White Lake Sprint

I finished my first race this morning in about 1:40. I drove up to our cabin (Two Wheeler Dealer is a sponsor and does tech support, so we warrant a cabin) to spend the evening and prepare for the race. There were about 8 guys in the group. My boss, Jim, was kind enough to cook burgers and walk me through race procedure. Reggie Barnes hung out with us, which is pretty cool because he was a pro skater and is pretty connected in the action sports world and owns Eastern Skateboard Supply, which is one of the biggest skate product distributors in the country. I once met Tony Alva and Skip Engblom at his annual open house, which was super cool. Anyway, I never got nervous last night like I thought I might, and even managed a decent night sleep. Today began before dawn. I had a cup of black coffee and a banana for breakfast, then took my stuff to the transition area and set it up, again with Jim's able guidance. We did the tech support thing for a while, which mostly consists of pumping up tires, and at around 7:30 I left to get dressed and ready.

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Because of the previously mentioned mix-up (the event folks had me registered for the Half-Ironman rather than the Sprint) I got stuck in the first open place available for the start time, which was female age groups, the 5th wave, starting at 8:12. Immediately before the race I ate a powerbar, went to the john, put on race shorts and wetsuit (courtesy of Kim, thanks), grabbed my swim cap and goggles and walked down to the water to wait for my wave.

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The Swim (750 meters): I jumped in when the 3rd wave was starting and started to make my way up to the start line. I got some pretty funny looks because everyone else in my wave was female, and I was a little scruffy this morning from not shaving for a couple days. At about 8:15 they announced our start in 10 secs, I started my stopwatch, listened for the air horn, and started swimming. The swim course consisted of three pretty evenly spaced legs, forming a big triangle. I immediately swam over to the left of the pack to have a little space for myself and started swimming. At the completion of the first leg I was getting a little winded from the freestyle stroke and switched to a sidestroke for the rest of the swim. I have got to become a better swimmer. I'm surprised that it was that bad, because my training went pretty well, but I think that I was caught up in the fact that I was actually swimming in the race and not in the pool and didn't focus on a pace that was comfortable for me. Also, Kim's wetsuit was a little small for me and it was the first time I swam in it, so I think that didn't help either. Regardless of these excuses, the answer is that I need to become a better swimmer. The second half of the swim was pretty much all sidestroke, I was breathing heavy, and I wanted the swim to be over. I crawled out of the water 20 mins after I started and started jogging down the pier. I stopped and stripped out of the wetsuit and carried it into the transition, where I pulled on my socks, shoes, and helmet, downed some water with an electrolyte replacement powder mixed in, grabbed the bike and trotted to the bike start line.

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The Bike (14 miles): consisted of two laps around the lake, each 7 miles. I spent the first half of the first lap recovering from the swim at a pace of about 18 mph. After that I was feeling pretty good and picked it up to around 20 for the remainder. I think I could have gone faster, but I was concerned about leaving myself enough to run, so I settled into a pace that I was comfortable with. The course was flat and mostly smooth with two spots where you had to make right turns. On the second lap I was starting to feel really good, and passing people who had passed me before (though there were some fast people that passed me throughout the ride). I tucked into aerobars and focused on racing, and it was a thrill. I don't know exactly how long I was on the bike. The computer says the wheels were moving for 46:05, but that includes moving into and out of the transition area, so I'm guessing 45 mins on the bike (I'll know more when the results are posted on the web).

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The Run (5k): My run transition was pretty fast, I think. I biked in my running shoes, so all I had to do was rack the bike, take off my helmet, put on a hat, and start moving. I did take the time to finish my electrolyte drink and grab a pack of Jelly Belly energy beans (which I had pre-opened). The first couple of minutes running felt pretty weird, coming off the bike, and I was a little worried that my calves would cramp up, but they never did. There were people packed around the start of the run, which was also the finish (it's an out-and-back course), and they were all cheering and yelling, which was motivating. I felt OK during the run, not great, but I was doing it, and I was excited to be almost done. I saw Jim and a few other people on the run course. At the turn around I was getting pretty anxious to get to the finish, but I maintained a reasonable pace. I picked it up with about a quarter mile left, and sprinted out the last 100 yards or so. People were yelling and I heard my name announced and that was it. I was done.

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Aftermath: Aimee came to welcome me across the finish line, and I gave her a sweaty hug. I exchanged congrats and handshakes with friends and coworkers. Aimee and I walked down to the lake and I sat in it for a minute and waited for my heart rate to drop to a normal level. She brought us a picnic lunch, which she went to get while I took a cold shower and loaded everything into the car. We ate ham and avocado sandwiches and sat on the pier listening to the awards ceremony. Then we left. I came home and took a nap, then we went for a walk downtown and got a coffee. I feel a little stiff, but pretty good (of course, there are a couple of Advil and a rum and ginger ale helping that). I'm happy with my race. It was new and it was fun. I'm glad I did it, and I think I'll do some more. I need to get better at all three sports. I'm interested in seeing how I compare to my peers, so I'll post the official results as soon as they're available. Cheers.