Hey y'all!!! TC--how was the week for you?
And Scheherezade, how's the new job? Still in elearning hell, or are you actually doing stuff?
Here's the race report from Oceanside that I sent to my coach. It involves embarrassing myself in front of (or, rather, behind) Tim O'Donnell, my first swim in cold water and my first ocean swim, and... not gonna lie, walking my bike up a hill. All in all, I had a GREAT experience at the race and I'd suggest it to anyone who can snag a registration for it!
So I got to transition right when it opened b/c I keep showing up a bit later than that and feeling like I have to rush. BUT, because there was no one really getting in my way, and probably because I'm getting used to this process, I was all ready to go in like 10 mins. So then I started wandering around and texting friends! And spying on the pros a bit! I saw Emma Palant and Eric Lagerstrom :)
There was hypothetically a swim warmup, but the lifeguards weren't set up, and they kept telling people to get out of the water. When they finally let us in I literally just dunked my head underwater like twice before they kicked us out. It was like a 3-minute warmup. I got nervous; it WAS weird to navigate the surf, and the water was so cold that I had that reflex where you can't breathe in cold water. Especially because I was already dealing with hyperventilating this season. I chatted with a few people about it on my way out of the water and they gave me a few tips, and I just resolved to take it slow, especially the entry, and not try too hard until I was feeling comfortable in the water and able to breathe normally.
Then the race was starting and instead of lining up I went out to watch the pros start. It was AWESOME!!!! Mike Reilly was announcing, and so many pros were on the start line! I was totally stanning, like, not keeping my cool at all. then someone was all "Oh yeah Tim O'Donnell's right there." I was totally making a fool out of myself right behind Tim O'Donnell, seeing Rinny off!!!! Whatever, I'm sure it made him feel like a superstar :)
Then I jumped in line and got started. It did take me a while to acclimate to the cold water, especially with the surf. I spent about half the time doing backstroke at the beginning, just waiting to feel better. That was weird, since I wasn't out of the surf, but it felt best to be on my back. It was also a bit of a melee. Some people obviously weren't sighting well, and they kept going horizontally by me and cutting me off. Eventually I found a groove and it got real easy. It really is easier to swim in salt water. It felt short, and like I wasn't even working very hard.
Transition went fine. It's a long one, and I try to chill in transition and make sure that I've got everything, rather than breezing through. I also always feel disoriented after the swim and don't run for a bit, and then I don't run in my bike shoes.
The bike was so fun!!!! Weather was perfect. the marine layer--a thick layer of clouds--had rolled in overnight, so it wasn't too hot or sunny. The hills on that course really are no joke though. There's one huge one that's like 600 ft. of elevation and above a 10% grade the whole way up. Like half of the people were walking it, and you know I ain't too proud to walk too. I figured that the main goal was to have a strong run, so I walked that hill. Had some nice chats with people on the way, #noregrets.
One thing was that we were really crowded in. I don't think that drafting rules are really enforced or cared about for those of us at the end in a crowded place like SoCal? There were packs of people basically doing a group ride. Anyway, I just did my thing and had fun.
Back to transition, everything went fine again. That's my story about T2. It's not that interesting.
The run did go strongly. I was pretty determined to keep to the run plan and not fall apart, and even though the split wasn't fast, I feel like I achieved my goal. The course is actually kind of oddly steep in places because it weaves between beach level and street level, so I did walk sometimes when I technically shouldn't have been walking according to the plan, but just about everyone was walking.
Afterwards, I was nauseous for a half hour or so and just had to lay down. It settled down, and then I watched the awards and stanned a little more! It was so fun to see all those people I've been reading about and watching on YouTube for a few years now!!!! What an inspiration were all those fit pro bodies!
Formerly GiantNewb, but not such a newb anymore.