Lake Geode Challenge 7/2011 - Race Report

I know I've been a bit quiet on the blog post-IMTX.  Lots of life stuff has been going on and blogging has taken a bit of a backseat.  However, I have been training A LOT and even had a race recently.  It was a new race to me but a local one that has been around a while.  It is known to be a tough course - hence the "Challenge" in the name. It was certainly a challenge, but one that I was prepared for.  I've been doing lots of training in this stupid hot/humid weather, and have been busting butt on some tougher bike rides.  Given that this was an olympic distance race (my FAV! NOT!!!) the plan for the race was to go hard the whole time.  

Pre Race

Rather than get a hotel, I opted to stay at my parents' house in Cedar Rapids and make the 1:45 drive to Geode State Park on race morning.  I needed to be there by 6am....you do the math.  It was an early to bed/early to rise situation.  I got myself and the dogs fed before hitting the road and arrived just before 6am which meant I got a sweet parking spot and prime real estate in transition.

**Sidebar:  Ok, I have to admit I had a bit of a weird-out moment when I got to the race.  It has been a LOONG time since I did a race without assigned rack spots.  AND - there were only 12 racks in the entire transition area.  TWELVE!!!! Three of them housed the entire women's field, and the rest were the men.  We had ample space (well, until some chick showed up at the last minute (((LITERALLY, they were doing the countdown to close transition ))) and shoved her crap into everyone's nicely placed transition area.) It was just a weird back-to-the-basics moment for me.

I got a warmup run in, checked my bike for proper gearing, chatted with a few Tri Racers that were out there, then got ready to get the show going. 

At the pre-race meeting. Some guy wanted to
show me his butt. Dude, really?

The Swim

From long course training to olympic racing, I find it hard to push my swim the way I should sometimes.  The swim course was an out and back that had a dogleg turn in it.  The buoy lines were nice and visible, and the sun was perfect - not blinding, but not too dark.  I started towards the front and let those who wanted to pass me work for it.  I jumped on feet and tried to hold on as best I could.  My swim is still a weak spot for me, but I felt like I held my own fairly well.  At least I didn't cut the course like one lady did.  I saw her go in front of the turn buoy - not an easy mistake to make!!! Cheater.  There were only 3 waves, each with different colored caps.  I passed lot of men on the way back in - that boosted my ego a little bit.  Coming out of the water I felt pretty happy with my swim, other than I probably could have pushed a little harder.  

T1

My transition spot was right inside the T1 entrance.  I stripped off my TYR Torque speedsuit, threw on my bike shoes, helmet and sunglasses, then out the door.

Headed out of transition

The Bike
Let's just put it out there - this was a hilly course.  However, there were some good chunks of flat spots that really let you get up to speed and push hard.  I told myself that I couldn't give up those opportunities.  So every chance I had I pushed it.  I wish I had driven the course prior to the race, as I'm always timid on descents where I don't know what the road conditions are like.  The roads on this course were a mixed bag.  Mostly good, but lots of surprises along the way.  I could have gained a few more minutes by not braking as much as I did on the downhills, but oh well.  They did offer one bottle exchange along the course which was a nice touch.  I didn't need it - I brought plenty of water with me knowing that the day was supposed to turn hot and humid.  I didn't want to be behind on my fluids at all.  I had my calories in one chamber of my aero bottle, then water in the other along with one extra water bottle on my down tube.  

In the last 10 miles of the bike, I had the funniest experience all day.  I'm coming into a 90 degree right hand turn and I look ahead to see a guy in full blown "I am triathlete man" mode.  Eventually I catch him and as I approach I yell "On Your Left!".  Maybe he didn't hear me as he actually moved to his left, in front of me.  I yell again, louder "ON YOUR LEFT!!!"  He shifted over and as I pass he says "WHAT?!!?" in a somewhat snide tone.  I laughed and pedaled on.  He was NOT HAPPY to have been chicked.  A few minutes later, he is giving it everything he has to pass me back, and the cat and mouse game began.  Eventually, after a particularly nasty hill, I caught him on the recovery and pushed on while he took a break.  I never saw him again.

Done with the bike

 T2
Always uneventful, I was out of my shoes before the dismount line and the run into transition was easy.  I slipped my Avia Bolt IIIs on (no socks but TONS of Tri Slide!!!), grabbed my visor and race belt and was outta there.

The Run
By this point the sun has been out and the day has grown hot.  I set out on the run and tackle the first big hill right away.  What a brutal start.  Clouds moved in and out which was nice, and a lot of the course was shaded.  However, the humidity was thick and made for some oppressive conditions.  But this is where this race and Race Director shine.  They had the best aid stations ever.  Ice cold sponges AND mini baggies of ice cubes.  If I learned anything from IMTX it was how to stay cool.  Ice baggies down the chest and the back of my neck.  As the next aid station was coming up, I'd shift any remaining ice to my arm pit and replace it with a new one.  This was the best decision I made all day.  The out and back course was tough.  Generally uphill going out, but the climbs either way sucked.  I focused on lifting my knees to get me up the hills.  My hamstrings and glutes were killing me in the end.  My pace was not what I would have ideally wanted, but given the conditions of the day and the fact that I'm still training for long course racing, I was happy with the effort I gave.  I was uncomfortable the whole time, and that was the goal.

I'll never turn down a little hardware!