Well, I did it. I raced a "double" and it was a bad idea!
Today is Sunday, June 14, a week after the Oliver Half, and I'm still freakin tired. I was barely able to do anything this week, even standing up was hard!
Here is how it went:
Left home on Thursday around noon, took the I5 down to Everett, and then Hwy 2 towards Wenatchee. I could have taken the I90 all the way to Spokane, but I prefer 2 lane highways... Around 8pm, I arrived in Spokane and found a Holiday Inn Express for $69 a night!
I had a great night sleep and a big breakfast and took off around 10am. I drove a couple more hours to Farragut State Park, ID where the Xterra Northwest Cup was set to take place on Saturday, June 6.
I went for a pre-ride of the bike course, which seemed to be meant for me; lots of fast single track, short hills and fast downhills ... After the pre-ride, I decided to try my new Profile Design Goldcell wetsuit in the lake. The suit is just awesome, felt great in it, even in cold water...nice!
After the swim, I decided to switch the tires on the mountain bike to something a little faster, and flipped the Kenda Navegals for the Hutchinson Pythons... then headed to my hotel in Post Falls, ID.
Race morning was unusually civilized! I got up at 7:30am, had breakfast, loaded the car and left the hotel at 9am. I arrived at Farragut State Park just before 10am. Everything was cool, even the weather witch totally changed overnight! Temps went from low 90s on Friday to low 60s on Saturday ...and the wind had picked up too!
I picked up my race package, said hi to my teammates Keri, Tom, Jennifer, Bruce, and of course Melanie. Then I went to transition to get set up.
In transition I ran into my regional nemesis: Korrie Dubray! I can never beat Korrie, I'm always second behind Korrie, and it's starting to piss me off! Last season, I was always at least 15 minutes behind Korrie, but I am determined to change that this year. My other problem is Yvonne Kraus, who just moved into my age group ...so far, I never been able beat Yvonne either so this race should be interesting!
According to all the chatter in transition, the lake has cool down as well and the water temp is now in the low 50s...ouch. I decide to pull out all my cold weather gear, and run to the car to get the extra swim cap & the booties!
At 11:30ish, we head down to the lake. A quick dip in the lake to warm up reveals that, yeah, booties & extra swim cap are indeed a good idea! I've got to say I'm not looking forward to this swim; cold water, wind waves, current ...yeah, nice!
At noon, the pro wave is off, then the guys under 35, then the guys over 35, then the ladies ...
The swim is rough, I'm swimming hard and I feel like I'm not moving! I come around the first buoy and it seems the waves are getting bigger ... I can't even see the second buoy...The swim feels horribly long. When I get out of the water for the beach run, I look at my watch an see 18 minutes! Ouch! That's slow! I run down the beach & back in the water for lap 2. Same story here, I battle the current, I swim as hard as I can and feel like I'm not moving an inch ...when I finally reach the beach, I read 36 minutes on my watch ... this would be by far, my worst swim in a long time! I run UP to transition (yes, up ...stairs & all)...notice that Yvonne & Korrie's bikes are already gone, make a quick change and off onto the bike. (T1: 1:26)
At this point, I'm not thinking about Sunday's race, I get cranking like there is no tomorrow. As soon as I'm on the trail, I start making passes ...guys mostly, but whatever, I've got to catch up and clock a fast ride. I'm riding really well but after few miles, no signs of either girls. Then, on a hill, I catch up with Yvonne, who, apparently is not having a great day, I pass her about a mile from the end of the first lap, and try to put some distance between us. At the beginning of lap 2, I hear a crash behind me, it's Yvonne! I had no idea she was so close! Her crash helps me get away, but about a 1 mile & h
alf later, there she is again, and she passes me...I ride in her wheel for a few minutes as she catches up with 2 other girls (one of them turned out to be Sheri F. who ended up finishing 3rd), we pass them, and then I re-pass Yvonne ... As I ride away I yell " hope I don't see you again". This time, I really crank it, I need to put some distance between us, so she doesn't pass me again, and still no sign of Korrie. As I'm trying to get away from Yvonne, I loose control on a downhill trail , collide with a pine tree & fly over the handlebars!
I've got blood on my elbow, but looks like I'm ok, so I get up quickly, and hop back on my bike, and resume the chase. I finally arrive at T2, feeling good about my ride. Bike: 1:47:06 (3rd fastest bike split women, fastest split in AG).
T2 goes great as usual: 36 seconds
I start the run with 2 problems, one in front (Korrie), the other one behind (Yvonne). I mean, I don't know if Yvonne (or someone else) is not gonna come charging down and pass me in the last hundred feet of the run... So, again, I start running like there is no tomorrow...I pass a few guys, get to the hill, which wasn't as bad as I was expecting, pass a few more guys, then I hear someone behind me, it's a woman, but not who I expect, she passes me like I'm standing still (even though I was running about 7:30 min/mile), then a little later Lori Harvey passes me. I'm actually surprised because I never get to see Lori in races, she is always ways ahead of me...So, I'm being passed but I'm feeling pretty good about my race (and Lori is not in my AG anyway), and I'm happy too because I know my teammate Keri Grosse (who is in Lori's AG) is ahead of her. I can hear the announcer, so I know I'm getting close to the finish, but this is Xterra so there is one more turn, and up another hill ...I look back and don't see any imminent danger, I look ahead, and still no Korrie ...looks like she beat me again.
Finally, I see the finish line & Korrie on the other side of it! I finish the 6.8 trail run in 57 minutes & change and the race in 3h24 ...a minute and 10 seconds behind my nemesis! So close!
I end up 8th overall and second in my Age Group. Since I already qualified for Xterra Worlds, my slot is being rolled down to Sheri who finished 3rd.
After the race I get cleaned up, eat a hot dog and a burger, and hang out a little for the awards.
Then at 6 pm, I get in the car and start my 250 mile drive to Oliver, BC!
When I arrive in Oliver it's almost 11:30pm, and of course, I can't find the transition where I'm supposed to pick up my race package and drop of my bike. I drive around for a while, then I stop at the 7-11 to ask for directions. When I finally find it, the nice security guards give me my race package & I drop off my bike. They also tell me there is no way I can get an hotel at this time of the night ...that's fine, I'm prepared, I've got a sleeping bag. I ask them if I can park close by in that parking lot and if they can keep an eye on the car ...
I spend a very uncomfortable sleepless night in the back of my Jeep Grand Cherokee.
I'm up at 5am, as a few too eager triathletes are starting to arrive (the transition opens at 5:45). I get some breakfast, and a "diet Rock Star"to replace the coffee! Some dude parks next to my car and asks me where body marking is, when I tell him I don't know he points at the numbers on my calf ... yeah, I reply, that's from yesterday!
Once the transition opens, I get in, get body (re)marked, and proceed to my rack to get set up. Andy turns up to be my rack mate, and it's nice to see a familiar face. See when I race Xterra, I know everybody, when I race in BC, I barely know anyone...
As we inch closer to 7:30am, we get our wetsuits on and Andy, Phil & I head to the beach. Quick warm up, and I am happy to find the water is way warmer than in Idaho.
The swim start is in waves again. It takes me a few hundred meters to get settled, and I notice right away that my arms feel heavy & tired. The swim is busy, and so I make a bee line for the buoys on the right side, I swam on the outside of the buoys for most of the swim and had clear water almost the all way. I look at my watch as I get out of the water: 41' ...yikes!
The run to T1 is really long, like 450m long, but at least it's flat...Once I get to my rack, I notice Andy's bike is already gone, at least looks like she had a good swim.
I'm out on the bike hoping I can make the 93km go by quickly. However, I realize I have no legs, no energy ...nothing, all I can feel is fatigue. I keep pedaling hoping that maybe, once I'm warm after a few kms I'll get a little spark.
15km into the ride, and still no spark, my legs are tired and for the first time ever in my triathlon career, I am seriously contemplating a possible DNF. The thoughts keep going back and forth in my head, should I quit, should I keep going? If I keep going, how fast can I finish? I decide to keep on riding for now, I am passing a lot of people, and I find it quite comforting!
At km 30, I pass Andy, looking good on her Cervelo! Towards the end of lap 1, I really wonder if I can keep this up as ride by transition, but I choose to continue, I've never DNFed and I don't want to start today.
Lap 2 of the bike is uneventful, but painful as fatigue really sets in. I breathe a sight of relief when I get back to T2 (bike 2h55:03)
At T2, the same thoughts are going thru my head, should I call it a day? I put on my Avia Bolts running shoes anyway and head out on the run (T2: 1:22)
I start the run with a walk, then a jog...as I calculate in my head a potential finish time. At that point, I'm 3h43 into the race, so a 5h30 finish is out of the question, I decide to keep on running and try to make it to the finish line under 6hrs ... I try to run no matter what, and allow myself to walk aid stations only. I see Andy a couple of times, she is still looking strong. As I start lap 2, I know I'm gonna have to crank it up a notch if I want to finish under 6hrs. I actually picked up some sort of a 2nd wind, and managed to run pretty well on the second lap, the last 3km were probably the fastest, I wanted this thing over with!
I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and cross the finish line in 5h52:10 & 18th out of 62 in my AG (87 out of 373 overall). I felt little disappointed because I felt slow today, and I little happy because I finished my stupid double, and totally stupid for actually attempting this!
After a shower and some food, I was back in the car for another 260 miles drive to get home!
To sum up, it was stupid, don't try this, it's not worth it!
my support:
Pacific Multisport
Today is Sunday, June 14, a week after the Oliver Half, and I'm still freakin tired. I was barely able to do anything this week, even standing up was hard!
Here is how it went:
Left home on Thursday around noon, took the I5 down to Everett, and then Hwy 2 towards Wenatchee. I could have taken the I90 all the way to Spokane, but I prefer 2 lane highways... Around 8pm, I arrived in Spokane and found a Holiday Inn Express for $69 a night!
I had a great night sleep and a big breakfast and took off around 10am. I drove a couple more hours to Farragut State Park, ID where the Xterra Northwest Cup was set to take place on Saturday, June 6.
I went for a pre-ride of the bike course, which seemed to be meant for me; lots of fast single track, short hills and fast downhills ... After the pre-ride, I decided to try my new Profile Design Goldcell wetsuit in the lake. The suit is just awesome, felt great in it, even in cold water...nice!
After the swim, I decided to switch the tires on the mountain bike to something a little faster, and flipped the Kenda Navegals for the Hutchinson Pythons... then headed to my hotel in Post Falls, ID.
Race morning was unusually civilized! I got up at 7:30am, had breakfast, loaded the car and left the hotel at 9am. I arrived at Farragut State Park just before 10am. Everything was cool, even the weather witch totally changed overnight! Temps went from low 90s on Friday to low 60s on Saturday ...and the wind had picked up too!
I picked up my race package, said hi to my teammates Keri, Tom, Jennifer, Bruce, and of course Melanie. Then I went to transition to get set up.
In transition I ran into my regional nemesis: Korrie Dubray! I can never beat Korrie, I'm always second behind Korrie, and it's starting to piss me off! Last season, I was always at least 15 minutes behind Korrie, but I am determined to change that this year. My other problem is Yvonne Kraus, who just moved into my age group ...so far, I never been able beat Yvonne either so this race should be interesting!
According to all the chatter in transition, the lake has cool down as well and the water temp is now in the low 50s...ouch. I decide to pull out all my cold weather gear, and run to the car to get the extra swim cap & the booties!
At 11:30ish, we head down to the lake. A quick dip in the lake to warm up reveals that, yeah, booties & extra swim cap are indeed a good idea! I've got to say I'm not looking forward to this swim; cold water, wind waves, current ...yeah, nice!
At noon, the pro wave is off, then the guys under 35, then the guys over 35, then the ladies ...
The swim is rough, I'm swimming hard and I feel like I'm not moving! I come around the first buoy and it seems the waves are getting bigger ... I can't even see the second buoy...The swim feels horribly long. When I get out of the water for the beach run, I look at my watch an see 18 minutes! Ouch! That's slow! I run down the beach & back in the water for lap 2. Same story here, I battle the current, I swim as hard as I can and feel like I'm not moving an inch ...when I finally reach the beach, I read 36 minutes on my watch ... this would be by far, my worst swim in a long time! I run UP to transition (yes, up ...stairs & all)...notice that Yvonne & Korrie's bikes are already gone, make a quick change and off onto the bike. (T1: 1:26)
At this point, I'm not thinking about Sunday's race, I get cranking like there is no tomorrow. As soon as I'm on the trail, I start making passes ...guys mostly, but whatever, I've got to catch up and clock a fast ride. I'm riding really well but after few miles, no signs of either girls. Then, on a hill, I catch up with Yvonne, who, apparently is not having a great day, I pass her about a mile from the end of the first lap, and try to put some distance between us. At the beginning of lap 2, I hear a crash behind me, it's Yvonne! I had no idea she was so close! Her crash helps me get away, but about a 1 mile & h
alf later, there she is again, and she passes me...I ride in her wheel for a few minutes as she catches up with 2 other girls (one of them turned out to be Sheri F. who ended up finishing 3rd), we pass them, and then I re-pass Yvonne ... As I ride away I yell " hope I don't see you again". This time, I really crank it, I need to put some distance between us, so she doesn't pass me again, and still no sign of Korrie. As I'm trying to get away from Yvonne, I loose control on a downhill trail , collide with a pine tree & fly over the handlebars! I've got blood on my elbow, but looks like I'm ok, so I get up quickly, and hop back on my bike, and resume the chase. I finally arrive at T2, feeling good about my ride. Bike: 1:47:06 (3rd fastest bike split women, fastest split in AG).
T2 goes great as usual: 36 seconds
I start the run with 2 problems, one in front (Korrie), the other one behind (Yvonne). I mean, I don't know if Yvonne (or someone else) is not gonna come charging down and pass me in the last hundred feet of the run... So, again, I start running like there is no tomorrow...I pass a few guys, get to the hill, which wasn't as bad as I was expecting, pass a few more guys, then I hear someone behind me, it's a woman, but not who I expect, she passes me like I'm standing still (even though I was running about 7:30 min/mile), then a little later Lori Harvey passes me. I'm actually surprised because I never get to see Lori in races, she is always ways ahead of me...So, I'm being passed but I'm feeling pretty good about my race (and Lori is not in my AG anyway), and I'm happy too because I know my teammate Keri Grosse (who is in Lori's AG) is ahead of her. I can hear the announcer, so I know I'm getting close to the finish, but this is Xterra so there is one more turn, and up another hill ...I look back and don't see any imminent danger, I look ahead, and still no Korrie ...looks like she beat me again.
Finally, I see the finish line & Korrie on the other side of it! I finish the 6.8 trail run in 57 minutes & change and the race in 3h24 ...a minute and 10 seconds behind my nemesis! So close!
I end up 8th overall and second in my Age Group. Since I already qualified for Xterra Worlds, my slot is being rolled down to Sheri who finished 3rd.
After the race I get cleaned up, eat a hot dog and a burger, and hang out a little for the awards.
Then at 6 pm, I get in the car and start my 250 mile drive to Oliver, BC!
When I arrive in Oliver it's almost 11:30pm, and of course, I can't find the transition where I'm supposed to pick up my race package and drop of my bike. I drive around for a while, then I stop at the 7-11 to ask for directions. When I finally find it, the nice security guards give me my race package & I drop off my bike. They also tell me there is no way I can get an hotel at this time of the night ...that's fine, I'm prepared, I've got a sleeping bag. I ask them if I can park close by in that parking lot and if they can keep an eye on the car ...
I spend a very uncomfortable sleepless night in the back of my Jeep Grand Cherokee.
I'm up at 5am, as a few too eager triathletes are starting to arrive (the transition opens at 5:45). I get some breakfast, and a "diet Rock Star"to replace the coffee! Some dude parks next to my car and asks me where body marking is, when I tell him I don't know he points at the numbers on my calf ... yeah, I reply, that's from yesterday!
Once the transition opens, I get in, get body (re)marked, and proceed to my rack to get set up. Andy turns up to be my rack mate, and it's nice to see a familiar face. See when I race Xterra, I know everybody, when I race in BC, I barely know anyone...
As we inch closer to 7:30am, we get our wetsuits on and Andy, Phil & I head to the beach. Quick warm up, and I am happy to find the water is way warmer than in Idaho.
The swim start is in waves again. It takes me a few hundred meters to get settled, and I notice right away that my arms feel heavy & tired. The swim is busy, and so I make a bee line for the buoys on the right side, I swam on the outside of the buoys for most of the swim and had clear water almost the all way. I look at my watch as I get out of the water: 41' ...yikes!
The run to T1 is really long, like 450m long, but at least it's flat...Once I get to my rack, I notice Andy's bike is already gone, at least looks like she had a good swim.
I'm out on the bike hoping I can make the 93km go by quickly. However, I realize I have no legs, no energy ...nothing, all I can feel is fatigue. I keep pedaling hoping that maybe, once I'm warm after a few kms I'll get a little spark.
15km into the ride, and still no spark, my legs are tired and for the first time ever in my triathlon career, I am seriously contemplating a possible DNF. The thoughts keep going back and forth in my head, should I quit, should I keep going? If I keep going, how fast can I finish? I decide to keep on riding for now, I am passing a lot of people, and I find it quite comforting!
At km 30, I pass Andy, looking good on her Cervelo! Towards the end of lap 1, I really wonder if I can keep this up as ride by transition, but I choose to continue, I've never DNFed and I don't want to start today.
Lap 2 of the bike is uneventful, but painful as fatigue really sets in. I breathe a sight of relief when I get back to T2 (bike 2h55:03)
At T2, the same thoughts are going thru my head, should I call it a day? I put on my Avia Bolts running shoes anyway and head out on the run (T2: 1:22)
I start the run with a walk, then a jog...as I calculate in my head a potential finish time. At that point, I'm 3h43 into the race, so a 5h30 finish is out of the question, I decide to keep on running and try to make it to the finish line under 6hrs ... I try to run no matter what, and allow myself to walk aid stations only. I see Andy a couple of times, she is still looking strong. As I start lap 2, I know I'm gonna have to crank it up a notch if I want to finish under 6hrs. I actually picked up some sort of a 2nd wind, and managed to run pretty well on the second lap, the last 3km were probably the fastest, I wanted this thing over with!
I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and cross the finish line in 5h52:10 & 18th out of 62 in my AG (87 out of 373 overall). I felt little disappointed because I felt slow today, and I little happy because I finished my stupid double, and totally stupid for actually attempting this!
After a shower and some food, I was back in the car for another 260 miles drive to get home!
To sum up, it was stupid, don't try this, it's not worth it!
my support:
Pacific Multisport