Onion Man = More Lessons Learned!!

Marian and I showed up the day before and checked out the course. The weather was clear and sunny that afternoon and we were looking forward to the following morning being more of the same! The lake looked smooth as glass and the water was refreshingly cool - but not too cold. We drove the bike course; a few rolling hills but generally a flat and fast course. Awesome!! Check, Check, and Double Check! It was going to be a great race!

Lesson Learned #1: Don't ever get too tied to the race conditions. They could change at any point.

We woke up the next morning to a breezy, blustery, and overcast Walla Walla. (Uh oh...) I ate breakfast, we packed up and drove down to the race site early. I set up transition - which  was nice to do with a bunch of empty racks - and then we went and sat in the car as it started - and continued - to rain...

So we sat in the car and talked - which was mostly Marian talking ME down from being stressed due to the weather. It's nice to have your wife and coach there with you.

We went to the pre-race meeting and then headed down for the start. Consequently, because it was now rainy AND colder, the race directors had decided to shorten the swim to one loop instead of two, which came out to about 800 meters or so.

Didn't take much of a warmup (cause I was cold... duh). I dunked myself in the water once or twice to get the warming process started and then they counted down and blew the horn!!! GOOOOOO!

Lesson Learned #2: I need to gain more confidence in open/cold/crowded water....and maybe a warmup would have helped... 

I got knocked around quite a bit, which I didn't mind so much. But I was having a BIG exhaling problem in the beginning. My lungs wouldn't relax and I wasn't getting all my air out - hence I wasn't getting enough air IN. I slowed down and pushed through, but fell short of the lead pack and eventually settled in at the front of the second pack. The swim went really quick and before I knew it, we were heading in towards the ramp. I stumbled up the ramp being the 24th guy out of the water.

Lesson Learned #3: When in T1, clench fists immediately out of the water to warm hands. And WIPE off your feet! Doing the whole race with rocks in the socks is not a good idea!!

I mounted my trusty bike and took off down the road - rocky socks and all. I peddled with my feet on my shoes for a bit and then moved to put them in the shoes and.... oh no.......


Lesson Learned #4: If you're going to put on shoes while on the bike... make sure they are unbuckled before the start of the race and CERTAINLY before mounting your bike.


My shoes were completely buckled... I'd forgotten to open them when I put them on my bike......

So after losing 3 minutes trying to get my feet in and failing, then eventually stopping to fix them - and being passed by about 25 people - I get my rocky-sock feet in my shoes and cruise along the course. I felt the need to make up time so I spent a LOT of time in the heavy gear peddling fast. This was a fun bike course. The scenery was so green and luscious. I felt like I was racing in France! 

When I turned around it was downhill going back and I increased my cadence to about 100rpm. I was FLYING. Then came the headwind at the end... *woosh!!!* And I quickly dialed down the gear 4 notches...

As I neared transition, there are a few uphill blips. When I hit them, I could tell I was running out of gas. My legs didn't have any punch left. (Oh boy.... this is going to be a hard run..) I had a smooth dismount, save for a losing my shoe... again (thank God for helpful volunteers... again) and had one of the quicker T2's of the day. Despite my rock-filled socks...

Lesson Learned #5: Consume at least SOME sodium/electrolytes during a race. Even if the whole race is overcast and cold. Your body will thank you when you start the run.

The first half of the run was fun! A little Xterra-ish as the first mile was on dirt trails and had short switchback hills. Then we hit pavement and eventually the turnaround... and then.... the hammer fell. I felt like I was pulling an Ox-Cart for the remaining three miles. But I fought for it... and boy did it hurt. Overall, I made up ten places during the run to finish 44th with a time of 2:19:32 (Keep in mind the modified swim length). I got pretty dizzy at the end, and Marian had to help me sit down and then she shoved some food in my face... (Again.... best wife ever).... 

She even helped me pull my shoes and socks off and dump the rocks out... isn't she great?! 


OH!! And she's exhausted from being pregnant too!!!

Overall, I'm pleased. I matched my previous performance in both biking and running in REALLY nasty weather. Ironically, the sun came out about 10 minutes after I finished, and we all sat down for a chicken lunch (and I ate a TON of food).

Now it's back to the grindstone. I have a sprint race here at Mountain Home AFB in a few weeks, and then I'll tackle probably the hardest course this year, Twin Falls Triathlon, in June.

Yahoo!!