My lack of training, or should I say inconsistent training, proved itself on Sunday at my first Olympic distance triathlon of 2009 in the chilly mountain air.
The week-end was a comedy of events:
1) at 8:45 on Saturday night, I realized I forgot my goggles. As panic began to set in, I called the swimming pool and was able to rush over and purchase a pair.
2) at the race site on race morning I realized I also forgot my race belt. I was so angry at myself. I have never forgotten any race gear for a race in the past. I said to myself "Self, stop being so hard on yourself. I'm going to wear my jacket on the bike anyway because it's so cold, so I can just pin the race bib on the back". I'd have no bib for the run, but that wouldn't be a big deal. It's just a small laid back triathlon. I won't get disqualified. And... if that wasn't bad enough,
3) ten minutes before race start, a fellow competitor told me I forgot to put my chip on my ankle. Never mind forgetting to put it on - I forgot to collect it. I had to run out to the lobby and get my chip. The memories of the ITU qualifying triathlon in Hawrelak Park came flooding back, where my chip came off with my wetsuit and I didn't have a final time.
I was thinking "Things happen in threes, it can only get better from here on in. OK, here we are, two minutes to race start and people are in the pool warming up and I have to go to the bathroom - damn nerves. I ask myself 'What else can go wrong?'
The whistle blew and I started the swim of 1.5 km or 30 laps. Everything was going great - I was doing flip turns and swimming very well. My goggles would leak every time I pushed off the wall. After stopping about six or seven times at the end of a length, I finally decided to pull my goggles tight. They were so tight, they were digging into my nose. The end result was that I swam about four minutes faster than I thought I was going to. If I didn't have to stop all those times, it would have been five minutes.
Triathletes usually run barefoot from the swim to the first transition (T1), but the pavement was so cold that I took the time to put my sandals on, as well as my jacket (with my number pinned on the back). Helmet, sunglasses, cycling shoes - Check - and off I went to start my 40 km ride.
About 15 minutes into the bike, my toes started to get numb, and then my fingers. Oh no, this is going to be the ride from hell! The ride took me along Yellowhead Trail up to Obed Summit with a head wind and then back. I made up time I lost on the way out because coming back was more downhill and a tail wind; although, I didn't want to go fast because the wind wasn't helping the numbness in my feet. I was relieved to get into the next transition (T2) so I could start warming up on the 10 km run.
I was so cold that I couldn't get my fingers to work so I could take my cycling shoes off. It was difficult to get my feet into my running shoes too. I was running OK though for having numb feet. The first 1.5 km was all uphill and then it was a beautiful run through the treed trails.
In the end, it was slowest Mountainview Triathlon to date. I was dead last in my age group. I am usually in the top half of my age group. Oh well, it was a good training day. Here are my
results.
I went on an exciting field trip at work yesterday. Three baby peregrine falcons and a mom and dad are living on the roof of the Bell Tower in downtown Edmonton and two co-workers and me went to watch the babies get banded. The reason they are banded is so that the birds can be tracked. The babies were very cute in an only-a-mother-could-love kind of way, but the mother was not very happy when we took the babies away, although it was only temporary.
