Guys, I'm not gonna lie to you. This is a tough race report to write. I've sat on it now for over two weeks, and just have had a complete lack of desire to pen it. But, like most things that are tough, this is worthwhile, even if its only to remind myself that not everything can be sunshine and rainbows and that, tough as it is, its ok to have a race you don't feel that great about. So, as always, I'll just lay it out there for you.
If I'm honest with myself, I'd been in a slump for a week or so prior to this race - after the Walworth 5k, I managed to develop a low key illness that wasn't enough to render me useless, but enough to stymie any thoughts of being able to execute any workout of use beyond a laughable attempt at "recovery" pace. I couldn't take a deep breath without coughing, my body hurt, and I felt slightly drunk half the time, with the world floating somewhere above me. (No, this was not as a result of the party the weekend of the 5k where I learned, I was not, in fact 22 anymore and had no business doing the amount of shots that I did. Pineapple. Ahem.)
Seems like a great way to enter a brand new to me race where the first 4 miles of the bike is all uphill, no? Of course! Greg and I signed up for this race through his tri team ( I' also a member, though I usually race with the reapers) - RWB was cool enough to offer us free entry (Go Eagles! Thanks RWB!) We have always wanted to try this race, but the weekend has never been good. Well, this year, Gramma was cool enough to share her birthday with a tri (aww) so we went for it!
As luck would have it, Greg was feeling like crap as well - so crappy he debated doing the sprint. Seemed pretty popular - of my five buddies that were doing the race, four opted for the sprint and one for the aquabike - with Greg and I as the lone hold outs for the Oly. In the end, he decided to go for the Oly, which made me super proud. Me, I was just hangin' out, figuring if I only had one gear to work with, I may as well go long. Race morning, we left stupidly early, tried to cheer ourselves up with crappy 80s pop music, and I made the last minute choice to take cold meds with my bagel, figuring being able to breathe took precedence over feeling foggy (always a wise choice to make when debating high speeds on the bike). We arrived at the race site and set up shop, hanging out with my "fam" - Matt (he has been upgraded from the Boy for sure), The Outlaw, and Coach Banter (that sounds so weird). I got a last minute race plan which I heard little of beyond..."Hey, there's a swim, a bike and run" and appropriately nodded at each (sorry coach) and took a few pre race pics with Maria, Marcus and the RWB team before heading to the swim start.
If I'm honest with myself, I'd been in a slump for a week or so prior to this race - after the Walworth 5k, I managed to develop a low key illness that wasn't enough to render me useless, but enough to stymie any thoughts of being able to execute any workout of use beyond a laughable attempt at "recovery" pace. I couldn't take a deep breath without coughing, my body hurt, and I felt slightly drunk half the time, with the world floating somewhere above me. (No, this was not as a result of the party the weekend of the 5k where I learned, I was not, in fact 22 anymore and had no business doing the amount of shots that I did. Pineapple. Ahem.)
Seems like a great way to enter a brand new to me race where the first 4 miles of the bike is all uphill, no? Of course! Greg and I signed up for this race through his tri team ( I' also a member, though I usually race with the reapers) - RWB was cool enough to offer us free entry (Go Eagles! Thanks RWB!) We have always wanted to try this race, but the weekend has never been good. Well, this year, Gramma was cool enough to share her birthday with a tri (aww) so we went for it!
As luck would have it, Greg was feeling like crap as well - so crappy he debated doing the sprint. Seemed pretty popular - of my five buddies that were doing the race, four opted for the sprint and one for the aquabike - with Greg and I as the lone hold outs for the Oly. In the end, he decided to go for the Oly, which made me super proud. Me, I was just hangin' out, figuring if I only had one gear to work with, I may as well go long. Race morning, we left stupidly early, tried to cheer ourselves up with crappy 80s pop music, and I made the last minute choice to take cold meds with my bagel, figuring being able to breathe took precedence over feeling foggy (always a wise choice to make when debating high speeds on the bike). We arrived at the race site and set up shop, hanging out with my "fam" - Matt (he has been upgraded from the Boy for sure), The Outlaw, and Coach Banter (that sounds so weird). I got a last minute race plan which I heard little of beyond..."Hey, there's a swim, a bike and run" and appropriately nodded at each (sorry coach) and took a few pre race pics with Maria, Marcus and the RWB team before heading to the swim start.
Pre race I got in for a quick dunk - the water was ridiculously warm and I'm sure they dumped a bag of ice right over the spot where they took the temperature to determine if it was wetsuit legal or not. Regardless, the water felt great and as luck would have it, my goggles decided not to snap or leak, which, sadly, is a huge accomplishment lately!
I was the second wave off, so after the anthem I gave out last minute high fives, kissed Greg and wished him luck as he went off in wave one, and got ready to rock. Ummm...about that....
Swim: 29:21 (1:46/100)
The swim for this race was probably the sweetest set up I've seen. It was an out and back, no double loop crap for the Olympic racers, and a nice cable a la IMLP to guide you. YES. I went out with the women 35 and over. I lined up to the right and in front - I had no illusions of winning the swim, but I'm not afraid of contact and with the way I was feeling, I figured why not cut down on my swim distance and hug the line? With little fanfare and encouragement from the announcer to have fun and "be nice" (apparently we looked like a shady bunch) we were off! I have little to say about the swim except somehow I lacked the ability to sight with the easiest course ever invented and I pretty much felt like I was swimming a 1 x 1600 set at the y - totally fine, easy, and also not acceptable for a race. I wish I cared. I exited the water 3rd in my wave, which is actually pretty good for me, and found the bonus of having most of my friends in the sprint race - I got a great cheer from both The Banter and Marcus as I made my way into T1 - my own personal pep squad! Sweet!
Bike: 1:19:12 (18.4 mph)
This bike course was both tough and technical - I had some vague instruction from my coach about the long climb out of T1 (which I saw driving in) and the technical descents, and also some pithy comments about where I could ride in aero (I think we both got a chuckle out of that one. Oh wait, no, that was just me. He looked mildly impatient with me, as I really didn't take his direction well. Whoops). I was super amped to finally have a bike computer to see my ride data live....um....except somehow it auto powered down while I was swimming. DAMMIT! I had checked this pre race and was assured it would stay on, but I'm guessing you have to do something different with the settings to get it to not auto sleep. And...I'm a moron. F(*#ck. I was annoyed, but as this was so far from an A race, I guess I have to admit I didn't terribly care enough to pitch a fit. Anyways, I grabbed my bike, pulled out of T1, and against all advice, kept her in the big chain ring, mounted, and was off. The first 15 minutes I spun out, probably slower than I would have normally, but as I had never ridden or driven the course, I really had no clue what to expect, so I played it safe (that was dumb, Rae), About mile 8, we turned off and finally started to flatten out and the promised technical descent happened. I'm pleased to report I really didn't brake much during this piece, mostly because I was in aforementioned foggy state and it didn't really dawn on me until I was about to veer right to not end up in the lake that I should have been nervous. Score one for the foggy cold drugs. The next 4 or 5 miles featured rollers, then a sharp uphill to get back on the main drag. (No, I never got in the small chain ring. I'm allergic. Get over it). On the way back, some quick math determined that if I didn't wuss out, I would go under 1:20 for my bike split. Sweet. Saw the banter on his way out about mile 22, gave him a big cheer, gunned the final descent and pulled into T2 for a final time of 1:19:12. I was slightly bummed with the bike, as I felt I played way too safe the first portion of the bike and could have gone faster, but, live and learn. I'll be back in 2020, bike course!
Run: 49:36 (7:52/mi)
We all know this is my favorite part. I exited T2 and got out on the two loop run course, which, after the first mile that featured two bridges (one over and one under), a few steep uphills and switchbacks, I determined had been put together by a few drunken college students. Since I still felt pretty drugged myself, you would think this wouldn't really bug me, but I think I had my fair share of 4 letter words. We finally hit a nice trail about 1.5 miles in, where I saw the Outlaw heading back in (for the eventual sprint win!) and got a high five, and Greg, who was looking strong despite not feeling great. The run does a turn around over a bridge by the iconic Taughannock Falls, where of course there was a race photographer (I'll save you. I had no good race pics here). I turned around and headed back, then out again for the twofer. At this point I was holding a 7:55-8:10 pace per mile, which is slow for me, but given the trail/rock and legit stair climbing combined with my lightheadedness, I honestly didn't care (should I rethink the title of this post?) At mile 5 I saw The Banter heading back from his 5k, and he yelled out "come catch me!" As I did the final turnaround I determined I was about a minute behind him, which is a tall order for one mile, but...fine. I'll speed up. From there, I was determined. I have no recollection of the final mile (apparently I saw Marcus and Greg and waved) beyond the chant "Catch Banter. Catch Banter". I clocked mile 6 in 7:12, which was :45 seconds faster than any mile I had done yet. I guess I did have that ego gear....
The vollies on the way back cheered me on, commenting that I looked like I could do this all day long. Such awesome liars. Even though I didn't catch The Banter (I finished about 20 seconds behind him, as the little shit was trying to hold me off. There is actual footage of him before he crossed the finish line looking over his shoulder for me. You better run, Gary!)
I was the second wave off, so after the anthem I gave out last minute high fives, kissed Greg and wished him luck as he went off in wave one, and got ready to rock. Ummm...about that....
Swim: 29:21 (1:46/100)
The swim for this race was probably the sweetest set up I've seen. It was an out and back, no double loop crap for the Olympic racers, and a nice cable a la IMLP to guide you. YES. I went out with the women 35 and over. I lined up to the right and in front - I had no illusions of winning the swim, but I'm not afraid of contact and with the way I was feeling, I figured why not cut down on my swim distance and hug the line? With little fanfare and encouragement from the announcer to have fun and "be nice" (apparently we looked like a shady bunch) we were off! I have little to say about the swim except somehow I lacked the ability to sight with the easiest course ever invented and I pretty much felt like I was swimming a 1 x 1600 set at the y - totally fine, easy, and also not acceptable for a race. I wish I cared. I exited the water 3rd in my wave, which is actually pretty good for me, and found the bonus of having most of my friends in the sprint race - I got a great cheer from both The Banter and Marcus as I made my way into T1 - my own personal pep squad! Sweet!
Bike: 1:19:12 (18.4 mph)
This bike course was both tough and technical - I had some vague instruction from my coach about the long climb out of T1 (which I saw driving in) and the technical descents, and also some pithy comments about where I could ride in aero (I think we both got a chuckle out of that one. Oh wait, no, that was just me. He looked mildly impatient with me, as I really didn't take his direction well. Whoops). I was super amped to finally have a bike computer to see my ride data live....um....except somehow it auto powered down while I was swimming. DAMMIT! I had checked this pre race and was assured it would stay on, but I'm guessing you have to do something different with the settings to get it to not auto sleep. And...I'm a moron. F(*#ck. I was annoyed, but as this was so far from an A race, I guess I have to admit I didn't terribly care enough to pitch a fit. Anyways, I grabbed my bike, pulled out of T1, and against all advice, kept her in the big chain ring, mounted, and was off. The first 15 minutes I spun out, probably slower than I would have normally, but as I had never ridden or driven the course, I really had no clue what to expect, so I played it safe (that was dumb, Rae), About mile 8, we turned off and finally started to flatten out and the promised technical descent happened. I'm pleased to report I really didn't brake much during this piece, mostly because I was in aforementioned foggy state and it didn't really dawn on me until I was about to veer right to not end up in the lake that I should have been nervous. Score one for the foggy cold drugs. The next 4 or 5 miles featured rollers, then a sharp uphill to get back on the main drag. (No, I never got in the small chain ring. I'm allergic. Get over it). On the way back, some quick math determined that if I didn't wuss out, I would go under 1:20 for my bike split. Sweet. Saw the banter on his way out about mile 22, gave him a big cheer, gunned the final descent and pulled into T2 for a final time of 1:19:12. I was slightly bummed with the bike, as I felt I played way too safe the first portion of the bike and could have gone faster, but, live and learn. I'll be back in 2020, bike course!
Run: 49:36 (7:52/mi)
We all know this is my favorite part. I exited T2 and got out on the two loop run course, which, after the first mile that featured two bridges (one over and one under), a few steep uphills and switchbacks, I determined had been put together by a few drunken college students. Since I still felt pretty drugged myself, you would think this wouldn't really bug me, but I think I had my fair share of 4 letter words. We finally hit a nice trail about 1.5 miles in, where I saw the Outlaw heading back in (for the eventual sprint win!) and got a high five, and Greg, who was looking strong despite not feeling great. The run does a turn around over a bridge by the iconic Taughannock Falls, where of course there was a race photographer (I'll save you. I had no good race pics here). I turned around and headed back, then out again for the twofer. At this point I was holding a 7:55-8:10 pace per mile, which is slow for me, but given the trail/rock and legit stair climbing combined with my lightheadedness, I honestly didn't care (should I rethink the title of this post?) At mile 5 I saw The Banter heading back from his 5k, and he yelled out "come catch me!" As I did the final turnaround I determined I was about a minute behind him, which is a tall order for one mile, but...fine. I'll speed up. From there, I was determined. I have no recollection of the final mile (apparently I saw Marcus and Greg and waved) beyond the chant "Catch Banter. Catch Banter". I clocked mile 6 in 7:12, which was :45 seconds faster than any mile I had done yet. I guess I did have that ego gear....
The vollies on the way back cheered me on, commenting that I looked like I could do this all day long. Such awesome liars. Even though I didn't catch The Banter (I finished about 20 seconds behind him, as the little shit was trying to hold me off. There is actual footage of him before he crossed the finish line looking over his shoulder for me. You better run, Gary!)
I crossed the finish line in 2:41:xx, about 4 minutes off my PR, which, for the hilly course and the way I felt, wasn't too shabby.
Post race, the Tri Go fam brought it in for a huge group hug - god I love these guys. You can only see my feet here as I'm totally surrounded by my awesome training buddies - this may be one of my favorite pictures ever!
And of course, took a picture with our CLT (medals). We obviously all have different ways of handling the CLT, and this pic probably also accurately sums up our group. Yep. It's like that.
For all intents and purposes, the Cayuga Lake Tri was a success - I'm ambivalent about my overall time and race, which is hilarious since it would have been a 7 minute PR if not for Tri in the Buff this year... but hey, I'm hungry. All I need to do is get beyond the sickies, back in the saddle, and (well, now) 4 weeks till Barrelman! Next up is the Finger Lakes Tri, Olympic Distance, on September 8th as a tune up prior to 2019's big dance! Let's do it!
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