Portage lake triathlon - Olympic distance - Still recovering from the Ironman
The Portage Lake Triathlon was a result of my existential crisis race sign-up after the Ironman Mont Tremblant. Again, after the A race of the year, I fell into another big "what's next?" hole. After talking to my coach, I decided to do the Olympic tri at Portage Lake.
I did this race in 2018 after the Canal Corridor 100. It was already 5 years ago and I forgot how hilly the bike and run courses were (please blame it on my post-100-miler brain). You would think I would learn a lesson about signing up for another race after a big race while my body is still in recovery mode? Nope...
Leading up to this race, it was pretty insane. The semester started one week after the IM Mont Tremblant (2 weeks before the race). Then, 1 week before the race, I came down with a cold, which seemed to be spreading around here while trying to write 2 research proposals and teach classes. The day before the race I volunteered at Youngstown Ultra Classic Trail 25k/50k and went to the Rubber City Jazz Festival in the afternoon. So, while I was not "training" on Saturday, my body did not have a complete rest.
Anyhow, I wanted to do another short, local triathlon before the season ends this year because I was in Thailand for 2 months in the summer and missed a lot of local tri races.
Everything went smoothly on race morning. I picked up the packet and set up the transition. I also ran into many friends at the race, which was really fun. That's why I like local races.
My expectation going into this race was to have fun and do things that I love. The swim went well (although the course was a bit short). This time there were not many female athletes so I seeded myself toward the front as I did not want to potentially swim over somebody and I made the right decision. My swim time was not the fastest but I am happy with it.
Then, the bike course kicked my butt. I thought after Mont Tremblant this bike course should be like a walk in the park. Well, there were many steep climbs on the course and they were relentless! I saw some people had to walk their bikes up some of the climbs. I just put on the climbing gear, kept my head down, and kept grinding LOL Overall, it was hard but fun.
The run course was an out-and-back. The first half (1.5 miles) was all uphill and the second half was all downhill. And the Olympic distance had to do it twice. Had I got enough rest before this race, my run would have been better. For some reason, I could not push the pace during the run no matter how hard I tried. My legs felt really heavy and were screaming "f* you" at my brain.
I crossed the finish line with a smile. I also saw J. and he gave me a hug (he did not recognize me at first because I was wearing sunglasses. There were many CTC people at the finish line and I got a chance to meet new people and catch up with friends. I like the camaraderie and the spirit of this club. Everyone who saw me in the CTC gear on the course smiled and cheered on me. It was such a great feeling.
Welp, it turned out that no one faster than me in the age group showed up at the race so I placed first in the age group LOL
Sydney
Comments
Post a Comment