain that was perfect for miles 19-21:

Keep your heart above your head and your eyes wide open
So this world can't find a way to leave you cold
And know you're not the only ship out on the ocean
Save your strength for things that you can change
Forgive the ones you can't
You gotta let it go

I lowered my voice to what I thought was a muffle when I approached a couple of volunteers at a turn, but as I approached they said, "Keep singing! That's what we like to hear!" The last couple of miles on the bike were the toughest. There was some rough road, and some hills, and I was just plain tired of being on the bike. The bike course merges with the run course for the last 2 miles, so that was a nice distraction (after you finish thinking, "Oh GOD! They are so far ahead of me!") I was able to spot Frank (of "Frank and Denise" fame) and cheer for him, so that was fun to see someone I knew. Finally I saw the cones that were the sure fire indicator that I had reached transition.

T2 - 2:32
I still had the rest of my nutrition in my pockets from T1, so there wasn't much to do in T2 except rack my bike, take off my helmet, swap out bike shoes for sneakers, and grab my hat and race belt. For some reason everything felt slow and clunky. Not in a bad way, just in a way that I know I can improve upon later.

The Run - 1:25:53 (13:51/mile)
I find it hilarious that I'm concerned about improving my T2 time, but not my near 14 minute per mile pace on the run. Oh yes, I'm a funny one alright. I haven't run more than a 5K since April, and even my 5K's have been in the sluggish range. It was no surprise that the run was going to be atrocious. I guess that's why I'm not disappointed in it. Low expectations FTW! Honestly, though, I am not sure I could have run any faster if this was a standalone 10K, so I'm pretty impressed with this. I was definitely conscious of my pace, and was determined to keep it under 14:00/mile. I ran/walked the entire course, running whenever the average pace got too close to 14:00, and walking when I felt like I had enough of a cushion. The run course was nice because most of it was in the shade. There was hardly any traffic, and the volunteers and aid stations were incredible. There was a water stop every mile on the run course, and most of them had an array of choices: water, coke, heed, gu, oranges, bananas, and ice. I took a few oranges and opted for a burning hot gu in lieu of the shot bloks that I still had in my pocket from before the swim. In true Jerome style, he went blazing past me in the final 1/2 mile of the course. One of these days, Jerome, one of these days!!!!

Not last!

I ended up finishing in 3:47:19, well under my pie-in-the-sky goal of a sub 4:00. I thought my bike would be at least 20 minutes slower than it was, so I am absolutely thrilled with this time. Everything about this race was fantastic: the course, the organization, the volunteers, seeing some E3 peeps, the beautiful scenery, the clock still being up at the end, and even hot food being served long after half of the field had left. And because this race was so perfect, I feel completely satisfied in calling this my last tri for 2014. No more last minute sign-ups for me. Nothing can top this race, and I want to go out on a high note. It's too early to plan for 2015, but if I happen to have triathlons on my schedule next year, and I happen to need an Olympic distance race in August, this one is definitely going on the schedule!*

*assuming Peej says it's ok because I promised her I would ask for permission this time around.