Wildflower TriathlonApril 30, 2005
I was extremely nervous this year, more so than any other year. I had such high expectations that I actually think that I was too tense to have fun and have a great race. I had also contacted poison oak a few days prior. I had never had poison oak before and it was driving me crazy! I’m not sure if the poison oak affected my system in an adverse way, but it could explain why I didn’t have the race that I thought I could have.
During the swim I was horribly tense and unable to relax. I still had an okay swim time of 28:08, but not what I had wanted. I got into transition and quickly changed. Let me digress for a moment; the night before the race I had decided to swap my seat post as my old one slipped while I rode. At 8:30pm I was putting the new seat post on and riding it around the camp ground while someone was holding a flashlight so I could see where I was going! I thought that it was taken care of. I even rode it a bit the morning of the race to make sure it was situated the way I wanted it. Another case in point to not do anything different the day of the race; or in my case, the day before the race! Will I ever learn my lesson??? I hope so and soon.
Back to race day. I got on the bike and felt pretty good. I had made it out to probably the 7 or 8 mile mark when it felt as if someone had put the brakes on. I would slow down and then continue at the speed I was going. I had no idea what was going on and so I check my rear brake thinking that it was rubbing my tires. No. Then I checked the derailleur and see if there was something going on with that. No. Then all of a sudden I see my wheel pop out of the skewer and the rear chain stays are resting on top of the skewer!! I immediately pull over, get off of the bike fix the problem; making sure that the skewer is on as tight as I can get it and then get back on the bike and proceed. It must have taken at least a minute or two, but that was time enough for someone to pass me. I was on a mission to catch as many women as possible, so I continued on hoping to not have any more problems. As the ride progressed I noticed some tension in my hamstrings. I tried to ignore it and keep pressing on, but had to stand quite a bit to release some of the strain…I think my seat was too low and it was crooked to the left! Again, it’s what I get for changing things the night before the race! I eventually passed quite a few women and was excited to have a bit of a reprieve on the long downhill after nasty grade, but was actually terrified as I was descending. My front wheel had the shimmies so bad that I had to apply my brakes to keep from feeling like I was going to eat pavement! I was catching whoever was in front of me too, but I wasn’t about to risk my safety for one place higher in the standings. Come to find, my front hub was a bit loose as well as the headset. At this point, I just wanted to finish the bike in one piece and with no flats or any other mishaps. I was able to do so in a time of 2:47:51. This was only 19 seconds slower than last year’s time! So, in theory, I should have been quite a bit faster! Oh well, next year, right? I pulled into transition thankful that I made it there in one piece and thought that the run would go better. Wishful thinking on my part. I tried to stay positive the entire race thinking that I would loosen up, but it never was to be. I had a difficult time on the run to say the least. I just didn’t have any energy to push; I even had to walk up some of the hills, which isn’t like me at all. I normally do not get passed in the run, but this time was different, I was passed by at least two girls. At the turn around at mile 10 I was able to count how many were in front of me and I was in 9th. I just needed to stay there and not let anyone else pass. I did it! I kept my position and as soon as I crossed the finish line, Sharon Osgood was there to whisk me away to the med tent! She knew by the look on my face that I wasn’t a happy camper and I needed some help. I was a bit dizzy and there was just no energy anywhere in my body, it was laying somewhere on the course. My run time was 1:37:35 and my overall time was 4:55:51… good enough for 9th place and I was under the 5 hour mark!
A combination on poison oak and last minute preparations didn’t help my situation, but I made the best out of it and am happy that I was able to finish in the top 10 despite my troubles.
During the swim I was horribly tense and unable to relax. I still had an okay swim time of 28:08, but not what I had wanted. I got into transition and quickly changed. Let me digress for a moment; the night before the race I had decided to swap my seat post as my old one slipped while I rode. At 8:30pm I was putting the new seat post on and riding it around the camp ground while someone was holding a flashlight so I could see where I was going! I thought that it was taken care of. I even rode it a bit the morning of the race to make sure it was situated the way I wanted it. Another case in point to not do anything different the day of the race; or in my case, the day before the race! Will I ever learn my lesson??? I hope so and soon.
Back to race day. I got on the bike and felt pretty good. I had made it out to probably the 7 or 8 mile mark when it felt as if someone had put the brakes on. I would slow down and then continue at the speed I was going. I had no idea what was going on and so I check my rear brake thinking that it was rubbing my tires. No. Then I checked the derailleur and see if there was something going on with that. No. Then all of a sudden I see my wheel pop out of the skewer and the rear chain stays are resting on top of the skewer!! I immediately pull over, get off of the bike fix the problem; making sure that the skewer is on as tight as I can get it and then get back on the bike and proceed. It must have taken at least a minute or two, but that was time enough for someone to pass me. I was on a mission to catch as many women as possible, so I continued on hoping to not have any more problems. As the ride progressed I noticed some tension in my hamstrings. I tried to ignore it and keep pressing on, but had to stand quite a bit to release some of the strain…I think my seat was too low and it was crooked to the left! Again, it’s what I get for changing things the night before the race! I eventually passed quite a few women and was excited to have a bit of a reprieve on the long downhill after nasty grade, but was actually terrified as I was descending. My front wheel had the shimmies so bad that I had to apply my brakes to keep from feeling like I was going to eat pavement! I was catching whoever was in front of me too, but I wasn’t about to risk my safety for one place higher in the standings. Come to find, my front hub was a bit loose as well as the headset. At this point, I just wanted to finish the bike in one piece and with no flats or any other mishaps. I was able to do so in a time of 2:47:51. This was only 19 seconds slower than last year’s time! So, in theory, I should have been quite a bit faster! Oh well, next year, right? I pulled into transition thankful that I made it there in one piece and thought that the run would go better. Wishful thinking on my part. I tried to stay positive the entire race thinking that I would loosen up, but it never was to be. I had a difficult time on the run to say the least. I just didn’t have any energy to push; I even had to walk up some of the hills, which isn’t like me at all. I normally do not get passed in the run, but this time was different, I was passed by at least two girls. At the turn around at mile 10 I was able to count how many were in front of me and I was in 9th. I just needed to stay there and not let anyone else pass. I did it! I kept my position and as soon as I crossed the finish line, Sharon Osgood was there to whisk me away to the med tent! She knew by the look on my face that I wasn’t a happy camper and I needed some help. I was a bit dizzy and there was just no energy anywhere in my body, it was laying somewhere on the course. My run time was 1:37:35 and my overall time was 4:55:51… good enough for 9th place and I was under the 5 hour mark!
A combination on poison oak and last minute preparations didn’t help my situation, but I made the best out of it and am happy that I was able to finish in the top 10 despite my troubles.
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