Lake Havasu Triathlon

Saturday, March 22, 2008

This was my first Olympic/international distance triathlon and my second triathlon of any distance. Overall I felt good about my race, completing the 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run in 3:16:31. My splits were 35:54 swim, 2:17.4 T1, 1:36:06 Bike and 1:02:14 run (due to technical malfunction they did not record T2/Run split).

Kathy Rakel and I drove up from Tucson on Friday – I had to work Thursday afternoon. We left around 8am and got in to Havasu around 2:30pm. Kathy went for a ride while I drove down to look at one of my old childhood homes – my family lived in Havasu for a couple years when I was 3-5. Afterwards we went to packet pick-up where we ran into many Tricats, then went to the campground, picked up our new team tri-suits, and went for a brief swim – I went out to a buoy and back – to test the water and in my case to actually swim in my wetsuit before the race. That night Sean McCormack’s parents put on a great pasta dinner for the team at their house, which is also where a few of us stayed the night. I made sure my gear was ready to go for the next morning, Sean and his father put our bikes in his father’s truck, and we went to bed.

Saturday morning we got up early, I had a quick breakfast of a banana and a bagel, and we left for the transition area around 6:30am. I was surprised at how empty the transition area still was when we got there, but it was nice to have plenty of open spots. Later the area filled up quite a bit and we had to move our stuff a little to make more room.

I didn’t focus too much on setting up my transition area, just made sure I had easy access to my bike shoes, socks, helmet, and sunglasses for T1 and then my running shoes, hat, and race belt for T2. I also hade sure my wetsuit, swim-cap and goggles were accessible for when the transition area closed at 8:15am. Sean and I went for a quick warm-up jog to a hotel and back, then I put on sunscreen and bodyglide before taking my swim gear and leaving shortly before closing.

After transition closed we had a team photo and then did our team cheer. Some of us stretched as we waited to put our wetsuits on closer to when our wave started, 9:05am. Getting into my wetsuit was easier with some tips Phalyn had given me the day before, and it felt weird that the start was so near; the reality of the situation began to sink in then. We got into the water, I swam around a little, and then we lined up for the start.

A horn sounded to signal the start. It was a little weird running deeper into the water then diving in, and I was definitely still getting used to the wetsuit. The water was very choppy, which made breathing difficult. I struggled more with it until I realized I could just breathe on the side opposite the wind, which made it easier. I felt fairly good about my spotting, having done some drills in the pool but I certainly had trouble staying in a straight line when not looking. I think in my effort to make sure I was well to the side of the main pack, I went a little too far to the side, increasing my distance slightly. I also understand the second buoy floated away and was pulled back by a jet-ski and I remember seeing one by it, so that may not have helped. I was pleased though, I switched to the breaststroke a few times to breathe and get my bearings, and only went on my back once for a very short time. I felt like I was struggling a lot, but less so in the channel where the wind was not as bad – the problem there was seeing how far the next buoy was each time I passed one. ;-) When I got out of the water it felt good to get out, and I managed to get the top of my wetsuit off as I ran towards the transition area, taking my cap and goggles off as I got closer. I noticed Alan already in the transition area, and that Sean’s bike still next to mine.

I felt good about my first transition, I got my wetsuit off with only a little trouble around the ankles, added a little time dealing with the grass on my feet as I got my socks and bike shoes on. I ran my bike out of the transition area and then down the carpet-over-dirt path to the mounting area. I, of course, had to stop and get on my bike, and then headed off.

The bike was hard with the wind, but overall I felt good about it. I did not feel like I held back as much as I did in my first triathlon or at the Desert Classic Duathlon – this may have caused other problems later though. I did fall once; in the first neighborhood near an intersection (I had been stuffing a used Gu pack up my short leg). I checked myself and my bike quickly, waited for a few riders to pass, got on and kept going. The officer at the intersection asked if I was OK. Later I noticed blood on my knuckle, but it didn’t hurt. I saw a few Tricats heading the other way along my ride, which was nice, and Sean as he passed me. I also passed a couple Tricats. The hills in the “gauntlet” were definitely as bad as I had heard, but I was pleased that I was able to keep going up them (even if I did have to use my “granny” gear). Two of them were quite scary on the way down. As I got close to finishing my ride my stomach felt a little odd, something like full or slightly bloated. I had had one bottle of water and one of Heed, on top of the Gu, and figured maybe I had too much or something so I skipped my second Gu.

T2 went well. I had more practice at this between our bricks and the duathlon. Then I headed out on the run. The first part sucked because it was on sand (probably only 400-600 yards). I started off strong, even felt good about taking the stairs up to the London Bridge. Once I passed the first aid station however, I started cramping in my abdomen. I tried to keep running but had to walk for a bit, and not having anything else to try, used the Gu I had on my race belt. After walking for a few more minutes I was able to jog, and took two cups of water at the second aid station. I was able to pick it up a little more to a reasonable pace through most of the run, and I got water at each station except I took Gatorade at that 4th - I didn’t have cramping but noticed I was feeling low on energy between the 4th and last stations. After the last station I managed to pick it up, realizing I was getting close. When I crossed the finish line I was definitely hurting and knew I had pushed myself, but it felt great to finish.

After hitting the port-a-potty I found some Tricats at the post-race food area. There were burgers but I only felt like drinking at first, and then I laid down by the table for a few minutes. Later I had some orange slices and a piece of banana, and a few pieces of licorice. It’s weird how the entire time I was on the course I was struggling and couldn’t wait for it to be over, and once it was over it felt good to have done the race even though I was worn out. I felt like I had accomplished something.

Later, after everyone returned home, there was a good thread about people’s reflections on the Havasu Triathlon on the team’s website. A paper in Havasu also published an article about the race that included an interview with Kathy Rakel.

You may see the complete race results, and you can see some pictures I posted on Facebook.