Blue Lake race report

This may be a slightly shorter than normal and more random race report, since I have some other, more pressing issues occupying my thoughts these days (Ironman).

Suffice it to say, however, that the Blue Lake weekend was an absolute blast. We carpooled with Steve, and had the Pilot loaded up with 4 Cervelos, since Tiffany's bike needed a ride down to Portland. It was an awesome sight...I think that people probably thought that we were like some professionals, official reps of Cervelo.

Saturday, we picked up Steve, who wasn't racing, at 5:15am. After a rather lengthy night, he stepped up big time to come support Andy and I at our races, all at some insane hour of the day. We did have to stop once on the way so Steve could get some water and something to eat, which turned into the longest stop at a convenience store at 5:45am EVER. We think the employees were convinced we were casing the joint, but really, it would have been much better for everyone if they had just done their job. Anyway, I digress.

Race setup went pretty smooth for me, and Steve graciously helped out Andy get set up and calmed her down during some pre-race crazy moments. I answered a bunch of "newbie" questions in transition, which is one of the aspects of the Saturday sprint race that I love so much. The feel is very laid back, and alot of folks use this race as their first-ever triathlon. I really get a kick out of seeing the transition from pre-race nervousness to post-race excitement from so many people. Once I got into the water, I was totally stoked that the water felt warm! Maybe it is a benefit from living (and swimming) in the cold northland. The race start was delayed a bit, but since I was in the 2nd wave, I didn't have to wait too long.

My swim went pretty good overall, and for once I didn't feel like I was getting left behind. I also was able to get on some feet and get some good drafting in, although I think one guy I was drafting wasn't too happy about it. Oh well. I had quite a suprise as I rounded the last buoy when I saw 2 red caps (from the elite wave that went off 1 min ahead of us). Sweet! Normally, in wave start races, I have to struggle to hold off the faster swimmers from later waves, so this was a nice confidence booster.

I had what felt like a pretty quick and calm T1, and as I was running to the mount line, Steve was there telling me that I was maybe 2 or 3 minutes down on the leaders. Whoa! I had another good bike mount, with my shoes on the bike again, which was nice, because at this race last year, I "crashed" at the mount line. I felt great on the bike, quickly passing people and moving up nicely. When I got to the turnaround, I was 11th on the road. Wow. Maybe Steve was being honest and not just trying to make me feel better! I saw Andy out on the bike as I was heading in, and she was smiling like a crazy person, just loving life and her new bike. It warmed my heart up to see that she was finally having fun on the bike. I passed 2 more riders on the way back in, and succeeded in holding off the few guys behind me who looked like they were riding strong. Coming off the bike, I was totally over the moon, because I knew that I had a good ride.

Now, time for my strong point...T2. Its really the only thing I can do well in triathlon, and I totally rocked it. In fact, out of 532 athletes, I had the fastest T2 of anyone. OK, so its cheesy, but, hey, I gotta win something, right?!? :)

Going out on the run, my feet were like blocks of ice, but I just suffered thru until the feeling came back. I didn't want to get passed, but there was nobody in sight for me to chase down, so my entire run was a "running scared" effort. At the run turnaround, I was 8th on the road, and I could tell that I was not going to catch any of the guys in front of me. So I focused on trying to not get passed. However, right after I turned around, there were 3 or 4 guys right there. Yikes. Thank goodness that it was only a mile and a half that I had to suffer thru. I could see that one guy was looking better than I was feeling, but I also knew that he wasn't in my age group so it didn't worry me too much. I held him off until we had a half mile to go. Then, as we entered the park and the final quarter mile or so, I could feel that there was another guy right behind me. I started my kick a bit early, and was in full on freak-out running mode. I didn't know at this point if he was in my age group or not, but I convinced myself that he was, and that I was fighting for an age group placing. Every time I could feel him back there, I would lift my pace, and try and run his kick out of him. The gauntlet was thrown down about 400 meters from the finish (thank goodness I knew the course very well), when a friend of his who was spectating said to him "Go pass that guy (me)". Ok, so he's close enough that I could still hear what his friend said. And what he said did not sit well with me. I said to myself "I'll be dammed if you pass me now. No way in hell that's going to happen. You can try, buy you'll die trying." Up the last hill and into the finish chute, I was running for my life, but I did hold him off! Yes!! In the end, I found out that he had started with the elite wave, so he had a minute head start on me anyway, but it felt good nonetheless to be able to hold him off.

After basking in my own post-race glow and waiting for Andy to finish her race, it was fun to hang out with some Tri Fusion folks that had come out to cheer for us. So nice!! Andy came in smiling from ear to ear, and in general had a kick ass race. I was so happy for her that she finally had a good experience at a multisport race. I think that bike was one of the best things we have bought for her.

Then it was time to check results. SHOCK time. I finished 12th overall (out of 532) and 2nd in my age group (out of 48). WHOA!!!! Far and away my best finish in a race ever. As a bonus, Andy also placed 2nd in her age group! I am so proud of her!! She was nervous about doing her first race on her new bike, and she just totally went out there an dominated.

So, it was a good day for Team Swanson :)

Sunday, we again got up early and paid back Steve for his early Saturday wake up call. But, not before the required Starbucks stop. Nice to have my race done for the weekend!

It was a total blast watching all of our Tri Fusion teammates put in some amazing performances. I can't remember the last time I actually got to watch a race, and it was a ton of fun. I got some good perspective on T1 technique by standing near the bike mount line, and I had some fun taking pictures of all of our team out on the course.

I even had time to work on my skywalking abilities. Isn't this picture cool? It totally looks like I'm 5 feet above the ground. Sweet perspective!

Overall, our team did awesome.  I really enjoyed seeing everyone step up and overcome some adversity to help out the team.  Notable performances were Michelle who walked alone and still came across the finish line, Tiffany totally rocking her first Olympic distance race, Kirk fighting through leg pain to finish, Heather and Virginia never saying die, and Jessi, who totally sucked it up and would not let a pain in the butt to beat her :)

Part of the Tri Fusion team

As always, my amazing A+ team showed what they are made of: toughness with a smile!

After a stop at McMenamins for lunch (a bit longer than planned) and a stop to retrieve Tiffany's missing pillow from the hotel, Andy, Steve and I set off for home.  The drive back was an absolute laugh-fest.  Mostly, it was Steve and I cracking ourselves up, but we had fun texting back and forth with Tiffany and Trish.  The following is one short highlight of the hysterics:

Tim: "We just went past the scene of the crime.  Mile post 146.  Where are you guys?"

Trish: "Almost to Connell. Where is mile post 146?"

Tim: "It is about one mile west of mile post 147. Duh!"

Tiffany's pillow certainly had an adventurous trip back home....but that's another story for another day :)

Thanks to everyone for a fantastic weekend!!!  And now....*sigh* here we go.....