My Columbia Triathlon Race Report - 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run

May 20, 2007


And so, my spring “A” race…

I had high expectations of this race, in retrospect too high. Deep down, I secretly knew that my day wouldn’t be as perfect as I had hoped. I had negative factors against my control. For one, the frequent travel to New Orleans, with a visit as recently as two days before the race. And two, it’s allergy season, with differing allergens in the mid-Atlantic and the Deep South. Nevertheless, I had dreams of breaking 3 hours.

I struggled a lot with the swim. In fact, it was my toughest tri swim since I started seeing Coach Ed over 2 years ago. Almost from the get-go, I was nauseous in the water. What was it? Was it the Gu I had just prior to race start? Was it the taste/smell of the water? None of it seemed to add up. I flailed about, panicking in the water. I wound up swimming on my back for a good part of the race, trying from time-to-time to flip back onto my belly (after all this was my “A” race and I wanted to go faster) but every time I put my face in the water, I nearly vomited. I eventually was able to flip onto my belly and stay there for the last third or so of the race, but with a struggle. Talking to my mom later, knowing I’m a terrible spring allergy sufferer, she asked if my ears were plugged. Indeed they were, for the entire race. She believes as a result, my equilibrium was thrown off. It sounds as logical as anything, so I’ll go with it. Anyway, in reviewing my swim times through my triathlon career, despite my struggle, I had my fastest pace in a tri swim yet!

For the bike, I erred on the conservative side in an attempt to keep the legs fresh for the run. In hindsight, I was almost too conservative. During the ride, the roads were a little slick and traffic was not considerate. I had one car run me off the road. For the most part though, I did enjoy my ride, seeing Tracey, Joanna, Linda, Monica, Meagan (who zipped by me despite a crash and a flat), and Shannon (as well as the Team Z men heading in) out there. Seeing fellow Team Z’ers is always a relief. Next time, I’ll be more aggressive on the bike, especially since I’m making vast improvements climbing hills.

Ah, the run. I’m not the best hill runner, mostly due to problematic knees. The knees have not been bothering me as of late (knock on wood), but I wasn’t quite ready to let it all out and risk injury either. I ran a good part of the 10K, walking the four or so tough hills. The best part was the course out/back sections, an opportunity to high 5 fellow Z’ers. I was pretty satisfied with my run, with a very strong finish.

My finish time was 3:19 and some change, a disappointment for not breaking 3 hours, but I believe that sub-3 was too lofty of a goal all things considered. I was absolutely wiped afterwards. The travel, the allergies, and the race were just about too much for my body to handle.

Of course, the absolute best part of the day was seeing friendly faces out on the course and on the sidelines. I love sharing in everyone’s personal victories! I apologize to anyone if I came across as cranky post-race. Now that I’ve had some time to relax and reflect, I am very proud of what I did. What we all did. It’s sometimes too easy to forget how few people actually do triathlons and just finishing one is an accomplishment in itself.