Kiwanis Mini Triathlon

It's interesting how each triathlon can be so different. We can even go out and race on an identical course as a previous race, and the experience can be so very opposite of what we experienced just a few weeks prior.

This tri was held at Medical Lake, my third at this location this season. It was larger than I had expected, with several hundred athletes. I had assumed that it was called a "mini" tri because it was a sprint distance. As I came to discover during the pre-race meeting, it was shorter than your average sprint race also! Thus, the monicker "mini".

The lake was set up with buoys for the Troika Half Ironman, set to take place the next day. Pre-race instructions told us to swim out and around the first buoy and back to the beach. There was quite a bit of conversation and questions among the athletes since the first buoy was barely beyond wading distance from the beach!

The swim was suppose to be 1200ft (400yds), which I actually thought was a typo on the registration form. It wasn't... and I am in agreement with many of the other triathletes that the swim was actually quite a bit shorter than that! I'm guessing maybe 250 yards out AND back total!

Ok, so picture this... Several hundred athletes lined up across the beach... no wave start or anything... just a LOT of people all swimming towards the same point... the turn around buoy! It was total mayhem! Exactly what you would envision when you hear the horror stories about brutally physical swims.

The mass start was pretty typical... but since the buoy was so close to shore, the swimmers never had a chance to spread out. The group just got tighter and tighter as everyone angled in towards the turn around buoy! We were literally swimming on top of each other! I can't even describe how crazy it was! Swimmers shoulder to shoulder like a can of sardines! I even had a chance to talk to the guy next to me, where in I expressed my opinion of the insanity that we were experiencing. On the way out to the buoy, I never put my face in the water, sure I would immediately be kicked in the face. Once I rounded the buoy, I finally found some clean water, and although my heart rate was pretty high from fighting the masses, I was able to have a pretty decent swim back to the beach.

I had a good transition and headed out on the bike.

Within the first few miles, I was passed by a couple of gals that were blazing FAST! I never mind being passed by the guys, but I really try to hold my own with the women. These girls, though, were way out of my league! I was going 19mph... so they must have been going 24 or 25! Major fast! I was very impressed by their athletic ability.

I enjoy the bike portion of the race because I also get to do my share of passing. On this particular day, there was one woman in particular that I had passed, then she passed me back. Pass, pass again and again. We would alert each other with comments such as "me again" or "it's just me"! Finally, we gave up on the passing and rode two abreast talking. Come to find out, she was doing the bike leg of a relay team, so I didn't feel so bad about not being able to drop her.

She asked me if I had done the Valley Girl Triathlon, because she recognized me. Ok... so now I have to admit to you all that I am a recognizable figure in the world of North West Triathlons. Question is, what PART of me did she recognize??? :)

I had a very fast T2. Just by dumb luck, I discovered that I am able to slide my bike shoes off, saving me a ton of time vs bending over and undoing the two velcro straps. I'll have to remember that if I continue to use these shoes next year.

The run was the best and most painful part of the tri. Since it was my last race of the year, I was going to give it my all! I figured since the swim was a bust, and the bike ride was short, the run was the only part of the race that I could really measure my performance. My goal became to PR the 3 mile run.

The run actually went pretty well. There were water stations set up every 3/4 mile, so that was a nice distraction, and an opportunity to dump some water down my back and cool off.

It's amazing how mental the whole physical game is. I kept up lots of self talk, reminding myself that this was my last race of the season... my last chance to see what I could do.

The last mile of the course was pretty shady, so that allowed me to pick it up a notch. (Isn't it amazing how long the last mile of a race can feel?) I was able to pass two women in my age group in the final mile, and that made me feel pretty good. In the last 50 yards, one of them flew past me to the finish line. It happened so fast that I couldn't respond. (Hopefully I've learned a lesson to keep an eye out behind me at the finish line!) Someone on the sideline yelled that there were more coming and I should pick it up, which I did, and sprinted to the end.

Once again, I finished 5th out of 39 in my age group. I'm happy with that.

Final time: 1:04:30 (keep in mind... really short race.)

Swim & T1: 4:13 (told ya it was Really short!!)
Bike/ 10 miles: 34:18 Avg. speed 17.5
T2: :28
Run: 3 miles: 25:29 -- 8:29 pace

My last two triathlons I ran an 8:43 and an 8:47 pace, so I felt like I met my goal of beating my previous times.

In the end, I don't think I will do this race again. I can live with the bike only being 10 miles, because it is a route that takes you around a nearby lake, and it just ends up being a natural 10 miles. I think the short swim and the mass start really ruins what could be a quality race. But, I wanted to do all the local races at least once... so now I know what this one is all about.

One last note... Urs wasn't able to come to the race because the rv park was packed with customers. As it turned out, most people pulled out after I left for my race, so she tried to time it so she could show up and take a photo of me crossing the finish line. She missed me by just a few minutes, but I was very happy to see her there after I had finished! It was a nice surprise!

So now, as the thermometer is about to hit the high 90's again, Urs and I are headed off to the lake for a couple of day. The rv park goes on auto pilot until we get back. See Ya!