Midsummer Olympic Race Report

My second race of the 2008 season was another Olympic distance event, this time at Blue Lake Park. The Midsummer race is the same format as the earlier, and better attended by elites and AG’ers alike, Blue Lake Triathlon in June.
The goal for the Midsummer event was another PR. Being that is was only my third Oly of my triathlon life, and first on a relatively flat course, that was not asking a lot. Coming into the race, Coach Ciaverella had prepared me feeling confident in that I could obtain a sub 2 hour and 20 minute time, and anything beyond that would be a positive surprise. The consensus was that the three disciplines are not individually faster, but the sum total will yield results 5-7 minutes faster, than a course like Hagg Lake.

After Hagg Lake I felt prepared I could piece together a 23 minute swim, a 1 hour 4 minute bike, and a 44 minute run. Coordinating these three performances would be the tricky part.

The course conditions were cool for an August morning, with a slight sustained west wind. Blue Lake’s water, the cleanliness of which is invariably in question each race day, was suspiciously warm at over 70 degrees. The swim portion began as most do for me: (1) Internal temper tantrum and questioning why I do Tris (2) 200 meters of questioning my fitness (3) A final realization that I can swim with the better racers and to enjoy the competition, and gawk at the speed of the real swim specialists. After my normal antics, I settled in and swim and sighted well for a 25 minute time, which surprised me as I exited the water. Usually my body is a reasonably indicator of speed, and nothing told me I was slow. I’ll explain this later.

T1 was a circus...possibly my worst ever. I did not apply sunscreen due to the cloud cover, and I firmly believe the lack of slick lotion on my skin lead to a complete inability to remove my wetsuit. It got so bad that I finally laid down and ripped it off. 3 minutes and 20 seconds is totally unacceptable, and was issue number one of my race.

Upon launching onto the bike course and turning East out of Blue Lake, I was immediately greeted with a decent tailwind, which after the turn around at mile 4 turned into a headwind. I noticed about a 3.5 to 4 MPH shift in speed at consistently high Z4 wattage. Upon turning around again at the West end of the Portland International Airport, I snagged the tailwind again and picked that speed back up. My bike time could have been faster, as I felt I had more in the tank, but still I will take 1 hour and 3 minutes.

T2 was much more conventional at 1:30 seconds, but there is still time to gain back.

I went into the run with aspirations of holding 7 minute miles and then hammering the final two miles. Training sessions, bricks, and all other indicators would affirm this expectation, but reality is a nasty messenger of our daily dose of truth. My truth would come in the form of significant GI unrest. In my experience as a triathlete, I’ve never had GI issues in even my longest races (Half Ironman distance) and marathon runs. Apparently Mother Nature decided to knock on my door not once, but twice, forcing me to dive into the trees. Like a good OCD triathlete, I hit the split button during what I am calling my T3. 3 minutes and 31 seconds of system clearing. Upon emerging from the wild, I took a mile to let the GI chill out, then ran respectably in, passing 3 competitors in the last mile. An ugly 45 minute run was how I chose to finish my day.

In summary, I PR’d by 6 minutes with a 2 hour 19 minute time, and have to be pleased with progressing in the right direction. In talking with the race’s winner, Ironhead Grant Folske (the day’s only sub-2 hour racer who delivered 5 minute and 30 second pace on the 10k ), the consensus was that the swim was as much as 2 minutes slow. I’ll buy that, but in the words of prophet and former Blazer Rasheed Wallace, “Ball don’t lie!” If you don’t post a certain time, you didn’t deserve it…bottom line. Let’s just say that it was a false flat on the swim. The bike portion was not good or bad, and allowed me to keep a reasonable clip have enough for what I felt like was going to be a superb run. The run was the first time I have had a physical malfunction in a race, and showed me that I can bounce back when faced with an uncomfortable problem. Many thanks to my coach for preparing me to race well and call audibles when necessary.

I’d like to publically congratulate numerous Ironheads for great showings at the Midsummer.

Grant Folske – The only person I know who makes 5:30’s in a triathlon 10k look fun. Nice overall win.
Aleck Alleckson – Exceptional work on the Sprint overall victory.
Trevor Davies, Bill Thompson, Jason Kurian, Steve Murcott all doing solid work in really top-heavy Age Groups. Your speed is inspiring.

Next up is the Grand Columbian Half Ironman on September 13th. Simply a PR will do, but busting 5 hours is the goal. Hopefully I’ll be lighter, smarter, faster, and stronger.