Hawthorne Farms Sprint Triathlon

May 6, 2006
Hillsboro, OR
500yd Pool Swim, 13.2m Bike, 5k Run

After the crazy week I had I woke up on race morning feeling conflicted. I was tired and sore from my long week and I wondered if I'd be able to do well but at the same time I was super excited to test out my fitness that I'd spent the last 3 months building.

Preston had decided to do the Duathlon and I was doing the Triathlon so we got dressed, packed the bikes into the Element and headed out. It was pretty cool and cloudy out and I was glad I'd worn my sweats over my tri-suit. The race was point to point so first we headed to the Stadium which would serve as T2 and the finish line to drop our run gear off. It was at this point we discovered Preston had left his running shoes at home so I quickly set up my run transition and he jetted over to the start line to drop me and my bike off before he jumped on his bike and rode to the light rail train to zip home and get his shoes. I hoped I'd see him before we started but he only had about 45min before the race to get home and back.

I got body marked, set up my bike, checked out the transition area, chatted with my coach (who'd come to watch me and another client race which was cool), chatted with a bunch of girls who'd never done a triathlon before and then watched as they kicked off the race. Since this swim was done in a swimming pool we had submitted our 500yd swim time and then were seeded into waves and lanes. There were 4 people to a lane and 6 lanes to a wave. I was in wave 2.

Swim
I hopped into the lane and got my goggles on, chatted with my lane mates and then before I knew it we were starting. I was 2nd to go in my lane and knew this would be the most challenging part of the race for me as I almost always swam alone in a lane and was really concerned about crashing into someone or getting stuck behind someone slow. I swam well and got passed by the 4th guy in our lane who turned out to be the fastest. I passed the guy in front of me and then lapped the girl who'd been behind me. I felt good and didn't crash into anyone. I had estimated my swim time at 12.30 which was about what I was doing in the pool during my longer continuous swims. Imagine my suprise when I saw the kickboard indicating I had just one length to go and as I hopped out of the pool I saw my time was 10.22

Geesh I was really suprised. I ran to the timing mat and officially started T1

500yds
Official Swim Time: 10.40
100 yd Pace: 2.08

T1 - 1.59
Jog/walked to the bike racks where I put on my shoes, grabbed my helmet, sunglasses and gloves and was off.

Bike
It was about 50 degrees out and I was soaking wet, my fingers and toes were numb and I hadn't seen Preston before the race so I was hoping he'd made it. While I was in Texas I had mapquested the route but I really had no idea what the hills, road conditions etc would be like. I spun in a lower gear to establish a pace and settled in about 19MPH, then we started riding into the country and up some hills that I hadn't been expecting at all. We passed cows, horses and llamas which was cool but I was just thinking about the long windy road ahead of me. The first climb was long and gradual. The next 2 climbs were much shorter and steeper but the downhills were unbelivable. I had to break when I hit 38 MPH in the aerobars because wiping out was not part of my race plan :) I passed several riders on the course (all the people from wave 1 were out as well as some of the slower duathletes) and only got passed twice which made me happy. I drank some water and 1/2 a bottle of GU20 and just kept spinning as consistently as possible. Just before heading into the final turn I saw Preston on the 5k course. He was too far away to see me but I recognized his orange shirt so I was really happy to know he'd gotten to the race in time. As I dismounted I could see my watch was at an hour and a minute and I was like oh man that is crazy.


14 miles (on my speedometer)
49min
16.6 MPH average
38.1 fastest speed

T2 - 1.44
As I came off my bike I heard my best friend Karie and her husband Jeff cheering for me which was awesome. She told me Preston had been on the run for about 10min and I should go catch him. I slipped off my cycling shoes, rolled on my socks and running shoes, grabbed my hat and race belt and headed out.

Run
The run would be the most interesting part of the race for me. I had been running well these past few weeks and I was hopeful I'd see that improvement during the race. I headed out and just after the 1 mile mark I saw Preston on his way to the finish line. He was fast walking (which is almost the same speed as my running) and I met him at the center of the road and we high-fived as we ran past. WOO HOO! You go, pup! I kept running and took 1/2 a GU packet at just before the 2nd mile marker. At this point I knew that I was running about a 12min mile pace which was great for me especially after the hilly bike. I got some water and continued to push towards the finish line. I saw Karie and Jeff as I was heading down the final stretch as well as my coach David who was cheering me on :) I picked up the pace and ran onto the field and across the finish line.

3.2 miles
35.21
11.23 pace

Holy Mackeral!!!! Final Finish Time: 1:38.45

I won the Under 39 Athena Division ahead of 2 other women which is AWESOME!!!! I also improved my overall sprint time by at least 20 min (my fastest full sprint was 2:06 but it was a longer swim than this was).

Post Race
I visited with my coach, got lots of hugs and kisses from Preston who had finished his first race earlier. I'm really bummed I didn't get to see him finish but I am so proud of him for doing the race and now he's very excited to do a triathlon especially given his times (I only beat him on the bike by 1min and on the run by 6min and he was walking, geesh! He is speedy).

We got our stuff from both transition areas, I got a latte and then we went back to the race for the raffle. Good thing we did because I won a big jug of hammer gel and Preston won a solid oak bike stand that holds 2 bikes for your house or garage. Sweet!!! It's really nice and already in use.

Overall it was a great race and I am thrilled with my results especially given what I'd gone through in the days leading up to the race. Next up:

Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon for me and Blue Lake Sprint Triathlon for Preston :)