I had been running the hills in my neighborhood for quite some time already, so the run didn't worry me. I did need to hone my bike skills,however. I learned a lot about bike racing at Pasadena, but that was on a closed course. Rage would be on the open road in the Lake Mead Rec area and traffic would still be flowing. We would be limited to a narrow lane along the shoulder of the road. That made me a little nervous. A few weeks before the race I spoke with a colleague at work who had done many triathlons and he and some friends who were planning an open water swim. I decided to go out and see what I could do, and I needed to break in my wetsuit.
I met the guys out at the lake on a chilly Saturday morning. The temperature outside was in the 60's and the water temperature was 54 degrees. I got into the wetsuit and waded out into the frigid water, which quickly seeped into the suit through the zipper and the neckline. I could feel the cold water filter throughout the torso of the wetsuit as I fought not to let it affect me. It took my breath away when I first submerged myself and I was rethinking this whole cold water swim thing. When everyone else was in the water and ready to go, we all began the swim and I quickly learned a couple things about open water swimming.
1. Open water swimming is NOT pool swimming. In a pool there are no waves, no current and no one else in your lane, for the most part, and you can't stop and grab onto the sides of the pool.
2. The cold water will take your breath away and make it very difficult to breath in a wetsuit. Although the wetsuit helps you with buoyancy and you know you aren't going to sink or drown, there is still a restriction in your movement which makes all the pool technique seem to fly out the window the first time you experience it.
3. You are not as fast as you thought you were.
The group quickly left me behind as they swam away from the shore toward the buoys that separated the swimming area from the boating area of the lake. We swam the length of 4 buoys out and back and they guestimated that the swim was about 750-800 meters. They were all in and changed into their bike attire by the time I was weakly raising myself out of the water. I was spent. I walked slowly out of the water and made my way to my bike, which was all by itself now. I changed and jumped on the bike, which I was a bit more comfortable with, and rode up the grade to get onto Lakeshore Drive. The ride didn't seem like it would be that difficult, but I was winded just getting up to the road! This was the same road as the race would be, so I needed to tame it. I proceeded to peddle away and in no time I was cruising along, but I was being passed going the other way by everyone who had swam with me. I felt pretty weak compared to them, but I kept going.
The hills came and went, and before I knew it I was turning around and cruising back. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected and I came back in about 45 minutes on a 12 mile ride. We didn't run after the ride. I knew I needed some work to bring my time up to where I wanted it.
Luckily for me I was still in good shape from training for Pasadena, so I just needed to train on the roads at Lake Mead and swim in the Lake. The run wasn't my concern, I have always been strong in the run. As the days leading up to the race went by I got better and better on the swim and the bike. I became more comfortable with the difference between pool swimming and open water. My breathing was the main concern. The freezing water temperature didn't help yet either. One windy Friday morning I went out to the lake and tried to brave the cold water. The wind made the water about 50 degrees and it was by far the coldest I have ever been in my life! I took about 2 steps and my feet were numb and the rocks were killing me. I got right out of the water and dried off. No way practice was happening that day. I am not ashamed to say that my tail was firmly between my legs and I wimped out big time!
By race day I was ready. The weather was better than I expected. No wind whatsoever and the water was flat. Perfect daynfor a race. We got to the transition area nice and early and I set up my spot. I ended up next to Napoleon McCallum, the former Oakland Raider running back. We talked for a few minutes about strategies and before we knew it it was race time. The butterflies had kicked in and I was nervous and anxious, but mostly excited. I kept telling myself that all I needed to do was finish the swim and I was home free. I waded out into that watery icebox and got as used to the water as I could. I saw one of the guys I had practiced with a couple weeks prior and I started to feel a little more comfortable. I always get jittery leading up to the event, but once I am there I am ok.
The Olympic athletes went first, and our wave followed after that. That horn sounded and it was on! I got into a groove pretty quickly, I had my stroke working well, but the wetsuit was tight and it was hard to breathe. 800 meters may not sound like much, but it was a hard swim, especially because I could get a single good breath in. After about 100 meters I had to roll over and backstroke to breathe well. I just ended up backstroking most of the distance. "just a little swim, you're doing good." I told myself. I tried to relax and just enjoy the swim. There wasn't a lot of kicking and hitting going on, but then I also wasn't in the middle of the pack. I purposely stayed to the side to avoid all that.
Before I knew it, I was standing up and wading back onto the rocky shore. 17 minutes on the swim, way better than I expected I would do. I had given myself 30. Now Inwas fully relaxed. To me, the hard part was over. I transitioned with ease, sucked down some water and ate a few orange slices. I took my time and got on the bike and started peddling up that long incline up to the roadway. I passed Napoleon on the way up and I didn't see him again until I was halfway done with the run. The bike was pretty unremarkable. It went by quickly, but I took 45 minutes. Transitioning to the run was quick. There were guys in my age group already finished with the race standing at the bike rack. Damn they were quick! It was under 1 hour! I started running and eased into my pace. I start off nice and easy at about a 10:30 pace, slow, yes, but after I get my legs again I speed up. The run was along a dirt trail parallel to the water and then up a slope to a paved road. Once you hit the road, the race is pretty much over. I brought it in at about 31 minutes and finished at 1:53:59. Not stellar, but not last either! I was very happy to finish and get my medal. I was greeted by Renee and the boys and my son at the finish. It was a very proud moment for me.
Overall, I liked the race. It was a good challenge and it taught me a lot. I knew I could do longer distance swims and I gained a lot of confidence in myself. I identified a need to improve transition time and I found that I was strong on hills but needed speed work on the straightaways. My run was what it was, after the swim and bike, I couldn't expect a 28 minute time just yet, that would come over time. I didn't stop and I overcame doubt.
Rage was a good first full Sprint triathlon. The distances and the course were good and challenging. I look forward to next year's race, to compare time and see how much I will have improved between now and then.
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