2018 Portage Lake sprint tri - First and last triathlon this year
Portage lake triathlon was the first and last triathlon race for me in 2018. Because my main focus since the beginning of the year was on the Canal Corridor 100, I did not allocate much time for swimming and biking (let along Brick workouts).
Originally, I signed up for Vermillion triathlon (sprint) but I felt that I was not ready before Vermillion so I emailed the race organizer and asked to defer the race to Portage Lake. They were very understanding and switched my registration to Portage Lake sprint tri.
A couple of weeks leading to the race day, I'd been biking with B. and K. on Sundays but did not seriously "train" for the race. I was glad to clip in and out of the bike shoes without too much ankle pain. Wednesday before the race I did Brick (bike and run) for the first and last time before the race. I did not have any expectation with this race at all.
On the race day, it rained really hard and the temperature dropped to 50+ degrees that morning. Many people decided not to race because they were afraid of the slippery road. One good thing about ultramarathon is that it prepares me for any weather condition.
Another friend of mine, C., was also doing the sprint tri and it was her first triathlon race. She was nervous about the swim. We decided to get in the water while waiting for our corral start time. It was too cold!
Then, the race started. One thing about this race - I was super calm before the swim. I took a deep breath and started swimming as fast as I could because I knew it would be over before I knew it. After getting out of the water, I heard people yelling my name and saw a couple of friends cheering me on. It was the best feeling to see your friends in a race.
The bike portion was slippery and everyone had to be careful. It was still raining and cold. I rode carefully and my goal was to finish without falling or a crash. I forgot how hilly the bike course was and cursed a bit every time I saw a hill. Ugh.
The only thing I remember from Portage Lake tri last year was the run course because it's out and back and you have to run uphill to the turnaround and then it's the downhill finish. I loved it.
Originally, I signed up for Vermillion triathlon (sprint) but I felt that I was not ready before Vermillion so I emailed the race organizer and asked to defer the race to Portage Lake. They were very understanding and switched my registration to Portage Lake sprint tri.
A couple of weeks leading to the race day, I'd been biking with B. and K. on Sundays but did not seriously "train" for the race. I was glad to clip in and out of the bike shoes without too much ankle pain. Wednesday before the race I did Brick (bike and run) for the first and last time before the race. I did not have any expectation with this race at all.
On the race day, it rained really hard and the temperature dropped to 50+ degrees that morning. Many people decided not to race because they were afraid of the slippery road. One good thing about ultramarathon is that it prepares me for any weather condition.
Another friend of mine, C., was also doing the sprint tri and it was her first triathlon race. She was nervous about the swim. We decided to get in the water while waiting for our corral start time. It was too cold!
Then, the race started. One thing about this race - I was super calm before the swim. I took a deep breath and started swimming as fast as I could because I knew it would be over before I knew it. After getting out of the water, I heard people yelling my name and saw a couple of friends cheering me on. It was the best feeling to see your friends in a race.
The bike portion was slippery and everyone had to be careful. It was still raining and cold. I rode carefully and my goal was to finish without falling or a crash. I forgot how hilly the bike course was and cursed a bit every time I saw a hill. Ugh.
The only thing I remember from Portage Lake tri last year was the run course because it's out and back and you have to run uphill to the turnaround and then it's the downhill finish. I loved it.
After the race, I saw B. and A., and a couple of friends and chat with them. They said they did not expect me to finish the run that fast LOL Overall, I got 4th place in my age group, which may be because no other faster athletes showed up.
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