After my first triathlon back on June 22nd, I had exactly 3 weeks to get ready for the next one, the Olympic distance event in Ocean Shores. 3 weeks to recover and basically get ready for twice the distance. I did plan it that way from the start, in essence using the sprint distance event as part of my training for the 'main event'. What I didn't plan for, however, was the madness that insued...I was going to explain a bit later, but I might as well do it now: in the weeks leading up to the competitions, I got a job that required us to move. There is more to the story, but I will leave it at that for now. The kicker was the starting date: July 14th. Yes, 2 days after the Olympic event. So during the 3 weeks I had to train, I also had to plan for a move, arrange logistics for 3 people, 2 cats, finish a bunch of house work, rent the house and about a thousand other details. In other words, it was crazy!
Ok so on to the report.
If the first event was about getting the 'first time' out of way, it also showed me that even though I trained more than adequately, I didn't quite have enough intensity about it. So I decided to go all out (after a couple of rest days of course) until it was time. Given how things were shaping up with the move and everything, it worked out nicely; whenever I had some time I would go for an hour or so and work really hard. I ran in much hotter weather than before, took longer bike rides and swam in the lake exclusively. I felt my fitness was there, I just needed to bring some toughness.
Fast forward to the morning of the event. The weather was grey and somewhat chilly, I thought that would work in my advantage for the longer effort. I got to the transition area early, got my stuff all set up, feeling good. The air was cool but the water felt great. As the time grew closer, I didn't feel nervous like last time. I just wanted to go. Pre-race briefing, a few more minutes then it was time. Right away I fell in my rhythm: breath, 2 strokes, breath, 1 stroke, sight. I did have a little trouble with my goggles fogging up a bit and the lack of color contrast (due to the misty foggy weather it was all grey), but it was minor. I found the ramp, got out of the water and checked the time: right on pace, sweet. Liza was right there, somehow she spotted me on the water! I got to the changing area, chatted for a few seconds, feeling great. Time to ride!
Ocean Shores is pretty much all flat. I thought that would be just fine for the run (though I would have to run on the beach, more on that coming up), but it did present some potential issues. For one, all flat means there is no downhill sections to coast, the effort is pretty well constant. I took that in account during training, especially in my spin classes (stationary bike) leading up to the event, basically pedaling like a mofo for an hour straight. Another issue is that if there is any sort of wind, it could get interesting...I guess it'd be like having a hilly course I suppose. With all that in mind, I set off on my trusty Roo. I had my water, my homemade goo (which I had tried plenty of times in training and found to be just awesome) and 26 miles in front of me.
The first few minutes served to center me, you know to clear my mind. Everything was great, especially as I suddenly realized that the foggy misty weather hadn't lifted: that meant little to no wind. I honestly can't remember too much about the ride other than thinking to just keep grinding. I would pick a rider in front of me and reel him or her in. Sure I got passed, but I passed quite a few people too. Every few miles I would take a sip and then just grind. My mind did wander at the end and I started to think about how I finished the goo a while back and I still had to run. I felt hungry and a bit weak and by the time I got off the bike I was rattled. As I changed into my running gear I was still agitated, right up to when I started running. I told myself to leave it behind and just run. Besides, the way my legs felt after this long-ass ride instantly took my mind off whatever my stomach was trying to say. Much like after the swim, the first mile or so worked to square me up. The first 1.5 miles were on the streets, the next 3 on the beach and the last 1.5 back on the streets. I was plugging along just fine, reeling people in until I got to the beach. There, because of the very foggy misty weather, I couldn't see the turnaround. I did have a few tense moments but then I thought "wait, you're already beyond a quarter of the way, only about 40 more minutes all day".
I started to pick off runners that were pretty far and reeling them in. I remember this young gal in particular, I saw her before the turnaround but she had already got there and was running towards me. I figured it was lofty, but she was going down! And so I got to the halfway, told myself "only about 25 minutes to go, that's it, one 5k run all day". By the time I got back on the streets, I felt stronger and stronger. By then, I only had 1.5 miles to go, and I had all but caught up to the gal. I finally overtook her with a little less than a mile to go. I knew I was going to be tired but at that moment I knew I had done it. I looked at my watch and realized I was going to be under 3 hours! I came around the corner to the finish line, heard my name and saw my friends. I can hardly describe the feeling. I had done it.
Ok so on to the report.
If the first event was about getting the 'first time' out of way, it also showed me that even though I trained more than adequately, I didn't quite have enough intensity about it. So I decided to go all out (after a couple of rest days of course) until it was time. Given how things were shaping up with the move and everything, it worked out nicely; whenever I had some time I would go for an hour or so and work really hard. I ran in much hotter weather than before, took longer bike rides and swam in the lake exclusively. I felt my fitness was there, I just needed to bring some toughness.
Fast forward to the morning of the event. The weather was grey and somewhat chilly, I thought that would work in my advantage for the longer effort. I got to the transition area early, got my stuff all set up, feeling good. The air was cool but the water felt great. As the time grew closer, I didn't feel nervous like last time. I just wanted to go. Pre-race briefing, a few more minutes then it was time. Right away I fell in my rhythm: breath, 2 strokes, breath, 1 stroke, sight. I did have a little trouble with my goggles fogging up a bit and the lack of color contrast (due to the misty foggy weather it was all grey), but it was minor. I found the ramp, got out of the water and checked the time: right on pace, sweet. Liza was right there, somehow she spotted me on the water! I got to the changing area, chatted for a few seconds, feeling great. Time to ride!
Ocean Shores is pretty much all flat. I thought that would be just fine for the run (though I would have to run on the beach, more on that coming up), but it did present some potential issues. For one, all flat means there is no downhill sections to coast, the effort is pretty well constant. I took that in account during training, especially in my spin classes (stationary bike) leading up to the event, basically pedaling like a mofo for an hour straight. Another issue is that if there is any sort of wind, it could get interesting...I guess it'd be like having a hilly course I suppose. With all that in mind, I set off on my trusty Roo. I had my water, my homemade goo (which I had tried plenty of times in training and found to be just awesome) and 26 miles in front of me.
The first few minutes served to center me, you know to clear my mind. Everything was great, especially as I suddenly realized that the foggy misty weather hadn't lifted: that meant little to no wind. I honestly can't remember too much about the ride other than thinking to just keep grinding. I would pick a rider in front of me and reel him or her in. Sure I got passed, but I passed quite a few people too. Every few miles I would take a sip and then just grind. My mind did wander at the end and I started to think about how I finished the goo a while back and I still had to run. I felt hungry and a bit weak and by the time I got off the bike I was rattled. As I changed into my running gear I was still agitated, right up to when I started running. I told myself to leave it behind and just run. Besides, the way my legs felt after this long-ass ride instantly took my mind off whatever my stomach was trying to say. Much like after the swim, the first mile or so worked to square me up. The first 1.5 miles were on the streets, the next 3 on the beach and the last 1.5 back on the streets. I was plugging along just fine, reeling people in until I got to the beach. There, because of the very foggy misty weather, I couldn't see the turnaround. I did have a few tense moments but then I thought "wait, you're already beyond a quarter of the way, only about 40 more minutes all day".
I started to pick off runners that were pretty far and reeling them in. I remember this young gal in particular, I saw her before the turnaround but she had already got there and was running towards me. I figured it was lofty, but she was going down! And so I got to the halfway, told myself "only about 25 minutes to go, that's it, one 5k run all day". By the time I got back on the streets, I felt stronger and stronger. By then, I only had 1.5 miles to go, and I had all but caught up to the gal. I finally overtook her with a little less than a mile to go. I knew I was going to be tired but at that moment I knew I had done it. I looked at my watch and realized I was going to be under 3 hours! I came around the corner to the finish line, heard my name and saw my friends. I can hardly describe the feeling. I had done it.
The end of the race was really the start of the crazy summer for us. As I mentioned earlier, I started my job in Moses Lake 2 days after the event, we lived in a furnished apartment until last week-end [8/17] and I finally got our computers back up yesterday! But it is done now, we are settled in our new home [a rental for now, we aren't committing to anything for at least 1 year], school starts on Wednesday and I am slowly finding my groove at work. I did have to cancel the 3rd triathlon last week-end, it was just too much to have to drive 350+ miles round trip in the middle of it all, we just wanted to take breather and work on unpacking our things [that had just got delivered a few days earlier]. I miss seeing my friends on the Island, especially those who I trained with this spring [Elise, Nick] but I will make up for it next summer, I promise!
So there it is and there you have it! I set out on this crazy journey a little over a year ago and I DID IT!!! So what now you ask? Well, that's a very good question...First, I plan to celebrate my 42nd Birthday on Tuesday. After that, it's wide open, though I have some ideas already.....
Until next time,
Oliver P.
