Race Result

Racer:	Jamie Roberson
Race:	Reston Triathlon
Date:	Sunday, September 10, 2006
Location:	Reston, VA
Race Type:	Triathlon - International Distance
Age Group:	Female 40 - 44
Time:	5:13:00
Comment:	Keeping the Faith

Race Report:

How do you measure success? If you go by objective markers, such as average speeds or total times, then by all measures, I am a horrid triathlete. Really. I truly suck at this.

For the example du jour, there's this: in 2005 it was a Big Deal for me to finish Reston, even though it took me nearly 5 hours (4:56). This year, my final time was 5:13. That's just awful. I don't know of anyone who takes 5 hours to do an
Oly-distance race.

Although I had some challenges this past year, I still had enough in me to feel like 4:00 was within my grasp. To do so, I was going to have to swim as well as I had been doing in practice, ride a bit faster than I had in practice, then get
into a rhythm off the bike.

It didn't happen.

But do I feel like a failure? Perhaps by objective standards I am, but subjectively I'm enjoying this sport and have faith that the best is ahead of me. I'm certainly not ready to give it all up.

Pre-Race

Reston weekend means good things: football season has started, the worst of summer heat is over, and fall foliage is just around the corner. Even better, it's a great chance to catch up with fellow RATS all in one place. Just as Keith and others have mentioned, there's a fun, festive feel in the air.

Bethany, Sarah, Jeroen, Melanie, Alison, and I met on Saturday morning and did a baby brick to loosen up. Packet pickup was the usual well-oiled machine, and we once again got unique race swag. Aprille came over later that evening to witness the Gators dispatch Central Florida. All was right with the world.

But with all the excitement of Saturday, I woke up tired and a little nauseous on race-day morning. I avoided the nutrition mistakes of last year by carefully plotting a calorie-intake plan. But I still couldn't eat anything solid, so I drank water and a pair of yogurt smoothies and choked back some Clif Bloks.

This was also my first time using my own Champion Chip. Huge mistake. Though the race materials mentioned a procedure for using your own chip, no one at check-in knew anything about it. They told me to have it scanned at the lake. Over at the lake, race officials directed me to one official, then another, and finally to a rep from Set-Up Inc., who had me leave my name and chip number on a piece of paper. No one ever scanned my chip.

But it was nearing time for the start, so I decided to stop worrying about the chip and focus on the challenges ahead. Part of that involved the wetsuit. After some successes over the summer without a wetsuit, I had hoped to be able to compete without it. Yes, there are some speed benefits to it, but all the same, I wanted to challenge myself without it. When the lake temperature was described as a "cool" 72 degrees, I grudgingly brought it along and wriggled into it.

Swim (Goal :45/Actual 1:01)*

We lined up, wished each other luck, and soon were off. Then it hit me hard. Swim panic. Just as bad as 2004, my initial attempt at Reston, when I failed the swim. This was very surprising, since I had had a good swim at the Jim McDonnell
Lake Swim back in May. It had seemed easy then. But this time, I couldn't put my face in the water and felt like I was choking.

What to do, what to do... I bobbed in the water about 50 yards offshore and considered my options. I really didn't think I could get beyond the panic, but I wasn't about to abandon the race. I knew that the 4:00 cutoff would require best-day performances and that the clock was ticking, but I pushed that stressor out of my mind and did the only thing that I could do: I swam back to shore, peeled off the suit, ditched it in the weeds, and dove right back in the lake as Michael shouted after me, "You can catch them!"

Once back in the water, I was fine. The temperature was a bit cool, but comfortable. I was able to put my face in the water and settled into an easy freestyle. I did indeed catch the swimmers ahead of me and ended up having a fairly uneventful swim, save for foggy goggles and a minor charley horse while
coming around the storm drain.

T1 (Goal :03/Actual :03)*

I was hapy to see Michael guiding swimmers up the boat ramp as I scooped up my wetsuit and headed to my bike. I really like how he stands in the water at the knee-deep level, right at the point where your hand touches bottom, and is ready to give unsteady swimmers a hand. With his big smile, he is unmistakable. I'm just glad he doesn't wear an FSU jersey. :)

The setup was a bit different this year, with the higher numbers closer to the bike exit. Works for me.

Without the wetsuit, it should have been a blazing-fast T1, but no, that wasn't going to happen today either. Conscious of my habitual inability to take in sufficient calories in the morning, I usually gulp a gel in T1 before hopping on the bike. It's usually not a problem, but it was today. My gut remembered my pre-race nausea and didn't let the gel get more than halfway to my stomach before violently rejecting it.

Yep, I projectile-puked at T1. I rinsed my mouth and put the unpleasant moment aside. To the poor woman who was just across from me (was that you, Lizzie?), I apologize.

Bike (Goal 1:30/Actual 2:00)*

Time was a-wastin', so I got out as soon as I could and focused on staying in the moment, so much so that I was on the second loop before I remembered that all of that food in the Bento Box was there for me to eat. So I kept up a cycle of eating about 100 calories every 15 minutes, washed down with about a cup of
water.

Once I got into the rhythm of it, the bike loop was a lot of fun. Nearly everyone passes me on my first loop (I'm starting to recognize my friends from behind - tuffer than you'd think), the second loop thins out, and then the third loop I usually have to myself. I call it the "Gratitude Loop", as I thank
each and every person out there for volunteering or spectating.

The best part was coming down the false flat on South Lakes Dr. and seeing Heather with a bright orange-and-blue sign that said, "GO JAMIE!". That made me chuckle each time. She later remarked that she cheered on RATS that she recognized and that many, many people whom she did not recognize shouted "Hey, Heather!". Too funny.

In all, I was slower on the bike than I'd hoped. It wasn't due to nutrition, as I'd gotten that under control. It's likely due to being heavier than last year (yeah, I know) and missing some key training time.

T2 (Goal :02/Actual :02)*

I finally wheeled into T2 as most triathletes were packing to leave, having finished and collected their post-race swag. I'd made the swim and bike cutoffs - barely - but knew that there was no way I'd make the overall cutoff. My PR in an open 10k is about 90 minutes, but there was only an hour left before the
Reston Tri turned into a pumpkin.

Knowing this, I was tempted to pack it in, call it a day, and join the post-race fun. Dave Glover and I had had some conversations about cutoffs in the weeks before the race, and we agreed that I would turn in my bib and finish the race
without support if it looked like I wouldn't make it in time.

As tempted as I was, I couldn't bear the thought of not "finishing" the race, even if I had to walk. So I talked to Dave, told him what I had decided to do, and asked him if he wanted my bib. To his great credit, he said no, to go ahead
and keep it, and then offered me some water. I was pretty well-set from the bike and knew I had some time to replenish on at least part of the course, so off I went.

Run (Goal 1:40/Actual 2:07)*

My friend Chris found me in T2 and offered to run along with me. When I explained the situation, and that it would probably be 2 hours before we returned, he still agreed to come along.

We ended up walking the course, being passed by who I would later realize were Cindy and Lizzie. My feet started killin' me and my legs were swelling a bit near the surgery sites, so we dialed it back and enjoyed the time together.

Final: Goal 4:00/Actual 5:13*
*note: all times are marked with an asterisk, since the times are unofficial, having come from my watch.

Looking Forward

The times cited above came from my watch; my own chip did not in fact work. I expected not to get an official final time, but I should have gotten swim and bike splits, since I made those cutoffs. Set-Up Inc. is working on this. So there's one lesson learned: don't use your own chip.

Three years into this, there remains much, much room for improvement. Here's what do I have to do to improve my time:
* overcome swim panic
* don't drop below 10 mph on uphills
* run, don't walk
* lose weight. I have learned that this must be a conscious effort; it's not going to follow naturally from increased activity. If it did, I'd already be much lighter.

To achieve these goals, I plan the following:
* swim in wetsuit more
* swim w/o wetsuit in cold water more
* serious winter bike trainer sessions, not just dinking around in front of the TV
* bike on hills
* emphasize running
* lots of bricks
* create and follow a *real* nutrition plan

So my third season has come to a close. It's now time for a couple of running events. Next up: the Philadelphia Distance Run, a half-marathon just seven days away.