This was the first race report I ever posted on the rec.sport.triathlon newsgroup.  
I also sent it around to a bunch of non-triathlete friends, thus the explanations of 
things like what Gu is and how your legs feel starting the run.  Enjoy!


Sunday, May 7 - Lake San Antonio, California
Corn Nuts Wildflower Olympic Distance Triathlon
1.5k Swim  (1 mile)
40k  Bike  (25 miles)
10k  Run   (6.2 miles)

The weather turned out to be perfect for the race; just enough
overcast to keep things cool, but not at all cold.  Little (if any)
wind, and the sun actually did peep out of the clouds now and again.
Lake San Antonio was a comfortable temperature (at least,
comfortable in a longjohn wetsuit), and the water level was higher
than it has been in years, making the mad dash from the boat launch
ramp up to the transition area much shorter than in the past.

The course was very challenging, with lots of hills on the bike and
the run.  The first big climb came only a mile into the bike, and it
was a stiff half mile quad-killer.  The kind of thing that makes you
say to yourself "Why in the hell am I doing this???"  Lots of
rollers after that on an out and back course.

The run was roughly half on trails, half on the road, and at least a
quarter of it was uphill.  Thank heaven for the clouds that kept it
from getting too hot.

I passed a lot of men from the previous two waves in the swim, and 
came out roughly in the top third of my wave at just over 28
minutes.  My swim to bike transition was pretty darned speedy, I'm
proud to say---that's been a definite weakness in the past, I guess
experience is finally starting to pay off.

I had checked out the first couple miles of the bike course on
Saturday, riding up Beach Hill (which racers refer to by another
name) to see just how bad it really was.  So I knew I had about a
mile to get my legs loosened up from the swim and ready for that
climb.  I made a point of keeping the gears low and spinning, but I
got to the hill and it hurt anyway.

After Beach Hill, the bike winds over rolling hills out of Lake San
Antonio Park on roads we drove in, so I knew pretty much what to
expect:  lots of rollers with the occasional steep section, and some
longer climbs of a half mile or so.  About 4 miles into the ride a
bug flew straight into my mouth and got caught in my throat...gack.
Definitely the highlight of the day.  Not.  Fortunately, I was able
to cough it out (yechh!) and didn't miss a beat.

The bike is my strongest event, and I passed a lot of people,
including quite a few men.  I was careful to pace myself and avoid
mashing the gears, though, in order to save something in those legs
for the run.  Again, experience paid off; in the past, I'd
often blow my wad on the bike since it's my strong point, and then
just die on the run.  I was happy to find myself riding
within my limits, and yet doing very well.  Coming back into the
park for the last 3 or 4 mles I was really starting to feel good,
especially on the gradual ascents.  I was confident about starting
the run.

The bike to run transition was pretty fast---I've gotten good at
that.  I downed a packet of Gu (sort of a gel PowerBar) on the way
out of the transition area.  Boy, that stuff is great, it goes
down quick and easy, and it really works.

The first mile and a half of the run were brutal---they generally
are, as any triathlete will attest.  Your legs scream in indignant
protest at being forced to change gears so abruptly from cycling to
running.  I really thought I was going to have to walk early on, but
somehow I kept running (although it was technically more a shuffle
than a run).  By the time we hit the first major uphill, my legs
had loosened up a bit, thank god!

Having run the Dish a lot, I was at least somewhat prepared for the
hills here, but yowzah, did they hurt!  A lot of other folks
apparently weren't at all prepared for the hills, because *I*
passed them (which, I can assure you, is nothing short of a miracle;
the general rule is, I pass everybody on the bike, and they pass me
right by again on the run).  Starting at the second or third
aid station (one each mile), I made the sensible decision to walk
the aid stations.  This way, I could drink a whole cup each of
Gatorade and water and stay well-hydrated, and also get a brief 10
or 15 second respite from the pounding.  This worked quite well, and
enabled me to keep running strongly between aid stations.

The last half mile or so was on pavement down a steep hill, and
ouch!  That hurts on tired legs and knees.  I probably could have
picked up a good half minute or so here, except that I really
didn't want to risk doing a face plant just to pick up a few
seconds.  It's the strangest feeling when your quads start to lock
up on you...

Finally, about 200 yards to go!  Unfortunately, some girl behind me
decided she had some spare fuel in her tanks and blasted past me,
and I just didn't have enough left to catch her.  I made a valiant
effort, however, but even though she started to fade just before the
line, I just couldn't get her.  Oh well, the announcer commented on
my strong finishing sprint anyway, so that was ok!

Final time was 3:01:03, and I came in 12th out of 38 in the Women's
25-29 division.  I was stoked to do so well in a tough race this
early in the season.  My conservative estimate of my time prior to
the race had been 3 and a half hours, so I was really pleased to
cut out that half.  The splits worked out (roughly) to about 28
minutes for the swim, 1:29:xx for the bike, and just under an hour
for the run.

Next race:  South Bay Triathlon, Sunday, May 21st, Uvas Reservoir in
Morgan Hill.  Swim 3/4 mile, bike 18 miles, run 5 miles.

See ya at the races!

TriBaby