Chi Tri '09

Packet Pick Up:
Uneventful which is refreshing. My friend gave me a ride which was much appreciated-- taking the El becomes quite the hike. Got my packet, (lame) t-shirt, purple swim cap (second purple one-- not my fav), allowed a stranger to take a FAT permanent marker to all of my limbs, vomited at the course talk, perused the expo, took advantage of a sale and left. Nothing too terrible.

Preparation:
I recently got a 'bike computer' because it was on clearance for $10 which is a steal compared to the ones that go for hundreds of dollars elsewhere. Since the reviews of this device were pretty positive, I decided to get it. Of course I waited until the night before the race to install it which was much more difficult than I anticipated. When I was in third grade math I never thought I'd actually NEED to remember the equation for how to determine the circumference of a circle. Lo and behold the wheel circumference has to be programmed into this thing in order for it to be accurate. After measuring eight THOUSAND times and submitting to the fact that I don't know how to use a tape measure much less a mathematical equation, I decided to trust my gut (and my dad) and go with 27. Got it programmed and set up, only to realize I attached to computer 'mount' upside down. I need to get new zip ties before I can turn it right side up. So I definitely raced with it upside down. 16mph... 91mph... same thing. HA. What a doof. The rest of packing was uneventful aside from the large ulcer that continued to grow. I went to bed at 7:30 and fell asleep around 11:30. Ridiculous.

Race Morning:
Woke up at 2am with little effort due to extreme anxiety. After a breakfast of champions (oatmeal!) did some last minute packing and panicking and headed out. My friend and I planned to meet at the Lakeshore trail and bike down to avoid major parking fees and mayhem. On our way, we couldn't help but notice the lake-- it was rampant and DEFINITLY resembled The Perfect Storm. I know I have a habit for being dramatic, but this is very factual. I tried to look up some hard proof but failed. The WAVES were splashing all the way up on to the shore-- I have NEVER seen that happen. Not like 'oh, some mist dampened the path' but more along the lines of 'HOLY BUCKETS that wave just swallowed that pedestrian!' Fortunately it was still of the 3am hour so no pedestrians were ingested by the rage of Lake Michigan, but I was VERY nervous to continue on the path and resorted to biking like crazy to get to transition. We barely made it. I was half expecting to see signs: "RACE CANCELLED DUE TO TSUNAMI LIKE CONDITIONS" but all I saw was masses of people flooding into the mini-city of transition. I was certain death was a very real possibility.
I got my spot set up, furrowed my brow at some crazy people, vomited at the professional people, walked the in's and out's then got the heck out of there. I didn't even pause to snap a photo-- too many people!!
Then the wait. I was in wave 29 of 57. The first wave left at 6am then every 4 minutes after that, meaning I took off at 8:08. Two hours to let my anxiety fester. My friend's wave (50/57) didn't leave until 9:30ish so I will consider myself lucky in comparison. The weather was slightly ridiculous. I was FREEZING! The water was 64 degrees-- not warm, but warmer than the 58 at the Worst-Triathlon-Ever back in July. The air temperature was in the upper 50s. Gaaaah! I wore my swimsuit, triathlon shorts, my really flattering triathlon top, under armor (which I had to UNPACK from a box!!!), and a coat. I brought sweatpants anticipating a chill or two, not hypothermia. Honestly, the cold was the worst part of the wait. At 6:55 I planned to go to the porta potty, remebering the heinously long lines last year. By the time I got back to the swim start at 7:30, it was time to line up! AHHHHHH.

*How my friend waited for her start

*Ridiculously long lines for the port-a-potties

Swim:
I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised with the start. Don't get me wrong it was chaotic and violent, but it seemed to die down much quicker than normal. Maybe I surrenered earlier than normal, haha. It went okay until some MANIAC came barreling from behind me and in passing ripped my goggles OFF MY FACE. That pissed me off. Losing my goggles is close to close to my biggest fear about the swim (minus drowning). I had to stop-- tread water GRAB my eye protection before they SUNK to the mysterious and disgusting bottom, shake the water out of them and then reaffix them to my cranium. UGH. I couldn't help but think 'You're lucky I'm wearing waterproof mascara!" I got appropriately angry and tried to use it to swim faster but my time suggests that I did not swim faster, but since I don't focus on numbers anymore it doesn't (shouldn't) matter. I will blame my slower swim time on the goggle incident. The thing about that is: the swim time INCLUDES the >0.25mile jog from the beach to transition.. When I looked at my watch as I stumbled out of the water (the helper-people said 'Ma'am take off your goggles so you can see!' I'm sorry if I want to focus on STANDING first, c'mon!) it said that I'd gone a MINUTE faster than my time last year, and then the posted time is two minutes slower than my trustee watch time, and one minute slower than last year. Ahhhh! All the more reason to not focus on that jazz.

BIKE
Holy wind. Same as last year-- a two loop course up Lakeshore Drive (two lanes open to vehicular traffic, two closed (the two closest to the median no less) for the bikers-- I may have feared for my life for the second time that morning). The wind while going North was ridiculous and I spent most of my time in crazy easy gears... inching along. Once we turned to go south, it was glorious. I still can't figure out how to go faster on the downhills and it is getting irritating. I pass people on the climbs then get smoked on the downhill. And yes-- there were climbs that were dramatically increased by the wind. Around the turn for the second lap, the wind hit like a brick wall. I hate that I can't control the weather! Bike time was disappointing-- I'd secretly hoped for like 30 minutes faster than last year since I have a legit bike-- but alas, it was a mere 8 minutes faster! The wind was SOOO much more intense this year. That will be my justification.

RUN
The run was better than I thought it would be. I've really made running into this big bad unconquerable thing in my mind. While it still holds that status, this run wasn't quite as terrible as I'd psyched myself out for. Within the first mile I heard someone cheer 'You're almost there!' To which I retorted in between gasps "NO WE ARE NOT WE HAVE SIX MILES TO RUN THAT IS NOT ALMOST ANYTHING!" A girl running next to me said "I hate it when people tell me I'm almost 'there!'" We ran side by side for awhile then she got ambitious and pulled ahead. I could see her the whole time and told myself I had to stay with her. She slowed down between mile 2 and 3. Then I passed her between 3 and 4. The rest of the run I thought "I have to keep going or she'll pass me!" I got Gatorade at the 5th mile and then she popped up right beside me and scared the daylights out of me. I used that adrenaline to get pull ahead and get to mile 6. That last 0.2 miles is so killer. I was sure I'd smoked this girl and she was far behind me and then all of the sudden with the finish line in earshot, she goes by me 'kicking it in.' Dammit! So I looked at my feet and thought "FASTER!" About three second later they started making an awkward effort to go faster and I passed her and finally crossed the finish line.

Aftermath:
I saw that girl down the finish chute and told her that she kept me going the whole time (in a 'thank you' manner) and she looked at me like I was a loon. Whatever. I got my medal (everyone gets one), and my bagel (whole bagels here, but just cups of water/Gatorade..) and meandered down the street in a lemming like fashion. I get so disoriented during downtown races, I had no idea where I was going. I followed until I recognized how to get to the swim gear check, got my stuff, cheered for some runners until I saw my friend run by, then made the trek back to transition. The wind was still blowing and I got VERY cold very quickly! I'm always appalled at how transition looks as if a tornado has blown through it after the race! I gathered my stuff super slowly, put my coat back on, and went back to the finish line to wait for my friend. Apparently, I took my sweet time because as she was walking out of the festival after the finish chute, I was just getting there. We went back to swim gear check, got her stuff there, walked all the way back to transition and then made the genius decision to ride our bikes back instead of taking the El. I'm always up for saving $2.25, but lordy lordy. I have not come to love the rigid little bike seat on my speedy steed and after an already grueling bike leg I wasn't thrilled to re-board. With my crazy heavy soccer backpack and super stiff legs I pedaled back sooo slow on a suuuper easy gear. The ride back was not fun AND I came SO close to getting doored! If that would have happened, I surely would have flipped. I finally got home, looking and feeling absolutely BEAT, and sat down, then woke up an hour later. Pooped, stiff, and sunburned.

All in all-- good day. Went fairly smoothly with the expected unexpected snags. I finished and I didn't die so that has to equal a success, right? Now I'm trying to regain full motion in all of my limbs.. and I feel feverish because I'm sunburned. While I definitely wish I wouldn't have been so lazy in training, I am still glad I participated (definitely had about an hour of 'maybe I will stay home' mentality the day before the race). And I will look forward to doing this race again in the future.