Pinehurst Olympic Race Report 2014, pt 1

I did the Pinehurst Olympic race in October.   I had actually vowed to never again do this race, because I did so well in 2008, that I figured I’d quit while I was ahead.    But my friend and boot camp instructor Renee inspired me to want to return to this race.   It is a beautiful race venue, and I figured it was really dumb to leave it off my list forever just because of foolish pride.   I had a great time, so am very glad.

Official Results:

• Swim 1500m: 31.25, 3rd AG.
• T1: 2:41 , 5th AG
• Bike 30m: 1:33:57, 19 mph, 2nd AG.  (hilly)
• T2:  1:34, 3rd AG
• Run 10k: 1:06:34, 5th AG. 11:06 m/m (hilly)
• 2 minute Penalty for “Overtaken” on bike
• Overall: 3:18:09  4th AG (would have been 3rd if not for penalty

Heart Rate Data:

Bike: 162 bpm Avg HR / 170 bpm Max HR

Run: 166 bpm Avg HR / 176 bpmMax HR

Pre Race:

I packed my gear up the night before and headed for an early bedtime.

I got up at the crack of dawn (4am), grabbed some coffee and oatmeal and started driving in the dark.    Somewhere in Apex, on a dark and lonely road, I heard a funny noise in my back tire.   I hadn’t seen anything on the road, so was startled by this.     I looked in my rear view mirror and didn’t see anything.  I wondered if a screw came loose, or if I had left something on top of my car that fell.  Or, if the mechanic who recently installed new tires left a bolt loose.  Lots of things were going through my head.

I drove cautiously for a bit, listening to the sounds of the car, and everything sounded okay, so I kept driving.   About ten minutes later, I noticed the low air pressure warning light come on.  Crap.    I was still on a dark and loney road.   The car still sounded okay, so I figured it must be a very slow leak, so I still drove on, looking for a safe place to stop.

Fortunatley, I found an exit with a gas station, and got off.  I think I was on 1South heading toward Sanford.   Luckily, the station was open and well lit.    I got out, and inspected the tire.   Sure enough, it looked low and I could hear a hissing sounds.  Crap Crap Crap.   I actually happent o have a tire repair kit in my car, so I found the spot where the air was hissing out, but I did not see a nail, and I didn’t really think the kit would work here.

So, I called AAA.  They are really great…I highly recommend subscribing to their service.     I always always get my money’s worth from the $75 annual fee.     I called them, and the first thing they always ask is “Are you in a safe location”.  Yes, I was, thank goodness.   I gave them my information and they said they’d have someone out in 45 minutes.

Ack, that was probably going to be too late for me to get to the race.  I had written it off, but texted my friend Renee that I had a flat tire and was likely not going to make it.   She called me , which was super nice, and asked if I needed help.  I said “No, but can you ask the packet pickup folks to hold my packet for me, and tell them I may be a little late”.   She said she would.

So… I waited for the AAA guy.   It was a long wait, as you can see from Facebook:

The AAA guy showed up at 6:30, and took about 15 or 20 minutes to change the tire.  He was really nice, and I thanked him for helping me so early in the morning!

I was about 45 minutes away, and packet pickup closed at 7:30.    Yikes!    I carried on, trying not to worry about the time crunch.

I got to the parking area, pumped my bike tires, grabbed all my junk and rode the 5 minutes to the site.   I think I got there at 7:40.   They had set aside my packet, so I grabbed it, got chip, body marking, bike set up as fast as I could.

It was stressful, and I had not spare time whatso ever .     Just barely got my potty break, wetsuit on and they were calling up my wave.

Click here to read part 2