Blue Lake, my first Olympic

Like Tiffany, I have to keep with the tradition of long posts for this one…starting from the very beginning...

December 2007, I made my decision to participate at Blue Lake in response to Tiff’s seemingly eager post exclaiming that she was in and her goal was “Don’t die, just finish!” Sounded easy enough, right? Okay!

Skip to Friday, June 6th. A few of us are heading out to Medical Lake for an open water swim. I was more nervous about this swim than I was about Blue Lake in its entirety. Partly because it was long (“I know there’s an aerator out there, I just can’t see it!”), partly because it was cold, windy and sometimes rainy, and partly because it was my first swim in my first wetsuit and putting that bad boy on in public didn’t exactly sound like a great time.

I was the last one in the water (except for Jessie who was waiting for her friend to show) and the last one out. Because I was by myself, Matt Cusack stayed with me…that was until Tiff, Steve, Tim and friend rounded the aerator and headed back. I looked up and everyone (Matt included) was gone, the water was suddenly choppy and the aerator looked especially creepy. I thought, “Well, I’m this far so I might as well finish…ugh.” I rounded the aerator and looked for Ali, our kayaker. I felt a rush of panic as she had headed back with the others. I honestly got frustrated (enter: drama queen) and wondered why she would leave me, her friend, alone way the freak out by the creepy aerator?! It was all for the sake of some good swim photos. So I ducked my head and flailed back towards shore.

Within minutes, my left calf decided to twinge a bit. “What the heck?” is all I could think but I kept going. Soon, Ali came back for me. I told her my calf was acting funky and I didn’t know why. So I shrugged and started off again. A few strokes later, my calf made its point. It was DONE! It was the worst cramp I had ever experienced! I could not un-point my toes and I was disabled and panicking. I rolled onto my back and yelled something that resembled something like, “OWEE ALI ALI OWEE OWEE ALI!!” over and over until she was able to make it to me. I hung on to her canoe, fighting tears and laughing at my tears as usual while rubbing out the cramp (Ali’s suggestion). Once my toes began to relax, I took a deep breath and shoved off for the shore. I MADE IT!!! I could barely walk but I was done…and officially freaked out about Blue Lake…

On to the fun part!

Friday night was spent running last minute errands and organizing and re-organizing my gear and sanity.
Saturday, all prepped and ready to go, I drove to Tiffany’s to meet up with Trish, Jen and Eric for an amazing weekend. I called my mom in Iowa on the way to let her know what I was about to do. Her response is always funny. “So, are ya doin’ that runnin’ and bikin’ kind of stuff? Just don’t fall out of the boat.” I’m not sure she gets it.

I walked up to the house to find Tiff freaking out about her gel situation (you’ll find that story in her blog). I sat on the couch to relax as Trish and Jen followed suit while waiting for Eric to return from REI with the Trailblazer. (As I wrote the word “relax” it reminded me of how many times I was scorned throughout this trip for being “relaxed”. Never let your fellow triathletes know you are relaxed!! NEVER!)

We successfully loaded the rig in a fashion Roger told Tiff might not work. So we laughed about it and took pictures.

The ride there was relatively uneventful…aside from the occasional freak-outs by Tiffany which usually turned to comical conversations that then turned to conversations about teaching and grades…and since I’m not a teacher…well, you get the idea.

Days Inn Bob...

Bob and I were on a first name basis by the end of the day Saturday. You see, Bob assigned us room 424. Top floor, waaaaaaaay at the end of the hall. Upon entering, Jen, Trish and I were bombarded with the smell of old musty cigarette smoke. Peeved (and a bit coaxed by Jen and Trish) I called Bob. I explained to Bob that I specifically asked for a non-smoking room. Bob explained to me, while I was staring at a newly cleaned ashtray on the desk, that this room was in fact a non-smoking room. I explained that, basically, it stunk and there was an ashtray, and that tells me it’s a smoking room. Bob stated that he could not move us, there were no rooms left and the only option was to send some guy up to spray the room. I told him no thanks as Trish had brought her own (to my amusement). Two minutes later, some guy shows up with a can of room spray. He tells me that there is a new maid and she has yet to remember that this is a non-smoking room and that the ashtray was placed on accident. He then blasts the room with the most intolerable room spray known to man. So potent was this stuff that we had to open the window AND the door to air it out. Waiting in the hall was the only option for fear of poisoning.
As we were waiting, one of the maids pops around the corner with two ashtrays in her hand, asking if we would like extras. I said “no” then *ting!* a light went on. I asked her if our room was a smoking room and she replied, without hesitation that it was. So I gathered up my things as Tiffany and I were going to scope the course...but I was going to chat with Bob on my way out.
I met Tiffany in the lobby and motioned that I’d only be a second. I walked up to the counter where Bob was hanging out and explained what the maid had told me. After a bit of yes-it-is, no-it-isn’t hoopla, Bob begins to blame the poor maid’s lack of communication for our “problem”. I corrected him by explaining that the problem is not a supposed language barrier but that I felt like he was lying to me. (Little did I know at the time that the Wyborney’s room was the same way, AND both rooms’ doors were without the non-smoking signs all the other rooms had posted). Bob said all he could do was to give me a discount for my troubles. I’ll take what I can get with this one.

On to the course! We found it a bit disheveled and confusing yet reassuring at the same time. Reassuring because it gave us a sense of direction…sort of.

Back to the hotel to pick up Eric and the girls and head to much needed grub.

Head back to Tiff and Eric’s room to avoid the stench as long as possible. More comical relief from Tiffany and Trish and American Beauty to end the night.

Saturday morning, I found myself well rested and refreshed and received another bit of comical relief from Tiffany when she texted me about the absence of a sports bra. I replied “Lucky you”, meaning we had her covered…well, Jen had her covered (again).

It took me roughly 15 minutes to get my things and head to the car. This is where I met Tiffany and Eric in another state of panic because they could not find the car keys. Knowing that there was nothing I could do, I decided to try to keep on schedule with breakfast and parked my rear on the cement and started making my peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich. Once again, I was reminded by Tiffany how ridiculously relaxed I was.

They found the keys and we were off!

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Packets…check
Numbers…check
T-shirts…check
Bikes in working order…check.

Setting up transitions and socializing.

Getting the beloved tats.

The beginning of our "death march".

Suiting up…and I’m still not nervous.

Being shown the course. "We have to swim to WHERE?!!"

Time for more pics and Tiffany practicing for her close-up.

Here we go!!

The swim was relatively painless. I told myself in the beginning that my goals were simple: Keep a good, steady rhythm and don’t come in last in my wave! Halfway through, I was excited to see that I was passing the stragglers from the wave before me. Just as I got all cocky about it, I got pummeled by the wave behind me! Suddenly it was green/gold/purple EVERYWHERE! No worries. Just keep with the rhythm.

I was happy with my time of 32:40. (How could I not be? I didn’t have anything to compare it to!)

T1 went well for someone who can’t keep her balance. For the sake of my sanity, I wasn’t paying attention to my transition times. I just wanted to get in and out with no issues.

After about 2 miles on the bike, I was able to get my breathing back. I jockeyed back and forth with many along the way and kept a good pace. I felt strongest about the bike and was proud that my fueling went as planned…I could do without the sticky hands though. I was also proud that I stayed in aero the entire ride as I usually need to stretch and adjust my lower back due to tightness.

Time: 1:16:15 (makes me wonder what I could accomplish if my bike didn’t way a ton!)

T2 took longer than “normal” because I had decided to wait until the run to put my socks on. I guess I had convinced myself that my feet would feel like new with a fresh pair of socks. Little did I know, I wouldn’t be able to feel my feet anyway. I had bought some Easy Laces a few weeks ago and I’m so glad I did! I never have to bother with laces that are too tight or too loose and all I had to do was pop my shoes on and away I went!

I kept what I thought was a pretty even pace. My first mile was just under 10 minutes which I thought was awesome (considering…) but I knew after a swim and bike, I wouldn’t be able to keep it up. My goal for this leg was simply to run (shuffle) the entire way, no matter how long it took.

Time: 1:08:37. I’m happy about this because my average pace per mile was faster than my Bloomsday pace. A success in my book!

Total time: 3:03:44



Team AWESOME!

So basically, I’m pretty happy with this event. I felt good the entire time except for the cramping that would creep up, disappear then relocate during the run…nothing I couldn’t handle though. Deep down, I wish I could shuffle faster, but that will come in time.

P.S.
Most don’t know that I don’t have family that will come and support me at what I do (sadly, this goes for pretty much every aspect of my life) so when I rounded the corner to the finish line and spotted our awesome crew, I wanted to melt. To some, this is just another race. To me, it’s my first Olympic distance. Something I had been planning and training for, for months. The support during the race and, especially the congratulations hug from Natalie, is just one example of why I am so lucky to be a part of the Tri-Fusion Family!

You guys R.O.C.K.!!!