We made another pilgrimage to the wonderful Great White North known as Vancouver BC. We were there back in June at the ITU World Championships where I was not too happy about the race that unfolded at that time…but that is in another blog :)
A little snow over the Pass
Jessi and I took off on Saturday at about 1:30pm. Kind of a late start, but a drive is a drive and it really did not matter what time we got there. We also knew our race was starting at about 12:00 the next day so there really was no huge “rush” in getting there. Emma went up to Schweitzer for a weekend of skiing with her Papa Tim and Grandma Kris.
Secured Parking that we cleared by 1/2 inch going in, but could not drive out. We had to back out
Our accommodations found us staying at the luxurious Quality Inn in Vancouver. Might I caution you before staying at this location if traveling to Vancouver. We set our clocks forward and got a good night’s sleep.
This weekend would see similar weather trends with the wind and unseasonable cool temps (36 degrees on race day) as was experienced in June. But I have to say that this race is a lot of fun. The first time I raced this event was back in 1998. It was set up a tad different, but the gist was the same. It is well attended, selling out weeks before the event.
This weekend would see similar weather trends with the wind and unseasonable cool temps (36 degrees on race day) as was experienced in June. But I have to say that this race is a lot of fun. The first time I raced this event was back in 1998. It was set up a tad different, but the gist was the same. It is well attended, selling out weeks before the event.
Paying to Park. I Hate this.
We made it to the race site in search of a parking spot. I am not one that likes to pay for parking, but we were in Canada and I think they charge you for parking in your own driveway. We eventually gave up and parked in a hospital parking lot that, of course, you had to pay for. But at this point we were ready to go. We got the wheels aired up and the gear in the packs, and we were “race ready.”
His and Hers
After being redirected at every building we went to, we eventually had all the items in the right places and were awaiting our start time. As I have said in many other race reports, I am normally one of the first ones to the race site, but one of the last ones ready for the start. This race was no exception. As all the athletes in my wave were listening anxiously to the pre race talk in their swim suits, I stood there in my fleece pants, down jacket, and fleece beanie. I figured we had about 10 minutes, so plenty of time to strip down.
Outdoor Pool
I eventually took off all my outer warmth and was exposed to the elements with nothing protecting me but a thin layer of orange lycra. They staged us in a “warming tent” right next to the outdoor pool. It was at that point that the race would begin. You would walk across the timing mat, get in the water, and then they would tap you and say “go.” I HATE being the first one because I usually screw something up. I was told to enter the water so I hopped in the pool. It was surprisingly warm…so I peed..just kidding. It was quite warm though. Then all of a sudden the lady said “go.” Crap! I pathetically pushed off the wall and was off. I felt slow…I mean really slow. Like something was slowing me down. I was in a skin suit, but it felt more like a drag suit (and not the cross dressing type…that would be really slow). I proceeded to the end of the pool where I would duck under the lane line and continue back. I would see all the people that were coming behind me. I tried to take a split by counting my strokes. But I know it would not be that accurate. As I came to the other end, I did a flip turn and headed back along the other side of the lane, just like “circle swimming.” Little did I know that this pool had 8 lanes and we were to duck under the lane line each time which meant..yup..I was swimming right into everyone that was behind me. Nice…real nice. Fortunately I was swimming slow so any impact would hardly be felt. I narrowly missed the guy behind me (really in front of me) and then I ducked into the other lane and continued on. I finally made it other end and got out of the pool. I glanced down at my watch to get an idea as to what I swam hoping that I would surprise myself at the sheer speed I was really going. Nope. It provided evidence that I was just above “treading water” speed. Oh well. Off to T1.
They had our T1 bag ready for us as we exited he pool. However, in the bag was my down jacket, fleece pants, and other warm clothes. So as she outstretched the bag to me, I shoved my goggles and swim cap in it and said thanks. Jessi and I both looked over the arrangement of the course and figured it would be faster to do all of T1 at the bike itself. So the T1 bag that everyone was grabbing, we did not. My wet body carried me barefoot through the 36 degree air temp and to my steed about 400 meters away. There I started the longest T1 I think I have ever done. I put on a vest, arm warmers (which I never rolled up) helmet, number belt, and gloves. I could see the people coming from the pool all dressed and ready to go. I grabbed my Trek and ran out of T1 and did the common flying mount. I am always a tad afraid of missing the seat, or having the seat fall down when I do that. It’s quite a spectacle to watch when it goes right, but would never be forgotten if it went wrong. Bottom line, I was off on the bike.
I brought my Trek up to speed and then started to fumble with my shoes to get my feet into them. I have never tried this with gloves before and struggled quite a bit. I think it took me about 2-3 minutes to finally get my feet in. And since this was such a short bike, I was wasting precious time. Once all secured in, I was able to start going. My watts went up rapidly and the adrenalin kicked in. The cool air was making a statement on my face and bare legs, but I knew things would adjust. But for the first few minutes, it felt like pins in my legs being poked all around. The first out and back is a slight downhill. I found myself in my largest gear turning it over pretty comfortable for a bit. I was passing people at a ferocious speed. Granted, some of them were in a completely different race, more than likely longer, and on mountain bikes, but I felt like a sports car on the freeway passing semi trucks up Snoqualmie Pass. I made it to the first turnaround where I could take a split on 2nd…or at least the guy who started the swim behind me. I figured I put over a minute into him in the first few miles. That was good. But I still had a 5k to run and I needed some more time. I continued to push some good watts and saw Jessi flying the other way. She was looking very comfortable and traveling at a high rate. I was finally making my way back to T2 and thought I would put in one more big effort before setting up for a dismount. As I approached T2 I got my feet out of the pedals and was ready to jump off at a pretty good clip. As usual, the official was waving his arms and yelling to stop..slow down…dismount here…all the same things they say when they don’t think that you see them. I jumped off at about 15 mph and skipped into T2. I wasn’t really “riding” my bike, but like running though a parking lot with a shopping cart, I was using it to propel me a bit.
I got to my transition spot and was able to get into my shoes quickly. I grabbed my Rudys and TIMEX visor and was off on the run. I started off the run with a quick turnover and figured I would give it what I had. It was only 5k, but it was still 5k. I got to the first marker that said “1.” Since we were in Canada, I knew that that was not a mile marker. But it came quickly. I eventually saw “2” and I knew I was close to the turnaround. It always feels better to be running back to the pasture so to speak. As I hit the turnaround, I took another split to see how far back second was. I was running well, I thought. I did finally see 2nd and he seemed to be running well, but was too far back to make a push for it. So now it was just me running against people I could not see. I started to look for Jessi and was hoping to see her soon. With all the people on the bike course, people being cold, and three 180 degree turnarounds, it all increases the chance of an accident. So when I saw her running up the hill, and looking strong, I knew she was doing well. She was trucking and looking good. I continued on towards the finish navigating all the turns and cones in the last kilometer. I saw the finish and just ran strong to the end. I crossed the line, they took off my timing strap, and then I started running back on the course to cheer Jessi in.
It wasn’t long before I saw her so I turned around knowing she would catch up to me quickly. As I turned around in the middle of the run course, I figured there were a few people that probably thought I was running in the race still and just turned around in the middle of the run. Oh well, not a big deal. I ran the last 1.5ks in with her and I could tell she was cruising. She even picked it up for the last ½ mile. I peeled off with about 300 meters to go and met her at the finish.
They had our T1 bag ready for us as we exited he pool. However, in the bag was my down jacket, fleece pants, and other warm clothes. So as she outstretched the bag to me, I shoved my goggles and swim cap in it and said thanks. Jessi and I both looked over the arrangement of the course and figured it would be faster to do all of T1 at the bike itself. So the T1 bag that everyone was grabbing, we did not. My wet body carried me barefoot through the 36 degree air temp and to my steed about 400 meters away. There I started the longest T1 I think I have ever done. I put on a vest, arm warmers (which I never rolled up) helmet, number belt, and gloves. I could see the people coming from the pool all dressed and ready to go. I grabbed my Trek and ran out of T1 and did the common flying mount. I am always a tad afraid of missing the seat, or having the seat fall down when I do that. It’s quite a spectacle to watch when it goes right, but would never be forgotten if it went wrong. Bottom line, I was off on the bike.
I brought my Trek up to speed and then started to fumble with my shoes to get my feet into them. I have never tried this with gloves before and struggled quite a bit. I think it took me about 2-3 minutes to finally get my feet in. And since this was such a short bike, I was wasting precious time. Once all secured in, I was able to start going. My watts went up rapidly and the adrenalin kicked in. The cool air was making a statement on my face and bare legs, but I knew things would adjust. But for the first few minutes, it felt like pins in my legs being poked all around. The first out and back is a slight downhill. I found myself in my largest gear turning it over pretty comfortable for a bit. I was passing people at a ferocious speed. Granted, some of them were in a completely different race, more than likely longer, and on mountain bikes, but I felt like a sports car on the freeway passing semi trucks up Snoqualmie Pass. I made it to the first turnaround where I could take a split on 2nd…or at least the guy who started the swim behind me. I figured I put over a minute into him in the first few miles. That was good. But I still had a 5k to run and I needed some more time. I continued to push some good watts and saw Jessi flying the other way. She was looking very comfortable and traveling at a high rate. I was finally making my way back to T2 and thought I would put in one more big effort before setting up for a dismount. As I approached T2 I got my feet out of the pedals and was ready to jump off at a pretty good clip. As usual, the official was waving his arms and yelling to stop..slow down…dismount here…all the same things they say when they don’t think that you see them. I jumped off at about 15 mph and skipped into T2. I wasn’t really “riding” my bike, but like running though a parking lot with a shopping cart, I was using it to propel me a bit.
I got to my transition spot and was able to get into my shoes quickly. I grabbed my Rudys and TIMEX visor and was off on the run. I started off the run with a quick turnover and figured I would give it what I had. It was only 5k, but it was still 5k. I got to the first marker that said “1.” Since we were in Canada, I knew that that was not a mile marker. But it came quickly. I eventually saw “2” and I knew I was close to the turnaround. It always feels better to be running back to the pasture so to speak. As I hit the turnaround, I took another split to see how far back second was. I was running well, I thought. I did finally see 2nd and he seemed to be running well, but was too far back to make a push for it. So now it was just me running against people I could not see. I started to look for Jessi and was hoping to see her soon. With all the people on the bike course, people being cold, and three 180 degree turnarounds, it all increases the chance of an accident. So when I saw her running up the hill, and looking strong, I knew she was doing well. She was trucking and looking good. I continued on towards the finish navigating all the turns and cones in the last kilometer. I saw the finish and just ran strong to the end. I crossed the line, they took off my timing strap, and then I started running back on the course to cheer Jessi in.
It wasn’t long before I saw her so I turned around knowing she would catch up to me quickly. As I turned around in the middle of the run course, I figured there were a few people that probably thought I was running in the race still and just turned around in the middle of the run. Oh well, not a big deal. I ran the last 1.5ks in with her and I could tell she was cruising. She even picked it up for the last ½ mile. I peeled off with about 300 meters to go and met her at the finish.
After crossing the line, we quickly went to get or bikes out of transition and got our warm clothes. We tried to look for some results, but none were posted. We saw that the awards ceremony was not for another 1.5 hours. So we headed back to the car, loaded it up, and were off to Spokane. It was good thing we left when we did, because we did not anticipate the 90 minute wait at the boarder. Yikes! That was frustrating. We were in a bit of a hurry because we wanted to get home and see Emma. The drive home was pretty uneventful other than consuming 5 Krispy Kreme donuts. That was pretty fun. 
The 90 minute wait at the Boarder
Hmmm...what shall I have?
ALL MINE, Ah, Ha, Ha, Ha...
It was a great trip that found us home in 36 hours from start to finish. Both Jessi and I won overall for men and women. That was pretty cool. But it was definitely not a distance that we really wanted to race. But you race the race in front of you and do your best in that. Even with a race that short, that went pretty well, there were definitely things I would change if I were to do it again. But for what I knew, and what I had, I am happy with the race.
I love racing. I love the anxiousness and the feeling of “Why am I doing this?” that you experience. But at the end of the day, you always seem to know why. Never be afraid to test yourself… it’s what makes you better.
I love racing. I love the anxiousness and the feeling of “Why am I doing this?” that you experience. But at the end of the day, you always seem to know why. Never be afraid to test yourself… it’s what makes you better.
5 comments:
Way to go, love. It was an awesome adventure and I loved being able to share it with you. You were FLYING in this race... you looked so friggin' smooth both times I saw you. Thanks for the fun weekend and keepin' me laughing from start to finish. My favorite memory was your split taking at the border as well as your rendition of being on the border patrol. Still not sure how it took so flong... LET US BACK IN!
Thanks for all the encouragement and for always taking time to help me in the 'coachable' moments.
I'm better (in every way) because of you.
XOXO
Always funny times reading your blog. Looks like you had a good sweet Sunday though! Great job at the race, cant wait to see how the rest of your season goes. Off to a great start Mr T!
Nice work. I am stil wondering just how cold 36 degrees and wet feels on a bike. Once again way to push yourself and have a great result.
PS. I only think you deserved 4 of those donuts for the victory:)
Glad to have you blogging again, Rog -- always entertaining. Way to go with the race, guys!
Thanks, again, for loaning us your beautiful powder freak daughter. We loved sharing the powder and the powder bar squirts with her.
Love,
Tim
I'm sorry, but my favorite part of this post was when you said the water was warm, so you peed. I was laughing out loud.
Nice work on the race. You kicked some serious ass - as always. The last paragraph of this post is awesome and a great reminder at the beginning of race season!
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