USAT Age Group National Championships '07

USAT Age Group National Championships

June 30, 2007

Olympic Distance (0.9 mile swim/25 mile bike/6.1 mile run)

11th in AG, Qualified for 2007 USAT Age Group Worlds

Swim: 25:31

T1: 1:37

Bike: 1:20:56

T2: 1:10

Run: 49:55

Total: 2:39:07


Hi! Want to hear about the Age Group Nationals? To get to that race you have to place 1st or top 10% in your age group in a USAT sanctioned race (or top 33% in a regional qualifying meet) in the previous year. Then you have to travel to where the annual championship race is being held. Since it was just outside the Portland, OR area this year, this was not a problem once I had qualified in ‘06 (I had qualified in ’05 for the ’06 championship in Kansas City, but the humidity in July was not appealing nor was the fuss to get there).

Road trip…got in to Hillsboro/Forest Grove area on Thursday to rainy, cool weather (oh no, not again!). Drove out to Hagg Lake, hung around to watch the awards ceremony of the Aqualathon that had just finished (or is it Aquathon?), a run/swim/run race. Between rain showers, I got on my bike and rode the 11 mile loop around the lake – a reconnaissance mission to familiarize myself with the course. And I counted 11 hills, 3 of them steep ones (anything that reduces me to under 10 mph is a challenging hill and these were 6-7 mph’ers, and some were long). But what goes up, has to come down and sure enough, those down hills were there, usually with a hairpin turn at the bottom. Unlike in the car when I drove the route, braking on the bike was not necessary. In fact, during the race when the roads were dry (2 days later) and when caution is thrown to the wind, I got my max speeds up to 39.5 mph. Wheeeeeeee!!!

Sandy L. hams it up after qualifing for 2008 Worlds in the Aquathon (or is it Aqualathon?)

Back to the Best Western. Nothing going on there, despite all the people in town for this race, so I headed down the street to McMenamins for a beer and dinner. Interesting old historic hotel with bars, restaurants, odd art and painted doors and plumbing pipes painted with gargoyles and such in a sort of Dead Head/Tolkien kind of way. You had to have been there. It was interesting but I just felt lonely and out of place. Nothing else to do, so I went back to the hotel to bed (don’t you hate going to bed when it’s still light out on a rainy summer evening? Depressing.).

Next day was packet pick up day. For packet pick up, that would be the Fairgrounds in Hillsboro, 10 miles in the opposite direction from the race site of Hagg Lake, which was 15 miles in the other direction from my hotel. With nothing better to do, I arrived at packet pick up 3 hours early. Tick Tock Tick Tock. OK, it paid off – I was up front when the line opened, got my packet quickly (race numbers, color coded swim cap, etc.) and was out the door heading for the race site to rack my bike. I thought this would be an advantageous strategy - remember how it is good to be an early bird and get that good transition spot? So I drive the 25 miles out to the lake. Oh, I’m early AGAIN. Must wait until transition opens. OK, open now…but look. In a big important race like this, there are numbered stickers along the racks; there is to be no choosing a spot. That is just as well. At least I don’t have to make any decisions. The bike goes in place and that’s that. By now I have run into Dave and Francie several times. They came up in their RV from California for this race. They are the ones I run into at every turn and turn out to be good company. Dave pegs me early as a “Type A” since I show up early to everything, but he is the same (early to everything).

Let’s see now what? Oh yes, a stop at the hotel for a shower then back to the Fairgrounds for the pasta dinner I paid for. I thought it would be fun and social. But maybe since I was one of the earliest people arriving for that too, no one else had really shown up yet (except Dave and Francie and a couple other old geezers). Speaking of old geezers, since this was an “AGE Group” Nationals meet, it did seem to draw lots of “mature” racers. And actually, I should be more respectful since there were many men and women in their 70’s to race this Olympic distance and looking pretty damn good doing it. Sure, lots of them were pretty weather-beaten and leathery looking from years of outdoor athletics, but they were lean and strong and pretty fast and moving forward and having fun. A 60 year old woman beat my overall time. Many of the 60-something geezers, I mean men, I chatted with have numerous Ironman races behind them and lots of experience with these National events, so it was interesting to get a glimpse into this world. I suppose the older racers have more time and money than a lot of the younger ones. If you are interested in looking over results and the general size of the various age groups, here’s a link: Overall by Gender Age Group Results

Anyway, race morning came. Who can sleep anyway, so I just get up early, like 4:30 and head out that 15 miles to the lake. Again, I’m one of the earliest birds (but look! It’s Dave and Francie’s RV already there, so I park next to them). I set up my transition area and go back to the car for a snooze under my blanket (yes, the same blanket I had at Cascade’s Edge). Despite the 2 previous days being rainy and cool, this a.m. is dawning clear and bright and the sun is quickly warming the air. A perfect day for a race!

After my nap, I do my usual routine of checking transition area, checking all the in/out points (“swim in”, “bike out”, “mount/dismount area”, bike in”, “run out”, “finish”). I check for landmarks from various angles (with 1500 bikes racked and 25 rows x 3 columes of racks, you want to be able to find your own transtion spot without hesitation when blood flow to the brain is reduced). Easy enough if you just pay attention and think ahead. But Dave is one rack away from me and brings an 8 foot tall smiley-flower face thing to every race, so I figure I’ll site off of that goofy thing and I did.

Did my jog, got the wetsuit on and headed for the water. The sun was just over the hill, in a straight line to where our out-and-back swim was. The buoys were invisible when you got to water level with the sun glare, but it was easy enough to site off of something up on the hillside. No problems. Everyone had to fret about it, but I figure it was pre-race jitters - you have to worry about something.

The swim went well (0.9 miles), my T1 felt fine (and I later discovered it was THE fastest T1 in my age group, so you might just think of me as the “2007 T1 Age Group National Champion”. I came into T1 and there was Bridget D. sitting (SITTING!) during her transition (but who knows, she might have had glass in her foot or something, but sitting is a no-no for a serious T1 and Bridget is the one who won my Age Group, beating me by 17 minutes). I was in and out of T1 and she was still sitting. But within 2 minutes she blasted past me on the bike ride and the natural order of things was restored.

Check her out, the“2007 T1 Age Group National Champion”.

The bike ride was very pretty and the air smelled good (sweet and piney, I heard some reports of deer and coyote too). I worked hard on the bike. I got passed by some of my AG, but also passed a few (along with lots of older AG’ers). The hills were hard and slow, crawling-slow, but it slowed everyone down so it didn’t feel like I was falling behind. Well, except on the second lap of the lake. Since they sent the oldest age groups out first, then paused 30 minutes after my group (females 50-54) before sending out the 30-34 male hotshots, we had a nice first loop with sparse bike traffic. By the second loop, however, those young bucks (and does) were streaming out of the transition area like angry hornets (and they sounded that way too, with those disk wheels that hum), and joining us on the road. I continued to pass people whilst getting passed myself. And the young fast ones can blast up those hills quite impressively. There was a hill near the end of each loop that was lined with spectators who cheered everyone on. It’s amazing how that really buoys you up and the hill doesn’t seem nearly so hard.

The bike leg came to a close, T2 came and went and I was off for the run (4 hills each way on that). Did I mention that the bike had 22 hills? The run did not feel fast at all, though I was able to relax and pick up speed on those downhills. The uphills must have been hard for everyone since I managed to pass many women near my age. I reeled in a bunch of old ladies and some in my AG (Nancy A., a local who is a strong runner, reeled me in very early in the run and went on to beat me by over 3 minutes). Well, I was feeling pretty good with how I seemed to be doing, despite the difficulty of those hills (oh, and some sciatic pain and a thigh pain that made me a little cautious lest I pull something). I was nearing the finish where there were a few turns at the end so you couldn’t really see too far up ahead of you. Too late I saw another woman who looked to be about my age. I was closing in on her but much too late saw that she was indeed in my age group. Had the race been just 25 yards longer I could have taken her, but “could’ve/would’ve” didn’t happen and she beat me by 3 seconds. That’s the thing about racing – I’m sure I “could’ve” made up 3 seconds somewhere in the race to finish in front of her, but without knowing ahead of time how close it would be, I didn’t. I can’t/don’t go all out for the whole race. Focus lags, fatigue sets you back or there are stretches where you don’t have the immediate motivation to push like I would have if I had foreseen the close finish. Well, this put me in my place (remember my 3 second advantage to take 3rd at Cascade’s Edge?), since this 3 seconds was the difference between 10th and 11th place. 10th place was a podium finish here at Nationals with the top ten (in each AG) getting on stage, getting the commerative beer stein, photos taken and an automatic slot in next years AG Nationals. 3 SECONDS! ARGGH! The good news is that 11th place is much better than I expected to do (based on last years times and comparing my USAT ranking with others). I also had some better splits compared to an Olympic race I did at Black Diamond last Sept. (and this was much hillier) so I count that as progress and improvement.

Hanging around after the race is always fun and with people from all over the country, there was no shortage of people to talk to and compare race details with. I had already checked out of my motel that a.m. (not having had the foresight to think I might want a nap and shower even though I planned to return to Seattle that night). But, back to the fairgrounds one last time and I found a public shower there. And once again, I had about 2 hours to kill before the awards ceremony (they posted no results right after the race, you had to come to the awards ceremony at 5 p.m. to find out how you did). I saw some familiar faces from the NW racing scene there and hung out awhile. Finally, it was time so I hit the road back to Seattle. Despite running the downhills rather hard, I had no problems with sore legs the next day or two. That’s progress too.
If this link is still good, it will take you to a site where you can see a 2.5 minute video sample that will give you a flavor of race day, which is very cool.

Just scroll down on the page to find the video screen: http://www.endurancefilms.com/Home/ProductnbspDetails/tabid/914/ProductID/83/Default.aspx
Here are a few more photos and some results (my age group) from the race:
Swim T1 Bike T2 Run Total Time
1 Bridget Dawson 50 Portland OR 24:46 2:32 1:11:46 1:18 42:37 2:22:57
2 Nancy Smith 51 New Britain PA 23:42 2:57 1:11:45 1:16 45:07 2:24:46
3 Donna Smyers 50 Adamant VT 26:19 1:54 1:09:26 1:25 48:16 2:27:18
4 Kimberlee Rouse 52 San Diego CA 28:14 3:19 1:12:32 1:34 43:18 2:28:54
5 Ann Seifert 50 Helena MT 24:11 2:11 1:14:30 1:14 47:24 2:29:28
6 Claire Mccarty 51 Malibu CA 24:02 2:23 1:17:42 1:33 47:28 2:33:06
7 Susan Griffin Kaklik 52 Castle Rock CO 23:19 1:48 1:18:55 1:27 48:01 2:33:29
8 Terry Latham 52 Albuquerque NM 22:28 2:10 1:17:41 1:33 51:06 2:34:58
9 Nancy Abraham 51 Steilacoom WA 25:28 2:21 1:20:47 1:18 45:59 2:35:51
10 Deborah Cipriano 50 FranklinLks NJ 22:16 2:01 1:16:46 1:31 56:31 2:39:04
11 Karen Buttram 50 Seattle WA 25:31 1:37 1:20:56 1:10 49:55 2:39:07

Cascades Edge Sprint '07

Cascades Edge Sprint (first triathlon of '07 season)
June 17, 2007

1st in AG, 2nd in Masters, 3rd OA
Swim: 14:00
T1: 2:07
Bike: 35:22
T2: 1:33
Run: 21:15
Total: 1:14:17

Here are a couple kids playing in the snow before the swim start at Deep Lake. That's my kid Camille and her friend Sarah. (what? it didn't snow at that race? only felt like it, I guess).

This was a sprint distance triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run) outside of Enumclaw. It was a 50 degree gray and rainy Sunday morning, one that most people would enjoy best by pulling up the covers, sleeping in and eventually sipping a latte’. Instead, I got out of bed around 4:30 and made the 1 hour drive to the race start, thinking “I’ll just show up, if it’s too cold and wet, I don’t have to do it”. As usual, I was one of the first to show up which is a good thing if you like an end spot on the bike rack (aka the transition area). Having an advantageous transition spot can save many seconds in your finish time, and as we’ll see later, boys and girls, may help you seize a podium finish over the next person. So, I checked in, got body marked (race number is penned onto one calf, your age onto the other; this is important when deciding when to overtake people on the bike or run course: “is she in my age group and do I make that extra effort to pass her?”). I racked my bike in a good end spot. Then I went back to my car, pulled up the blanket I keep on hand for such occasions and snoozed for about an hour. By the time I was up again, the check-in lines were long, transition was filling, the Port-a-Potty lines were long and I was ready to set up my transition area. So out goes the little orange towel with first my bike shoes, next the running shoes, ball cap and race belt. On the bike handle bars go the helmet (laid out “just so” and in proper alignment and with my eye wear unfolded and ready for a quick donning). Double checked the quick releases, brakes, made sure I was in a proper gear for the start of the bike and set up my sports drink in its cage. Next: laid out my long sleeve wetsuit, cap and goggles. Did I forget anything? No matter, I nervously check and recheck everything about 10 times until race time anyway.

So, now I put on those running shoes (with socks, which are typically eliminated for the actual race) and go take a nice warm up jog around the lake. Done. Then mill around, look for people I might know, make one last Port-a-Potty stop and check gear again. Move around, stay warm. Still thinking: “OK, I’ll put the wetsuit on, but if that lake is too cold, I don’t have to do this, I can still go home”. I put on the Body Glide (it’s waxy stuff that you apply to body parts that chafe or that you want slippery to help the wetsuit slide off of more easily, so I put it on my neck where the Velcro closure tends to rub that skin raw, on forearms to help the arms of the suit come off and to lower legs for the same reason). Properly lubed, the wetsuit goes on, which is an awkward and ungraceful feat that you’d rather not anyone witness (but there you are, in transition area with lots of spectators watching and other athletes doing the same thing). Cap on, goggles in hand and one last check to make sure the bike, shoes, helmet and everything are still “just so”, and it’s time to go to the lake shore. To wait. And wait. Many fools like a warm up swim in the water. Which “warm” it is not. They are the ones always shivering and blue, especially on a 50 degree rainy morning. The long sleeved wetsuit usually keeps me plenty warm while I wait, but this a.m. was chilly. I considered, well, peeing in the damn thing just to get some warmth going inside that suit, but decided to wait until the 5 minute, in-water wait where no one might notice anything escaping from the ankles of my wetsuit. So the first wave (the men) are off. Now the women go in and wait those 5 minutes for the gun. I’m feeling pretty confident about my swim, so I start at the front of the pack, which is a mistake if you are not very fast and don’t like getting swum over by others. I have experienced being overtaken and whacked by faster swimmers around me and the panicky feeling is not pleasant. But it passes. Fortunately, in this race, I actually was one of the fastest women (I think 3rd out of the water), so I was able to pull away from the pack quickly enough to avoid that drowning feeling.

Swim, swim, steady, steady, smooth, strong. Water is cool but fine. Round those buoys, pretty soon I’m overtaking some of the slowest men that went out 5 minutes before us. Swim some more and after 3 turns of the triangle course, the swim finish arch on shore gets closer. My 14 minute swim ends as I swim in until hands touch bottom, stand and run. Now we’re into “T1” (transition 1), my specialty. I say that since I usually have one of the fastest T1 times. My secret? Don’t stand up until your hands touch bottom (struggling through thigh deep water is slow and takes more energy than 2 steps in calf-deep water). Then you haul your butt like you are racing, which, in fact, you are. My heart rate is often highest at this time. A few running strides to get going, then I find my wetsuit strap and unzip the thing and rip it off down to waist level (those tight arms slip right off thanks to the Body Glide and a little adrenaline). A few more strides and then I pull off cap and goggles as I continue running. I run hard up the chute and into transition. Pretty much snorting and breathing like a water buffalo struggling against alligators.

Back to my bike, I take off the rest of the wetsuit as quickly as possible. Which can go pretty fast actually, but a time warp phenomenon occurs that makes it seem like 5 minutes to get the ankles off. Bike shoes on now. Eye wear on, helmet on and strapped. Grab bike from rack and run with it as fast as possible while dodging other racers who are in various stages of their T1 and I’m out the gate. Onto the bike and off for a ride. A ride in 50 degree, rain. And I’ve got my wet hair and wet Lycra/spandex race suit on and plenty of wet, exposed flesh. But it’s just a 12 mile ride which takes about 35 minutes and I’m working hard enough that, though I feel the cold, I don’t “get” cold, if you follow me. Feet, of course, go numb, but who cares? I won’t need them until I’m running on them later.

Back in for T2 now. I do these fairly fast, but today I’m behind 2 guys lallygagging their way up the chute and blocking my passage. Dum dee dum dee….ok here’s an opening, I’m back and re-rack the bike, remove helmet and bike shoes and cram the feet into running shoes. Grab cap and race belt and as I’m running out, I put those 2 things on. The run was a trail run which has some roots and rocks under normal conditions, but today the added bonus is large puddles and slickery slick mud patches. And the feeling of having Novocaine from the ankles down. But everyone is running under the same conditions, so no worries. It’s during the run that I notice a couple women with their ages on their calves and pass a few of them. Oh, good, there’s one in my age group. By now, since it was a small race, I’ve been able to kind of guess where I am in the field of women. I was 3rd out of the water, then slipped a few notches to 6th biking (my weakest leg). But I’ve lost count. All I know is I’m passing a few of them now on the run and later, much to my surprise I discover that I’ll have the 2nd fastest run time of the women. But for right now, I know I’m nearing the end and there is one more woman up ahead I’d like to overtake. I’m tired and I don’t want to try it too soon lest her kick has more in it than mine. So I do the stealth thing and continue to close in on her without depleting myself. But wait! She’s got a cheering squad and reconnaissance on the race course! They are yelling and screaming at her, warning her of my presence. Their excitement makes me think this race is for the money! Stealth is no good now, especially since I can see the finish line about 150 yards ahead. Pedal to the metal, I go past her (with a quick look at her calf I see that she is a mere 29 years old which adds to my satisfaction immensely) and hang on to the end. I soon find out that the 3 seconds I beat her by were the difference between a coveted podium finish of 3rd place vs. 4th (actually, there was no podium at all, it’s just a metaphor). This was my first race were I got an overall placing (overall = against all women, not just in my age group) and a finish like that was really fun, so I was happy. More importantly, my swim, bike and run splits were all a bit faster than the same race a year ago, so beating my own time is what it’s all about. In case I’m sounding too cocky right about now, you’ll have to read on to my next race report (USAT Age Group Nationals) as poetic justice comes into play. What comes around, goes around.

A postscript to this race report that I wrote 6/07: As I was doing some on-line stalking one recent evening, I came across Coach Jill's website and her athlete clients and their blogs. Posted there was an account of this race by Jessi, the woman who I passed in the last 150 yards of the run. I think she and I are cut from the same cloth, though I think her fire burns a little hotter than mine (sorry about the mixed metaphors there). I love her determination and honesty about her competitiveness. I expect to see her gobble up lots of competitors in future races. I will savor this win since I suspect it may be my only one against her. I don't mean that as a gloating comment, but rather as a sign of respect for her abilities and mental strength. Go Jessi! I hope I can catch you on the run again sometime!

Check out Jessi's version of this race at her blog: http://hardpart.blogspot.com/2007/06/cascades-edge-sprint-race-report.html

I happen to be in the swimphoto on her page (the purple cap on the right).

Here are some crummy photos from that race. First is the wet skimpy Lycra in the cold rain, next I'm cut off in other people’s photos (but caught in the act of overtaking or about to overtake them : ) (not only do I like overtaking younger people, men will do too). The photos are poor quality but I include the links to them if you are interested...).

Stay tuned for the next race report.
http://www.finishshots.com/popup.php?z=%2FPhotos%2F2007%2FCascadeEdgeTriathlon%2F401%2FDSC_0043.jpg&width=184&height=274&title=Preview biking

http://www.finishshots.com/popup.php?z=%2FPhotos%2F2007%2FCascadeEdgeTriathlon%2F101%2FDSC_0441.jpg&width=184&height=274&title=Preview running (right out of the frame)

Seafair Triathlon '04 (My first!)

7/19/04

Placed 3rd in Age Group (45-49)
Swim 14:17
T1 2:11
Bike 38:41
T2 1:10
Run 25:59
Total: 1:22:19

This was a “warm up” race I did just to get some experience under my belt before the Danskin the following month; something to see what a tri was like without the pressure or expectation of striving for some goal. Well, I did have a goal of doing well in the swim since I expected that to be my strongest leg of the race. But I wasn’t really prepared for the chaos of a crowded swim start and wondered just what I had got myself into. But I shook it off and finished the race with a nice surprise: placing in my age group! Sandy L. was on the podium taking 2nd in AG and I could tell she was wondering just who the hell this newcomer was. She later became one of my main rivals and a triathlon buddy and we enjoy an email and race-day friendship.

I have no picture from Seafair '04, but thought I'd insert something not triathlon related so as to attempt to portray a somewhat balanced life. The photo is from Mothers Day '05; that's my girl Camille, me and my mom (and a CAKE!).

The following is an excerpt from an email to Mary Meyer in July '04. Mary offers local triathlon/open water clinics & workouts here in Seattle and I had attended several in preparation for racing. I picked up a lot of valuable information to carry into my first race:

A quick "Thanks!" for the tips and training you offer in your clinics. I did my first triathlon yesterday (Seafair) and I felt confident and organized through the transitions (never mind the gasping for air or the jelly legs). I saw so many people struggling and running through the end of the swim in waist-deep water. Swimming/crawling in to shin-deep was a breeze!

I exceeded my goal and even my wildest hopes by placing 3rd in my division (45-49 females). Holy cow! There's always more to do to pick up speed and lessen the feeling of falling apart with fatigue (oh, and I did experience a few moments of near-panic in the start of the swim - kind of overwhelming, but I remembered you saying "rope it in" and the feeling passed).

I'm very happy about this first triathlon experience. Thanks again for helping with the training.

To blog or not to blog?

I enjoy writing about my races. Specifically, about the triathlons I do. It all started innocently in 2004 after my first big race, when I sent a "race report" to my dad and brother, enthusiastically sharing about my experience. And bragging, sure. It was to family, after all. Soon I was including my non-triathlon friends and I enjoyed re-living the race by describing to them what race day and the race itself is like. They seemed to enjoy reading the reports as much as I liked writing them, so it became a habit, at least for a few of the more important races I'd do each season.

So I will publish my earlier reports soon and see where this blogging leads me. There will be more race reports to be sure and other miscellaneous events and details about my life will likely appear here. So stay tuned...