Race List this year:
May- might have to look for a 10K in here. I had lots of stuff to do this month, including 2 vacations and a little cold. Glad in retrospect no races here.
June 27th - Pacific Crest Triathlon Olympic Distance Triathlon
July- Going to work something in this month!
August 22-23 - Hood to Coast Relay (Each person runs several legs and each runner does anywhere from 16-26 miles total…unique event to train for) If this doesn't pan out that's ok…
September 21 - Half-Marathon Beat the Blerch in Washington
October - hmmmm. Maybe need to scout out something here.
Two more races under my belt for the summer!
I had to through the fear quote out there, because this is the FIRST TRIATHLON I didn't feel a fear nugget at the beginning.
I felt able.
In the past, I was totally intimidated but pushed on anyway! I am so proud of the Beth that plunged into the water for the first time in 2004.
And the difference is all the swim help I have had. I believe this was the 12th outdoor triathlon I have done. My usual approach to race season would go as such: I just barely get in enough swimming to remember what water was and how you move in it. This season I really wanted to improve and I have been swimming pretty consistently since late February, and a lot of those swims had coaches.
For my first triathlon of the season, I chose a sprint. This is the shortest length of race in the world of triathlon and a great intro to the season for me. This particular race is considered one of the season openers here in the Pacific Northwest.
Sprint triathlons consist of a swim between 500-800 meters, then take a 12-15 mile biker, and end with a 5K.
The Blue Lake Triathlon had an extra grand feature: a My First Tri division, with a shorter but still challenging swim that was 400 meters, or a quarter of a mile.
The biggest hurdle for any new triathlete who did not spend time on a swim team is the first leg of the triathlon. Offering a slightly shorter swim let's first timers get the challenge, but not be overwhelmed. Well done, Blue lakers!
Other fine features of Blue Lake:
- Super duperly well organized
- Pretty much closed to traffic fast and flat bike course
- Cozy water temp! I wore a wetsuit but was quite comfortable
- Kept announcing swim course over and over again, which is helpful!
- Nice tree-filled park with shade
- Parking close to race so didn't have to haul goods to far
- Covered pavilions close to transition area nice spot to stretch and warm up prior to race
- Not too overstimmy, sometimes a race site has jock jams so loud your nervous system feels overloaded!
This year I joined the Portland Triathlon Team. Not my first tri team experience, but definitely my best! I bought a kit this year which is just a name for a tri-suit. You can wear ANYTHING to a triathlon really but a kit can be nice if you are serious enough to do several in a year and see yourself continuing in the world of triathlon BECAUSE it is the only gear you will need for the day working as a swimsuit, and has built in bike shorts, and pockets for fuel.
Here I am decked out in my gear!
Let me tell you all the reasons I am so glad I joined the tri team here in Portland.
1. Wearing this get up you get extra boosts of verbal encouragement from the 300 other members of your team. I may not know all their faces, but their is a cheering reciprocation that is so nice to have and give! And abilities range from sponsored to first timers, but mutual support and respect flowing every which way.
2. Having access to info on coached swims has been really great for my swimming! I have shaved off a few minutes and GAINED a lot of confidence in the world of swimming.
3. Lots of workouts in Portland to be a part of! Many bike rides, run, and swims to join.
Breaking down the race, my goals included a good set-up, and warm up, to PR my swim, and to finish on the super amazing end in 1 hour 30 minutes, and the super proud end 1:45 minutes. I was hoping for an 18 minute swim and came close! I was also hoping to start moving towards the top ten in my age group and was thinking top 15...and I came in 16th...by 5 seconds!
The SWIM!
Swim start was great, headed straight for the first buoy with a good line, with buoys 2 and 3 I got off course a bit and lost a little time. Too stay calm and focused, I break down my swim buoy by buoy, just thinking about my next mini goal in the water. One of the biggest challenges is staying calm at the start and hitting that first buoy and it seems once I round buoy one I get into a nice rhythm. My swim time was 18:29, about a 2:20 pace per 100 meters, in the past my swims have been 22-24 minutes in length. I know I can better that with some better sighting and staying on a good path from buoy to buoy.
The BIKE!
Fast and flat is this course! OOOH yea! There is another triathlon here later in the summer and I may do it to see if I can best my time.
Biking into a head wind, I maintained about 15-17 miles an hour going out the first six miles of the bike course, and on the way back with the wind scooting me along my speed was 18-20 miles an hour. Felt great but my toes were going numbskiddle-do, because of my tiny shoes! My average speed was 17.3 miles an hour and I feel really great about my time.
The Run....mwah mwahhhhhhh!
SO I forgot to start busting out my new biking shoes because I had to put the cleats on. In my mind, this seemed like a daunting task, but it took less than 5 minutes with the assist of the You Tubery. Essentially, I had the same issue I had during my April duathlon: a very painful foot calf region for the duration of the run. My elfin bikers really limit toe spread, which was not to much of an issue until I started wearing a more "barefoot"type shoe that is foot shaped with a wide toe box and zero drop. I also am using correct toes to head off the beginnings of a bunion in my right foot.
I am not sure if the picture shows the outer angle of the right shoe but...ouch! Anyone know an elf in need of riding shoes!
I have corrected the issue and am enjoying better post-bike ride runs. But that day, it felt bad, just felt like my lower leg was filled with rocks and mud, and there was no free and easy to be found. Thank goodness it was a 5K, I broke it down and peeled off the painful miles. At the 1.5 mile turn around a BUNCH of Portland Tri Team volunteers cheered me on and up, and I pushed through the last chunk to take it home. My time was 32:00 minutes for the 5K, not terrible, but not the pace I have seen in my training runs. My running pace was a 10:17 minute mile. That's fine!
I have also had a lot of ankle-ish issues with my barefoot transition, consistently doing too much, too fast. Now I see spending any time at all in my riding shoes has been not good for my feet period, especially running. MY next move to make my tri life better is to snag beefier shoe that has a less of a drop and to throw it into my quiver of available running shoes.
I was grateful to be done and to make it so this doesn't happen again!
Here is a summary of my overall time, and transitions. I was 5 seconds away from the top fifteen of my age group! My swim to bike transition was slow because I was trying bring life to my feet, room for improvement there.
HAGG LAKE 1.2 mile SWIMMER!
A very chill, very sweet atmosphere at the open water swim. No air horn to start, 5 second countdown and I finished a 1.2 mile swim! My longest distance ever! Sorry no at-the-race pics, but kinda ran out the door to get to the Hagg Lake sight, little less than an hour outside Portland. Here is sleepy face before hitting the road!
There is also a tri out here in July, which looks to be a hilly but beautiful ride.
I finished in about 47 minutes, had to stop completely due to another swimmer edging me off course, and just let them go in front. I also let that frustrate me a bit. Good one to learn on. Once again, better control of my line would help a lot here. But I am pumped I wasn't too far off my pace in the Blue Lake Triathlon. I am just over a week away from a great race, the Pacific Crest Olympic distance, and hope to keep up that 2:20-ish pace or, OR even a bit better!
3. Lots of workouts in Portland to be a part of! Many bike rides, run, and swims to join.
Breaking down the race, my goals included a good set-up, and warm up, to PR my swim, and to finish on the super amazing end in 1 hour 30 minutes, and the super proud end 1:45 minutes. I was hoping for an 18 minute swim and came close! I was also hoping to start moving towards the top ten in my age group and was thinking top 15...and I came in 16th...by 5 seconds!
The SWIM!
Swim start was great, headed straight for the first buoy with a good line, with buoys 2 and 3 I got off course a bit and lost a little time. Too stay calm and focused, I break down my swim buoy by buoy, just thinking about my next mini goal in the water. One of the biggest challenges is staying calm at the start and hitting that first buoy and it seems once I round buoy one I get into a nice rhythm. My swim time was 18:29, about a 2:20 pace per 100 meters, in the past my swims have been 22-24 minutes in length. I know I can better that with some better sighting and staying on a good path from buoy to buoy.
The BIKE!
Fast and flat is this course! OOOH yea! There is another triathlon here later in the summer and I may do it to see if I can best my time.
Biking into a head wind, I maintained about 15-17 miles an hour going out the first six miles of the bike course, and on the way back with the wind scooting me along my speed was 18-20 miles an hour. Felt great but my toes were going numbskiddle-do, because of my tiny shoes! My average speed was 17.3 miles an hour and I feel really great about my time.
The Run....mwah mwahhhhhhh!
SO I forgot to start busting out my new biking shoes because I had to put the cleats on. In my mind, this seemed like a daunting task, but it took less than 5 minutes with the assist of the You Tubery. Essentially, I had the same issue I had during my April duathlon: a very painful foot calf region for the duration of the run. My elfin bikers really limit toe spread, which was not to much of an issue until I started wearing a more "barefoot"type shoe that is foot shaped with a wide toe box and zero drop. I also am using correct toes to head off the beginnings of a bunion in my right foot.
 |
| Oh, need a little pedi love, but really, LOOK HOW THEY ARE sooooo POINTED! Not a foot shaped shoe! See how my fourth and fifth toe are looking at it angrily! |
 |
| Look at the angle of the left side of my new shoe on the left! They are a little bigger period, so much better! |
I am not sure if the picture shows the outer angle of the right shoe but...ouch! Anyone know an elf in need of riding shoes!
I have corrected the issue and am enjoying better post-bike ride runs. But that day, it felt bad, just felt like my lower leg was filled with rocks and mud, and there was no free and easy to be found. Thank goodness it was a 5K, I broke it down and peeled off the painful miles. At the 1.5 mile turn around a BUNCH of Portland Tri Team volunteers cheered me on and up, and I pushed through the last chunk to take it home. My time was 32:00 minutes for the 5K, not terrible, but not the pace I have seen in my training runs. My running pace was a 10:17 minute mile. That's fine!
I have also had a lot of ankle-ish issues with my barefoot transition, consistently doing too much, too fast. Now I see spending any time at all in my riding shoes has been not good for my feet period, especially running. MY next move to make my tri life better is to snag beefier shoe that has a less of a drop and to throw it into my quiver of available running shoes.
 |
| Muppet smile! |
I was grateful to be done and to make it so this doesn't happen again!
Here is a summary of my overall time, and transitions. I was 5 seconds away from the top fifteen of my age group! My swim to bike transition was slow because I was trying bring life to my feet, room for improvement there.
HAGG LAKE 1.2 mile SWIMMER!
A very chill, very sweet atmosphere at the open water swim. No air horn to start, 5 second countdown and I finished a 1.2 mile swim! My longest distance ever! Sorry no at-the-race pics, but kinda ran out the door to get to the Hagg Lake sight, little less than an hour outside Portland. Here is sleepy face before hitting the road!
 |
| Wake up in front of house before the ride out to Hagg Lake. |
There is also a tri out here in July, which looks to be a hilly but beautiful ride.
I finished in about 47 minutes, had to stop completely due to another swimmer edging me off course, and just let them go in front. I also let that frustrate me a bit. Good one to learn on. Once again, better control of my line would help a lot here. But I am pumped I wasn't too far off my pace in the Blue Lake Triathlon. I am just over a week away from a great race, the Pacific Crest Olympic distance, and hope to keep up that 2:20-ish pace or, OR even a bit better!
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