Well it’s over with, and in one word it was HOT!
Temperatures reached 100 degrees at the Pacific Crest in Sunriver, Oregon at last weekends Half and Olympic triathlons. For the third year I entered the Olympic, hoping that I could actually get through the race without running into the problems that I had last year with my bike, and the year before when I got sick to my stomach, from not drinking on the bike because I mixed my Gatorade too strong and I couldn’t drink it. So, by the time I got to the run I was so dehydrated that I had to walk the run. This year would be the year I would redeem myself.
I planned my race more carefully, learning from my mistakes, and bought bottle sports drinks, and even froze a water bottle of Gatorade for the run.
After getting bused up to the start an hour early, the race was delayed about twenty minutes due to a problem with the computers. After getting into my wetsuit thirty minutes earlier, it was starting to get a bit toasty, and even at eight-thirty in the morning the lake was feeling better and better.
After the technical difficulty was remedy, they started launching out the waves of elite and age groupers.
I always have a lot of trepidation about the swim and my heart rate jumps up quite a bit, but for this race I tried to concentrate on keeping calm and staying focused on my race, not everyone around me. Plus, I figured with the weather being a hot as is was going to get, the swim would probably be the most enjoyable part.
After getting out of the water, I grabbed my bike and got on with the ride. I love the bike part of triathlon, and with my newly rebuilt bike, I was really anxious to see how it would handle. The course is not particular hard, there is one climb that is a bit deceiving, but this year I rode the hill two days before the race just to reacquaint myself to the climb. And I’m glad that I did because it really helped me relax more on the ride. Overall I was happy with the bike, I averaged around 19MPH, which was a bit less that what I was aiming for.
The run however, was a different story. The heat really came up and pounded the asphalt. I really don’t mind running in the heat. I think that it’s the ultimate mental and physical challenge you can give yourself. I was my off my goal time in the run. As hard as I would try to get a good pace going I just couldn’t hold on to it, and near the end I started to get that sick feeling in my stomach from the warm Gatorade that I had with me.
My final time: 2:50:04. Quite a ways off from my goal of 2:25, but each time I do a race I learn so much and I know that I can improve on my time, and I am already looking forward to next year.
Temperatures reached 100 degrees at the Pacific Crest in Sunriver, Oregon at last weekends Half and Olympic triathlons. For the third year I entered the Olympic, hoping that I could actually get through the race without running into the problems that I had last year with my bike, and the year before when I got sick to my stomach, from not drinking on the bike because I mixed my Gatorade too strong and I couldn’t drink it. So, by the time I got to the run I was so dehydrated that I had to walk the run. This year would be the year I would redeem myself.
I planned my race more carefully, learning from my mistakes, and bought bottle sports drinks, and even froze a water bottle of Gatorade for the run.
After getting bused up to the start an hour early, the race was delayed about twenty minutes due to a problem with the computers. After getting into my wetsuit thirty minutes earlier, it was starting to get a bit toasty, and even at eight-thirty in the morning the lake was feeling better and better.
After the technical difficulty was remedy, they started launching out the waves of elite and age groupers.
I always have a lot of trepidation about the swim and my heart rate jumps up quite a bit, but for this race I tried to concentrate on keeping calm and staying focused on my race, not everyone around me. Plus, I figured with the weather being a hot as is was going to get, the swim would probably be the most enjoyable part.
After getting out of the water, I grabbed my bike and got on with the ride. I love the bike part of triathlon, and with my newly rebuilt bike, I was really anxious to see how it would handle. The course is not particular hard, there is one climb that is a bit deceiving, but this year I rode the hill two days before the race just to reacquaint myself to the climb. And I’m glad that I did because it really helped me relax more on the ride. Overall I was happy with the bike, I averaged around 19MPH, which was a bit less that what I was aiming for.
The run however, was a different story. The heat really came up and pounded the asphalt. I really don’t mind running in the heat. I think that it’s the ultimate mental and physical challenge you can give yourself. I was my off my goal time in the run. As hard as I would try to get a good pace going I just couldn’t hold on to it, and near the end I started to get that sick feeling in my stomach from the warm Gatorade that I had with me.
My final time: 2:50:04. Quite a ways off from my goal of 2:25, but each time I do a race I learn so much and I know that I can improve on my time, and I am already looking forward to next year.
posted by Bradj at 2:16 PM
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