Be Doin' the Y-M-C-A

Coming off my last triathlon in June (Ross Tri Fit Challenge), I was heading into this next Olympic distance race with a newfound respect for triathlon in general. No matter the distance, this sport is challenging…..and it’s exciting. When you’re in endurance events for a long time (i.e. marathons, Ironmans, Half IM’s, etc) I think it can get easy to start saying things like, “well, I'm ONLY doing the half marathon…” or “it’s just an Olympic tri.” Seriously, I’m going to start catching myself more when I say these things. It’s a big deal to be out there. Period. An Olympic triathlon might be shorter than my other races this year, but I'm learning a ton about the sport of triathlon in doing them and quite honestly, it’s helping me become a more seasoned athlete and a more humbled athlete.

The Columbus YMCA Triathlon was on July 20, all centered around Alum Creek, an area with which I'm very familiar. I consistently ride around that area and swim when I’m required to practice open water swims. In the weeks leading up to this race there was a water quality alert on Alum Creek and while I’m not sure if swimming was officially “banned” there was a time in which the water was closed and swimming there just seemed dangerous. People were talking about developing rashes and getting physically sick. So needless to say, my anxious mind was worried about having to swim in the waters of Alum. The Monday before the race, Alum was cleared to be safe for swimming and the triathlon was ON. This didn’t make me feel much better. Part of me wanted the water to be given the “all clear” for more than a few days before I jumped in. Maybe it’s the hypochondriac in me….I just can’t afford to get sick.

Setting up transition

But the race was on and mentally I can admit I was still a bit unfocused leading up into the race and it was all about fear. I was afraid of the swim and as the day got closer, I was nervous about the weather forecast. Big storms predicted. Oh well, suck it up buttercup, right?

Swim start

Into the water!

Transition….#88

The best part of this race was that it was close to home and all centrally located; no point to point racing this time. I showed up at Alum Creek around 6am (race was set to start at 7:30am) and parked literally right by transition. Unloaded my stuff into transition, picked up my timing chip and get ready to rumble. Side note: it’s kind of fun to see sometimes how far I’ve come in triathlons. I had a “newer” athlete approach me in transition and ask me if there was a specified place he had to put his stuff. I taught him that he had to “rack” his bike and transition gear in the spot where his number was marked and that would be his “home base” for the race. Just kind of made me smile that I’ve gotten to a place where I don’t have to ask that question. A long time ago that person WAS me.

Met up with a couple of other JustTri buddies and saw a few other familiar faces as I headed towards the water, wetsuit ready and goggles on. My group was set to be the first group in the water, right at 7:30am. After some brief instructions we were off! I managed to jump right into the waters and took off….a little too fast. As I looked around I began to notice I was somewhat alone, which always provokes me to think “am I going the wrong way????” Turns out I just had gotten a bit ahead of the pack, not the first person by any means but I had gotten a bit ahead, which boosted my confidence. Alum was not super choppy but we did swim with the current in one direction and against the current in another direction. 2 loops and I was out. I think the course might have been a tad long….my Garmin said a bit over 1 mile (Olympic distance is .9) so my swim time wasn’t a PR, but it was done! And honestly the extra time could have been my own piss-poor sighting skills. Out and into transition!

Transitions!!!!! This was my biggest focus on this race…...I wanted to get my transition time cut down….I need to learn to get in and get out! Thankfully I got out in T1 faster than my previous race and I was off on Killer to take on the bike course. Got a few good cheers from folks I knew I it was on!

Off we go on the bike!

The initial part of the bike course was something I’ve done all the time. The middle part was a bit newer and unfamiliar to me and had lots of hills…..and WIND. The wind wasn’t brutal persay, but it wasn’t helpful and seemed to move against me no matter the direction. I managed for the first half of the race to average 20-21 mph, but ended up at the end of the day around 19.7….not bad. As soon as we turned onto the later part of the race, a road I was familiar with, a guy I had been playing back and forth with in terms of leading had a loud POP! His front tire blew and I immediately began looking at the road for anything that might hit me. I asked if he was ok and he brushed me to move on. Spent the next few miles hoping the guy was ok and could get it repaired in time to keep moving.

Coming into T2 was nice...again saw many familiar faces. My goal was to have a faster T2 time again and I did it. Didn’t waste time...put on my race bib, shoes and visor and took off.

Now comes the hardest part. I never run at Alum, so I was completely unfamiliar with the run route. Turns out it was 90% on grass and trail. I’m not a trail runner and never run on grass. I repeat: I AM NOT A TRAIL RUNNER AND NEVER RUN ON GRASS. So about 2-3 miles into the race I started to remember that most of my trail running friends tell me they are slower in their trail races than road races simply due to the fact that trail running is by FAR more technical and requires great awareness of surroundings and footing. So I rationalized that this was why my pace was slowing, but it really was. Really. After one loop, I hit the turn around part and almost dreaded that I was going to have do that loop again, but I headed out and tried to break it up in my head mentally. I would attack the parts that were actually a road surface, and do my best with the rest. My run wasn’t pretty and it was nice to be done.

1 loop done, 1 to go!

So all in all, it wasn’t my fastest Olympic race...in fact each segment of the swim, bike and run was slower than my previous race. I did however improve in my transition time and was blessed and grateful to be able to race, and additionally have some great crowd support! Thanks so much to all my amazing “athletic supporters!”

Coming into the finish! LOVE this pic!

It was another race, another experience with challenging winds, humidity and trail running, all which keeps me humble. The conditions were the same for us all out there and we tackled them the best we could. Oddly enough, I finished 3rd Female Overall, which to say I was shocked would be an understatement. I don’t expect that to happen much, so I’ll take it, even if it wasn’t a PR time for me personally.

Practice makes progress, right? Sometimes it’s not about perfection, but the little lessons we can learn along the way. And in the meantime, we might run over some rocks and lose our footing for a while, but then someone calls our name as we head to the finish and we find a little bit of that “something extra” and push through to the finish. THAT is an amazing feeling.

So go jump in Alum Creek. I haven’t gotten a rash or webbed feet…...yet…..

Onward to the next Olympic...MingoMan, Aug 17.

Be Doin’ the Y-M-C-A. Be Brave.