We planned our time to reach the venue a good two hours before our race started. We hadn't planned on road construction and limited parking. The designated parking lot was full, luckily we drove in the back way and snagged the last legit spot. Waiting in the long line of cars to get to the race left my bladder begging for mercy, only to be denied at parking. Riding our bikes to the start we both felt upbeat and excited, although anxious to find the honey buckets...to no avail. Packet pick up was a long distance from T1 where the supposed restrooms were. We had to wait in a long line of delayed racers for our packets, yet Brit cranked her Ipod with her Rock Out Speakers and brought smiles to the anxious athletes. I was feeling calm but increasingly uncomfortable and slightly in pain. PBJ's were being handed out to those of us waiting. Such a nice t ouch.
As we left with our packets, we noticed a building tucked off to the side of where we had been in line for 35 minutes....SWEET RELIEF! Now off to T1.
T1 was set up great. Britt and I were directly a row behind each other, making it such much more fun to get ready for the race. We were surrounded by anxious first time triathletes. It was neat to share our limited experiences with them. Having never raced Jordanelle, I didn't really know what to expect out on the course, just that from where I racked my bike, I could see that the swim transition was horrendously long!
The swim was great, I was able to get into a smooth rhythm quickly, taking a minute per 100 off my last race time. Coming out of the water, covered mid-calf deep in lake sludge, I jogged to transition. Luckily the athlete next to me in transition had a bucket of water to cleanse my feet in. Off on the bike I still felt pretty strong and rode hard for the first 3 miles, all the sudden I had nothing left in the tank. Gu chomps, gels, honey stingers, nothing was working. I felt so uncomfortable, miserable. By the time I reached T2 I just wanted to quit. The best thing was my Switch eyewear keeping the blistering glare from the sun out of my eyes. Slowly jogging, I forced myself to keep running. After half a mile, I was willing myself to run 10 orange cones and walking 6. Everyone was walking. What was wrong?! I walked and slowing jogged the run. It was incredibly long. I just didn't care anymore, I wanted it over. Finishing the race I guzzled the water bottle handed to me. That's when it all sunk in. I was fighting dehydration and heat exhaustion. 5 a.m. training in the cool of the early morning left me grossly under trained for the heat. My bike and run were in 100 degree weather. All in all it wasn't the kind of race I was hoping for, but Jordanelle is gorgeous. The race directors made the best of some unpredictable circumstances. The water bottles ran out at the finish line, but I was able to find full coolers to refill my bottle.
Here is the part that was the most taxing. I was exhausted and wanted to be home to take a cool shower and sleep but I had to make the long walk back to T2, hop on my bike and ride 3 1/2 miles up hill in 100 degree weather back to my car. Did I already mention dehydration and heat exhaustion? Not a happy prospect. This is where I was so grateful for Brittany. I rode to the bottom of the biggest hill, I was frustrated and thirsty. I decided to wait 5 minutes and then tackle the last hill to the car. My heart lept for joy when I saw Brittany coming down the hill in the car. Besides the finish line, that was the most beautiful sight of the day. I love my TriEdge/Kestrel team mates.
Lessons were learned from this race, mainly to train for the heat. Most important I loved the race and the smile at the end was genuine. Will I race Jordanelle again? Absolutely, I have something to prove!
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