Having just completed my 1st (for the season) of 4 OLY Triathlons, I wanted share my race report. First some background - I started running at age 54 and was competitive in my age group at most distances - from 5ks to marathons. After my last marathon in 2000, I mentally got stale and "quit" working out. After a three + year break, I volunteered to work a triathlon and told myself "I could do that!" You know the rest of the story - I am now "hooked" on triathlons. Call me a late bloomer but this is only my 2nd season of competition and I love it. Just wish I was a few years younger! Anyway, to the RR: The ChelanMan (WA) Multisport Weekend is just that. They offered a HIM & OLY Tri and 10K and Half Marathon runs on Saturday; and a Sprint & Tri-It-Tri (shorter swim) as well as a Splash n Dash for the little kids on Sunday (It is fun seeing 5 year olds with their baskets on their bikes having fun imitating Mom or Dad. They are the fututre of our sport!). The triathlons were limited to 700 participants each day. All the events were well organized and well run. We found a great B&B (Stillwater Inn) 1/2 block from the lake and park where the event was to be held - right on the corner where the bikes came out and returned to transition. Since there was limited parking on race day, most had to bus shuttle from the ball fields 2 miles away, it was nice to be able to walk to the event. The park had playgrounds for the kids and of course a beach and swimming to keep them busy while the races were going on. My goals this year are to better my best times of last season. Saturday dawned clear and HOT - more on that later. The HIM swim started at 7:00 with the OLY men and teams starting at 7:30. Lake Chelan is in the eastern foothills of the Washington Cascade Mountains. It is clear and cold (over 1500 feet deep in parts) A first for me was the bouy-line that was strung 6' deep all along the swim course. Since the lake was so clear, it was like swimming in the pool since you had a line to follow the whole 1500M. My goal was to equal last year's time since I had not swum much during the winter months. Time: 33.00 (Not great but OK for me. Last year's best was 31.30).
T1 - 2.57 - (Goal Sub 3.00 - so felt good). Last year my T1's were in the 4.00+ range. You did have to run up a grassy hill to get to the street where the mount/dismount line was and the first block was up a 5% grade to get the the main road. If you do this in the future, be sure to have your bike in the small ring to start. I saw many having problems in that first block!
Bike: This was an out-and-back 12.4 mile course with some moderate hills. Of course, what you climbed on the way out you got to "rock & roll" on the way back and vice-versa. It seemed as if the way back was more down hill and my bike computer confirmed that I was 3 minutes faster on the return. The only problem was a section along a rock cliff where rocks would constantly fall, making holes in the road. They had painted them bright red but if you hit one of them, you could get lost in the pit if you weren't careful! My top speed was 32 mph and I had 1:15.25 bike split - my fastest ever for a 19.4 ave. mph. My goal was sub 1:20 ... so felt super after the bike. It was fun passing a lot of bikers especially on the hills and hearing the comments after they would see my age on my calf!
T2: 2.17.53 (Goal sub-3.00) Side note: This was the first time I raced sockless and I had no problems.
Now the fun starts! The run was also an out-and-back on the same road as the bike. It was mainly flat with some small hills. That wasn't the problem. My goal is to run a least a 9:00 mile pace or a sub 56.00 (I know it seems slow to you young bucks but at my age (68), I'll take it.) The first 2 miles were OK with a 9.11 and a 8.56 and then WOW! The heat (almost 100 degrees) started to really get to me and there was no shade on the course. I will say, there was an Aid Station every mile and I took two waters, one for me and one for my head! People were also lining the course with hoses and water sprayers so that helped. Anyway by the time I got to mile 5, it was a 10.28 walk/run. UGH! Bottomline, I finished the run in 59.26. My wife said later that she knew I was in trouble when she saw me "walking" up the last hill to make the turn into the park and the finish.
All-in-all, other than the run, I have no complaints about my race. I finished in 2:53.25 for my PB (Personal Best) time. I guess you can't call it a PR since each course is different but I cut over 4 minutes from my best time of last year even with my awful run time. 1st AG M65-69. For those of you who want to get an AG placement, you just have to out-live your competition! It is easier when you are 68 years young! As a side note, the B&B was great. My wife (and super supporter) was able to see the swim start, wait until I cleared the bike transition, see me start out, go back to the B&B, have breakfast, and was sitting on the front steps with her cowbell when I completed the bike, cheering me on. She then walked to the other corner and saw me start the run. You couldn't ask for anything better in her mind. People in the park after the finish commented to her "oh, you are the cowbell lady! Thanks, it helped." as she was still ringing it for the HIM runners as they left the park.
The day ended with us sitting on the front porch of the B&B looking at the sunset, and the lake, and eating a whole pint (each!) of Ben & Jerry's Triple Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream - directly from the container. Now I know why we do this. Sorry for the long report - I hope you enjoyed it.