Two Days, Two States, Two Races

Sept. 2007

There’s nothing like doing back-to-back events to get things jump-started and back into race mode! After a nice break following the France trip, it’s time to get back into it.

Saturday was the third stop in the TriCal Series for the Pacific Grove Olympic Distance race. Not a super high priority race for me, but still one I wanted to do well in. Going into it, I sat in 3rd place in the series standings.

One of the distinguishing features of the PG race is the swim … or should I say … crawl! I had heard all about the kelp in the water; knew the swim is known as the “kelp crawl”, but until I saw it for myself, it didn’t really sink in. You have to see it (and swim through it) before you truly understand just how THICK this stuff is! When I first walked down to take a look at the race venue, the buoys were placed in the bay. Kelp was so thick, it looked like the boys were sitting (not floating) on solid weeds; it looked like I could WALK out to the buoys.

This was going to be an interesting swim. I just kept reminding myself that everyone would be dealing with the same conditions and if I could just make it through the swim, I would most likely have the toughest part behind me.

PG is an absolutely beautiful area and I was able to enjoy a nice, quiet and relaxing pre-race day – just how I like it! I had a fabulous home stay, just a few blocks from the transition area which made it very easy to take a spin on the bike course, check out the run course, and, yes…plunge into the kelp. It was tricky to maneuver through, but OK, it wasn’t quite as bad as it looked from shore.

Friday night before the race, it felt strange going to bed without setting an alarm for an early wake-up call. Race start time was at noon, so it would be a somewhat leisurely morning. I reminded myself to enjoy it and take advantage of the sleep because the race the following day would come much earlier.

I woke up on race day feeling confident and ready to race. Just get through the swim fast, follow those with experience who have done this race before, then after that, you know what to do on the bike and run. This is how my self talk went in the morning before the race.

The swim was two loops, and I hung on for the first loop, right on the feet where I had hoped to be. Now I just needed to stick there one more time around! In other races in the past I’ve managed to loose it on the second lap. But, coming back to the beach the second time around, I was still right where I wanted to be. And the best part? It didn’t even seem too hard. What a good feeling.

I thought I had a relatively fast transition, but I wasn’t quite fast enough to get out onto the bike course to work with another strong rider. She was just out of reach and I couldn’t quite bridge up to her, so we both ended up riding most of the course solo. Plenty other girls were out there time trialing it alone too; a bit of a bummer on a draft legal course. It was a 4 loop, out and back course, making it easy to keep an eye on the other girls; to see where they were, how far up or back they were. This was good info to know going into the run.

Coming off the bike, I was in 3rd! It was too early to celebrate though; I knew there were fast runners behind me, and they weren’t too far back. This was my first 10K of the year and I knew I needed to find some quick leg turnover in order to have a good split. My mind said “Go!” by my body didn’t respond. I felt pretty sluggish through the run and was passed by two girls (at the same time – ouch!) just before the ½ waypoint.

I managed to hang on for a 5th place finish, but the run wasn’t pretty. I have my work cut out for me over the next couple months as I prepare for XTERRA, Dallas and Treasure Island, which all Olympic distance, ending with a 10K.

Post race festivities were rush, rush, rush. Quick cool down, awards ceremony, pack up my bike (in record time), and speed to the airport for a flight back to Portland so I could race the next day in Escape from the Gorge. Despite all the hurrying, I cut it too close and missed my flight. So, spent a few hours in the San Jose airport, mentally preparing myself for another day of racing the next day, and having a “pre-race” dinner in the airport.

It was a late arrival into Portland, then I drove 45 minutes to Cascade Locks, site for Escape from the Gorge, and of course had to put my bike together once I got there. Great night – who’s idea was this to do back to back races?!

After a solid 4 ½ hours of sleep, I felt surprisingly good the next morning! I biked to the park for my warm-up, spinning my legs out just to test them and make sure they were going to work after racing hard the day before. Once at the transition area and seeing many friends and familiar faces, I quickly remembered why I chose to come back for this race. Going out on the Sternwheeler, jumping off and swimming through the HUGE roller waves in the Columbia River, biking the brutally steep climbs and then FLYING down them, and running through the forest on a beautiful path, made it all worth while. There’s just something extra special about racing near home.

For the next couple weeks, I’m spending time on my mountain bike, hitting the trails and shifting my focus to XTERRA! It’s a fun change of pace, one that I thoroughly enjoyed last year. Although, I must admit, part of the fun with this race last year was that I had NO pressure. But, now that I have done the race once before, I have expectations and a benchmark. I’ll do my best to enjoy my week at Lake Tahoe with Dave and not worry over the race. I just want to come back in one piece, because my season isn’t over - I still have a couple more priority races!

Thanks for reading and thank you for your support!
Erin