750m swim in 20 min / 6.1 mile bike in 1:26 / 5k run in 1:02 / slip 'n slide at finish 5 min
i signed up for this race back in may. dave said that it might sell out so i went for it. of course the summer was way too hot to actually get in any time on the mountain bike, but i didn't really take that into consideration.
friday before the race dave and i went out to Papago Park to pre-ride the course. the course map SUCKS, so we kinda just followed the flags tied to the bushes. after 5.1 miles of the 13.2 mile bike course, my legs were toast and i was done. and now completely freaked out. there was no way i'd get through 2 laps of that course and then go out and do a trail run. i emailed my coach with 2 options - either i go out and do one loop of the bike course and get out on the run (and also DQ) or i pack a shitload of food and water and plan to be on that course for 2.5-3 hrs. she told me to do one lap and get on the run.
saturday night before the race i decide to watch the course video and read the athlete guide. after doing so, it turns out dave and i went the wrong way when we rode it. i got excited thinking maybe i could do both loops after all!
the race didn't even go off til 11am, which meant that dave had to do his 20 miler run without me on the bike next to the group. bummer. due to our new baby girl kelty (another post), it also meant that even after he got home from his run, he'd have to stay there for awhile, missing my race start. but he would be there for the finish, so good enough!
there were only 3 waves of the race, and it was pretty laid back. young guys, old guys, then all women. we maybe had 30 girls in our heat. it's a water start, so as we're treading water, we all start chatting. one older lady informs the group that this is her first time on a mountain bike, EVER. another tells us this is her first TRI. i'm thinking "well then for SURE i'll make it through the whole bike course - i'm a least in a little better shape than these chicks!". swim went fine, although it took forever to find my stride. didn't happen until the turnaround. there was also someone who slammed into me for an entire 100m stretch. for some reason i just kept on going. the old me would've voiced my thoughts "SERIOUSLY?! there's like 5 girls in our wave and you have to swim RIGHT ON TOP OF ME?! wtf?!", but i kept them to myself and just turned up the speed a bit.
now's a good time to tell you about what i'd heard about the bike course. i'd heard everything from "it's a bit technical" to "not bad at all, except for one part" to "up and down like a roller coaster and then a long time along the canal (= flat)".
got out on the bike and to my surprise we did go the way dave and i went. bummer. within the first half mile is a huge nasty downhill with a big ass "CAUTION" sign next to it. we'd been warned so i dismounted. right in the middle of it was a wash with really deep gravel/sand crap. after that gnarly pass, we went up. and i mean straight up. you could see the path for the next mile, as it's known as "the wall". and i shit you not, i saw not a single person actually riding their bikes. everyone was walking it up this hill. awesome. dave and i had ridden down it and it was dicey. walking up it just sucked. my calves were blown within the first mile of the course. at the top of the wall i pulled over and ate some. but i couldn't get my whole uncrustable down, just didn't want it. my stomach was yuck and i didn't want to tempt fate. also at the top was a girl pulled over, except she was there because she'd already gone down on the backside of the wall, and her wrist was likely broken. i offered advil and she declined so i kept going. the back part where she went down was absolutely awesome. it's a huge down hill with deep gravel (dicey but i made it) and then single track, which was awesome. i get to the canal path and we're with the wind so i'm able to hold 15mph or so. of course the turnaround comes super quick, not a "long time" whatsoever. we turn around and then we're right into the wind. we ride back in and go the opposite way down the path that dave and i rode it friday, so at least i knew what was coming. had to dismount and walk it up again for a section. my HR wasn't registering on my computer - i think anytime i get that sucker wet, the race is shot. it won't register anymore until my skin is dry. piece of shit. expensive piece of shit.
so i came to the point where you either go into transition or you go out for another loop. wasn't even a consideration to go another loop. my legs were done. i'd even contemplated just bagging the whole thing and being done, that's how wasted my legs were. i got into transition and dave was there, so i took all my run stuff to the wall alongside the water and talked to him while i changed. i didn't have a lot of energy at all. the first 1.5 miles of the 5k were all trail, my first official trail run. it wasn't pretty. well, it was beautiful, but my running it wasn't pretty. i walked almost that entire damn 5k. almost tripled my normal 5k time! as soon as you cross the finish line there was a lovely slip 'n slide with an even lovelier high schooler with a hose. i just laid there.
overall, pleased as hell with my effort. i informed the timing people that i'd shorted the bike, so i got my DQ as expected, but they still left my final time up on the website. i was 5th in my age group! but that was shorting the course. had i completed the course, i would've been last by about 45 min.
i'll come back to conquer that bastard course one day...
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