March of 2010 was my first triathlon, a sprint distance in Central California (3rd in my AG-Male 45-49). A couple of knarly wipe-outs on my bike last June kept me out of Treasure Island-Olympic, so heading into Black Butte was almost like my first event all over again. The weather in Sacramento this winter was pretty wet, so training rides have been limited. I trained for and ran 2 half marathons in the past 2 months to insure some leg strength. Laps in the pool at 24 hour fitness was the extent of my swimming, it has been too cold for open water practice.
I arrived the day before the event and stayed in the "Olive Capitol" Corning, CA. And yes, an olive souvenir is required by law; I bought a jar of Blue Cheese stuffed olives. Since this little town of 7,000 was void of any restaurants that serve paste (I know, right!), I improvised by buying some asian noodles at Safeway, along with some chicken. I used the microwave in my room to create a night before meal that I was satisfied with. I never use an alarm clock and generally am up between 3-4 each morning; naturally I set 3 alarms to insure I was awake by 4:45.
I woke at 4:00 race morning after a solid 6 hours of sleep. Plain oatmeal topped with fresh cranberries, a side of wheat toast, with some orange juice at Denny's was pretty close to race morning at home. Starbucks opened at 5:30 (I called a few days prior) so I was there when the doors opened. As I was driving through the dark to the event my mind was going through some mental 'controlled enthusiasm process' when I noticed a wrecked car in the ditch out on this 2 lane road, and the face of a woman in the drivers seat. I had to turn around. As I approached the crash site I called 911, and at the same time a tow-truck arrived on the scene. The driver and her male passenger got out of the car, and both said they were ok, although visible shaken. As I got closer the female driver says: "Lee!" Here we were 100 miles from home in the middle of nowhere, and it is a co-worker of mine, who had been camping with her boyfriend, decided to drive home early, fell asleep at the wheel and crashed; luckily they were ok, physically. Once I knew they were ok, I continued on, as you can imagine my thoughts were a little jumbled as I drove to the event site. A little mental re-direction, and I was back on track.
The Course was set in a beautiful rural area 100 miles north of Sacramento, and aptly named Black Butte. We were in a campground area known as Buckhorn, it had spacious camping lots, and an open feel due to the rolling hills, and one of the most scenic lakes in Northern California. The distances were: swim 1.5km, bike 40km, run 10km. A few of my fellow Sacramento Tri Club members were there, and that helped pass the time and helped me stay out of my head.
It had been stressed that we pick up our registration packet before race day, we were not able pick up our race chip until the morning of, which pushed the start time back 15 minutes. The race began at 8:15, the temperature was in the mid-40's, and 54 degree water awaited my arrival. Now I must tell you, this is only the second time I have swam in open water. The first time was in my Sprint last year where I experienced the 'cold water panic' within 2 minutes. I put on my Xterra fullbody wetsuit on and entered the water slowly 15 minutes early, the cold did not overtake me so I swam out and back a few times, and was better prepared.
The 1.5km swim was a counter clockwise circle around the relatively calm lake. It took me a few minutes to find my rythem, but the best I could do was one stroke breath, one stroke breath. My lungs, and arm strength held up, but it took a whole lot more energy than I anticipated. 32:15 minutes later I was out of the water, and never happy to see my bike. However, my fingers were so cold that I had difficulty trying to getting them to cooperate. Nothing major, transition was relatively smooth (1-gu), and away we go.
Plenty of volunteers made exiting the transition area unremarkable and right away I climbed my way out of the transition area and through the campgound. I soon realized I had not caught my breath from the swim, and was breathing really hard. This was a first for me. My confidence was boosted a little bit by the age of the guys passing me as I caught my breath: 29, 33, 32, 30. I wasn't the last one out of the water! I ride a Cannondale Synapse carbon/aluminum, and was trying out my aerobars for the first time in an event. Love the aero's!
The first couple of miles took me out of the campground, down the main highway, and down a side road with plenty of rolling hills. After about 3.75 miles, I hit flat rough highway, and I finally caught my breath. Phew! At about mile 10 (8-sport beans) there was a turn-around so I could see who was in front of me, and who was behind me. Even though I felt pretty good, my legs were more zapped from the swim than I had imagined. I was averaging 21.5 for 6 miles before the turn, but at the turn an unexpected headwind awaited, dropping my speed to 18. As I approached the turn back to the campground, I thought wow, already? No such luck, a pretty wicked 1.5 mile climb awaited us. I finished the bike in 1:22:56, 6 minutes behind what I thought I would do, but I was happy with that.
My transition in T2 went pretty smooth (1-gu) a 25 yard climb awaited me as I began, and right away I realized this was going to be a run like no other. My legs were pretty spent, and usually I push harder up hills than my normal stride, but not this time, it was as if I was in slow motion. Once again, my ability to catch my breath had been compromised, and I was in unchartered territory. The Black Butte area is maintened by the Army Corps of Engineers, and they created a 3 foot wide trail, literally days earlier, that wound through rolling hills and you were either going up or down. Given the opportunity later, I told the engineer who designed the course that he was a "sadistic bastard." Maybe it was the twinkle in my eye, or the smile, but he responded with: "I'll take that as a badge of honor." Needless to say, I quit looking at my watch, decided to enjoy the beautiful scenery, and constantly negotiated with my body to give it everything it had (mile 4=1-gu). After one last climb, we rounded the corner and there was 100 yards across asphalt to the finish line. I heard the cheers, I was shoulder to shoulder with 3 other participants, and knowing there is only one way to finish...I sprinted to the finish line. Freedom!!
My run time was 1:10:48, and I was happy to take it. My overall time was 3:11:20. At the end of the day, I could not have been happier. I need to incoporate more anaerobic training, more open water swims/experience, and continue with the hill bricks that I have been doing in preperation for my next event: May 22, World's Toughest Half Iron Man Auburn, CA. It was a great day....oh, and I stood on the podium 3rd in my AG. One last lesson learned: when preparing your gatoraide bottles the night before, do not, I repeat do not confuse your powder gatoraide and your epson salt baggy. #surprisinglymoremedicineythansalty :)
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