Monday, October 6, 2008

i <3 bassman (e's last tri race report of the season)

this has been the most fun race of the season, but i am definitely relieved to be done with triathlons until next year. race report:

pre-race: since we had opted out of quakerman about a month ago, i had gotten my nervousness out of the way. i felt like i had been sitting at the doctor's office forever, just waiting to get it over with. nonetheless, carbo loading is still my favourite part of race-prep! the day before the race, i did a pre-race workout under the direction of fb, who gave me some swim tips and helped me to pick 3 mantras to repeat on the swim: "just keep swimming", "cool as a cucumber", and "i am relaxed." then fb, sb, G, fb's friend fred, and xue li and her friend louie helped A and me carbo load with pumpkin pancakes from the diner. afterwards, A and i were still hungry so we had dinner part 2, veal w/ pasta and garlic bread.

race morning: up at 4, and of course i fell asleep right up until we arrived at bass river state park. the scenery was surreal as the sky was still pitch dark, music was playing out of a sound system and people were shivering and shuffling around with flashlights setting up their bikes. A and i set up as close to the bike transition as possible, and since we were so early, we got a good spot. i remembered my first tri, when fb helped me triple check that i had brought everything and then taught me exactly how to set up (e.g., put your helmet on top of your bike shoes, upside down in a way that you make one quick movement to put your helmet on). and no gloves this time..gloves are for pansies! j/k, i was just too lazy to put them on. i figured, if i fall and scratch my hands, i'll just deal with it.

then we went to the pre-race mandatory meeting where all of us were utterly confused by the instructions for the swim, bike and run by the race director. apparently someone had stolen his bike mile markers that morning, so he wanted to make sure we had some sense of direction. during the singing of the national anthem, i was reminded of how my college professors (at a christian school) had prayed for us before we took our exams. then off we went into the 60 degree water in 3 waves: 2 guys, 1 girls.

swim: this is always the most exciting, as we shiver in the water and wait as the race director counts down the minutes. normally, when i am nervous at this point, i'll try to strike up conversation with another nervous-looking swimmer. i was pretty calm this time, as i figured, no point in being nervous for 1.2 miles. i had overheard some girls telling each other they were going to relax and take it slow, so i put myself in the row in front of them. when the foghorn went off and we all started, the girls behind me totally bowled me over, a rather humbling moment. i started to breathe really quickly and get nervous, so i slowed down and stopped for one breath, thought i could quit right now but said a quick prayer, then got back into it. i didn't feel like i was moving very far at all, but told myself, just keep rotating and your wet suit will swim for you. about 10 minutes into the swim, i was suddenly having the time of my life! i was feeling smooth and streamlined, i passed A but figured now would not be a good time to say hello, and stayed a good 10m away from the buoys to avoid traffic. the course was 2 loops, and when i reached the end of the 1st loop, i was glad to go again. i started to tell myself, "i am strong. i am relaxed" but for some reason, i already knew that! so i had a lot of fun chasing down the waves in front of me, focusing on rotation and fb's last-minute technique tips. whenever i passed someone i thought ruefully, no worries, you'll probably catch me on the bike but at least i get a head start. i was a little disappointed b/c i thought a lot of the girls were still in front of me, but didn't really care b/c i was having so much fun. when i reached the end of the 2nd loop, i thought to myself "one more time!" but resisted the urge. since fb had her straitjacket story from a previous tri, my very first thought upon standing was, "unzip!!" another girl had come out at the same time as i, and we exchanged a few breathless words about how we were dizzy and we were both dreading the bike. i checked my watch and was happy to see that it was around 37:00. swim time: 36:16!

t1: felt a little longer than usual b/c i gave myself a chance to breathe and b/c i was not so excited about the bike. t1 time: 1:47

bike: ugh. biking is currently my least favourite event of the tri and i was very glad that the course was pretty flat. i had debated taking the cateye off b/c it would make me angry at my pace, but decided to leave it on. since A had suggested not counting cadence, i spent the first 30 minutes with a pleasant song in my head and enjoying the weather. i hadn't expected to go more than 17 to 18 mph given how awesome i am at pedaling at high cadence but was firm in my mind about having a strong run. during the first loop, i was feeling good and strong and averaged 18.2, but then i believe right into the 2nd loop, i mentally relaxed and thought, "i'm already halfway done" and suddenly had a very difficult time keeping the same pace. nonetheless i was stubborn about having a strong run and just kept pedaling fast, but moving ever so slowly... my legs were starting to hurt and i was starting to become frustrated again but decided there was not much i could do but get the ride over with and give myself 10 months to become a monster biker for imlp. i was still having a good time and remembering to thank all the policemen and volunteers who were pointing us the right way, and smiling w/ a thumbs up to the camera guy. i was a little bummed when i saw that a ton of bikes were already in transition area by the time i arrived. bike time: 3:16:24, 17.7 mph. oh well. btw, A kicked butt in this segment.

t2: fastest rest break ever when i sat down to change my shoes. t1: 1:21. here we go...

run: i must say, i have never felt stronger on a brick than yesterday. still smiling, i relaxed into a decent pace and decided not to be miserable trying to push it for 13.2 miles. what a great day! the weather was awesome, most of the run was in the shade, and the volunteers were from brooklyn, cheering us on in their brooklyn accents. i felt a little guilty about being rude to the volunteers on the run at nj state so i made it a point to be polite w/ these volunteers. the run felt like mile after mile of loops and my mental map was severly jumbled by mile 5. i high-fived a few of the people giving directions, smiled at the camera guy, asked a volunteer for a bite of his pizza (getting hungry! and tired of gel and powerbars). b/c of the interminable loops, we saw the same volunteers over and over who were very encouraging (although saying "almost done" at mile 8 may not be the best thing to say). when some of the girls passed each other on the run, we'd say, "you go girl!" the camera guy and one of the direction volunteers called me "smiley" as in, "there she is, smiley." well i guess there are worse nicknames..

it was just a great time. there was a point around mile 4 when i was running alone in the forest, and to distract myself, i was thinking about how this was the most enjoyable 13.2 i had run (i'm not sure if it's 13.2 or 13.3, but heard someone saying the run was actually 13.2) b/c there was no pressure. i was already within my goal of 6 hours and thought it may be nice to go under 6, but why be miserable over it? i can save that for the next half. i started thinking about how my triathlons had started here, and how i've grown from a dumb jock to a hopefully less dumb jock and gave myself a pat on the back. i mused over how much has changed in the past 7 months, and smiled over the friends made. i don't believe i have ever told thph but they are one cool group, and it is great to find people with whom i can sbr and talk about sbr, who are encouraging and competitive in a friendly way, mutually respectful and often hilarious. i thought of fb/cm who has not only helped me immensely as an athlete but is also a good friend, of the optimistic and thorough sb and his monster-biking, cookie-baking wonderful wife G, the pleasant xue li, funny-at-6-a.m. todd, super-fast biking chaz who always returns a compliment, gatorade bob who kicks a$$ on a diet of beer and doritos, cool chick claudia, and of course, my favourite boyfriend A who has been my best friend and my rock. all of the sudden i wanted to hug bassman.

mile 8, someone said "you're almost done!" and then my body and mind relaxed and uh oh! my legs slowed to a shuffle, and i was counting 10-11 minute miles, feeling like i had found myself running in molasses. my hamstrings and calves were hurting and i really had to go to the bathroom. what is going on? but i had learned from england that i'll get there when i get there and plodded onwards. people kept passing me but i could not bring my legs to move any faster, yearning for the mile 13 sign. finally when i saw it, i laughed, yelled "woo hoo!" and jetted to the end. i was so relieved and so happy! i called fb and said something like "that was so fun!... i have to go to the bathroom." then i waited for A, standing near the race director and photographer who was announcing names. the race director George let me announce a few names to "practice" announcing A when he came (but unfortunately, George took the mic away 2 people before A). run time: 2:05:05

so overall, this has been my favourite race b/c i had a great time and finished 6:02:04 placing a.g. 5th (when George told me this, the camera guy said, "and you did it all w/ a smile!" which was very rewarding). i am very relieved to be done for the season and to be able to focus on primarily running for the next month or so. for off-season training, i know i want to work on: swim rotation, bike high cadence and run speedwork...but fb says for now i need to rest.

6 comments:

catmarlson said...

Nice work! The Energizer Esther Bunny strikes again!

I'm glad to know your Tri Season is over. I can hold the SB vs Esther trophy until next season. Ha ha!!
(not sure how we only raced each other once this whole year)
Wahoo for me!

Unknown said...

rest! good idea - sign up for my course!

so what happens when you absolutely need to poop when u're running...like to the squirts level! does that make u run faster?

Unknown said...

Congrats, Esther Bunny!

A big hug for your big smile...

m said...

Great job on NOT MASHING THE BIKE!!!!!! Did you mention the bike was long?

Awesome swim, way to relax, and take it all in. Can't wait to see your race photos--I bet they are as good as your first Bassman!

I can't believe you had dinner after your pancakes and green beans--maybe that is why you had to go...ha ha!

Rest up. If you feel the need to exercise you can go for a really easy slow walk.

Maggs said...

Wow! Great race! You can tell you've been training hard this year! Take some time off this fall/winter before jumping in big time getting ready for IMLP next year!

Armando said...

I'm so proud of u hon!!!!