Last triathlon in 2025 - Portage Lake Triathlon (Sprint)

By Orangy -

My training was on and off since I came back from Portugal in July of last year. There have been a lot of life changes and adjustments. I also took the students to Thailand on the study abroad trip in May so I lost 2+ weeks of training. That's why I made the decision to defer Ironman Ottawa to next year (thanks so the Flex90 program). 

I came back from Thailand in July, and 2 weeks after that, I did an Olympic distance tri in Buffalo, NY. It was a hot and humid day and I struggled greatly. I signed up for that race because I thought it would help me get ready for the Ironman but after I deferred the IM race to next year, I was stuck with this race. 

The race was actually very nice. We swam in Lake Erie, which was pretty choppy and I had minimal training in open water. However, I finished and that all that mattered. 

For the Portage Lake sprint tri, I decided to sign up because 1) I wanted to know where I am in the training and 2) I wanted to do one last tri race before it gets super cold. The day before the race, I volunteered at YUTC 50K/25K in Youngstown in the morning and we went to Rubber City Jazz and Blues festival in the afternoon. So, I spent a lot of time on my feet (I was supposed to "rest"). Oh well...

The morning of the race, I woke up feeling "blah". I kinda wished I did not have to race on that day and I didn't know why. I arrived at the race for the packet pick up but needed to use the bathroom so badly that I decided to get in line for the porta-potty before I picked up the packet. By the time I got my race bib and other stuff, there were only 15 minutes left before the transition closed down. I think it was the fastest transition setup time for me ever. 

The swim went well. I like that this race was always small. Not too many people. The water was calm and warm (warmer than the air temp). We had to stand in the water because the sand on the beach was too cold. After getting off the course in the last race, I made sure that I stopped and looked up a lot during the swim. My swim time was okay (not good but not too terrible). Then, off to T1.

One thing that I am very proud of is that I never spend too much time in the transitions. I get in and out pretty fast. The beginning of the bike course was all uphill (I remembered that part real well) and this bike course is considered a pretty tough course due to many rolling hills and steep climbs. I was trying to be careful not to exhaust my legs too much because I wanted to save them for the run. 

The first mile in the run course was all uphill (and I knew that). I carefully paced myself, took a gel and electrolyte (because I started to feel the cramps in the right leg). The good thing was it was an out-and-back course so the last mile downhill :) 

I pushed hard during the run because it was only 5K, and crossed the finish line with a smile on my face. It felt very good not to struggle during the race and finish with a smile. I got 2nd place in my age group. 





My friend, Angie, was volunteering at the race and she took pictures of me crossing the finish line. 

Next - Akron marathon at the end of this month. 

Sydney


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