White Lake Sprint 2008 Race Report

I still can’t believe I finally got a podium finish in a triathlon race! And a first place finish, to boot. It just goes to show you that consistent effort eventually yields results! I have been training consistently for three years: at least 2 workouts per week of each sport, and during peak training – 3 workouts per week per sport.

Official Results:

For some reason my bike and T2 splits aren’t showing in the official results. I guess I hopped over the timing mat in such a way that it did not detect my chip.

Swim 750m: 16:02
T1: 1:51
Run 5k: 25:46
Overall: 1:25:22

I was first in my age group, winning by a mere 7 seconds!

Here’s my full race report. Sorry this is so long. I’ve marked sections with bold headers, so you can just read the parts you want; Or, scroll all the way down to the end to see the race photos.

Day before:

I stayed in a room at the White Lake Motel and campground. I was quite pleased with the accommodations: very close to the race site, and a very clean room furnished with the bare essentials. Perfect for my needs – I will stay there again.

My niece from Virginia also came down to race. Oddly enough, we both booked a room at the same motel, and her room was right next to mine. That was very weird because we did not plan it! We went to get our packets and attend the pre-race meeting. That was over at about 7:30 pm – and we hadn’t eaten dinner yet!

Avoid overeating before races!

We drove to Elizabethtown and had dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant. I just ate what I would normally eat when going out to Chinese buffet, but a little less quantity…mostly fried rice & sesame chicken with a bit of other things mixed in. I stopped eating just when I felt a little full, and skipped the desserts so as not to get over-full.

I settled into bed at about 11 pm. I usually set two alarms for races. I set my cell phone alarm for 6am. The alarm clock in the hotel was broken, and there was no wake up call service (not even a telephone in the room, actually). So, I went to sleep hoping that my cell phone alarm didn’t let me down.

Pre-Race:

At about 5:30 am, I woke up. I was hungry, so decided to get up and eat. I usually eat oatmeal 2 hours before race time, but wanted to try eating a little more 3 hours before race time. So I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a pita. I used real jelly not sugar free jelly. I didn’t finish the last 1/4 of it because I started to feel a little full.

I got everything ready, packed up my car and headed to the race site. Parking is always a challenge at this race – you’ll get blocked in if you park onsite, so I opted to park along the road about 1/3 mile away. I slung my two gear bags over my back, and rode my bike to the race site.

I entered the transition area at about 7:30 am and found my bike rack. My start time was 8:36am. I clipped my race belt with bib attached around my waist and headed over to the chip pickup and body marking are. You need to show your bib for those things.

Tape over time on stopwatch

I went back to transition and started laying out my gear and getting ready. I downed a Gu. One of the things I had decided to do this race was put a piece of white tape over the time on my stopwatch. (see photo at right.) I wanted to see my heart rate so I could gauge my effort level. But I didn’t want to see the time. Seeing the time stresses me out because I always think I should be able to perform better. Then I start thinking negative thoughts which interferes with my mental focus, and that ends up slowing me down! This idea proved to be perfect for me!

Oh crud, I left my “rack marker” back at the car. It’s a top secret item that I place on the bike rack that helps me find my spot during transitions. I wanted to do a a warm up bike ride anyway, so I headed out to ride with car keys in hand. I rode about 11 minutes total, including some 30 second accelerations to get my legs ready for speed. I stopped to get my marker.

It was 7:50 when I headed back into the transition area, and I saw my coach/friend Jon. His wave started at 8am, and he was struggling to get into a very tight wetsuit. It made me wonder if I should have kept that extra tight wetsuit I sold on Craigslist. I asked if he needed help zipping up, and he said yes! Oh my, he had a very odd wetsuit. It zips from the top down, and you have to start the zipper – just like the zipper on a winter coat. There’s no way you could possibly zip yourself into that! Jon said it was designed that way intentionally because it’s extremely fast to unzip.

Just as I went on to finalize my transition area, they announced that the transition area was closed, so I had to hurry! I finished up quickly, grabbed my wetsuit, goggles, swim cap, & Pam spray and left.

Tucking race bib into tri shorts

Yikes – in my rush, I had forgotten to take off my race belt and lay it on top of my running shoes like usual. So, I decided to tuck the bib and belt into my tri shorts. That way, it wouldn’t snag while getting in and out of my wetsuit. (see photo at right). That turned out to be a great idea, and I will do that again. Saved time in T2, and I didn’t even notice it – no chaffing or anything.

It was about 8:05 when I headed down to the water. Still too early to put on my wetsuit, as I didn’t want to get overheated. I mulled around for 10 more minutes then got impatient and put it on. I downed another Gu at this point. As usual, I sprayed Pam on my arms and legs, and also on the wetsuit arms and legs. This helps slide it off easier in T1. I got into the water and spent the rest of the time waiting, watching, swimming a few strokes, and more waiting. The water temperature was 71 degrees. It felt a little chilly.

The Swim:

Finally, my wave was called up. I made my way to the “second row” of females. I always like to start out behind the fastest swimmers hoping to draft off one of them. I have never gotten the hang of drafting. They announced 15 seconds to start. I looked at my heart rate monitor, and my heart rate jumped to 155. I counted to ten and hit the start button.

The horn sounded an I was off! For the first few minutes, I was in the middle of a pack of women getting jostled and bumped around. For some odd reason, I enjoy the intensity of swimming in a pack. Then the crowd thinned out and I settled in behind a woman and started following the bubbles created by her kick. I sighted every five strokes to make sure we were headed in the right direction, but mostly I followed her bubbles. I was drafting and it felt easy. Too easy. Hmmm, then I noticed her cap was royal blue, not purple like mine. I had no idea what wave the blue caps were. What if I had caught up to a slower swimmer and was now following along at her slow pace?

I decided to move on and pass her. I was on my own the rest of the swim. I was going a steady pace, as fast as I could without getting out of breath. I was vaguely aware that I was hardly kicking. I think I tend to use kicking mostly for balance, and with a wetsuit on, there’s no need. Something to work on. I did well staying on target toward the buoys, and did not swim off course like my last two races. This course was clockwise, which I think helps since I tend to veer toward the right. (In a clockwise course, veering toward the right does not take me way off course.)

The swim seemed like it was taking forever! I wondered “how do I ever get through an Olympic distance or half iron swim!?” I finally rounded the last buoy and swam “all out” the rest of the way. I was hot and I began wishing I had a sleeveless wetsuit. Finally, I reached the dock and climbed out and headed for T1.

I didn’t feel like my swim was fast, but since I had covered up my stopwatch, I had no idea. My time of 16:02 is slower than last time I did this race. Seeing that, would have dragged me down mentally, so it was good that I didn’t know. Official results show that I was third in my age group out of the water. Not too shabby 🙂

As I ran down the dock, I unzipped and peeled my wetsuit as far down on my waist as possible without impeding my running movements. Then I pulled off my goggles and cap. When I got to my spot, I tried pulling the legs out of the wetsuit without sitting on the grass. Just not that coordinated, so I sat down on the grass to finish the job. Then I put on my bike shoes, sunglasses and helment and ran to the bike start line.

The Bike:

At the bike mount line, I flew past another biker who had stop to mount his bike, planning to do my awesome flying mount. I totally botched it tho, as my legs were slippery and I slipped off the seat. I nailed it the second time and sped away. I stood up to accelerate to full speed, and then settled into my aero position. I glanced at my speed and it said 21.7mph. My heart rate was 168. I tried to push a little harder. I tried to make my quads burn a little. I focused on staying in a tight aero position. Each time I checked my speed it said 21.something. Each time I checked my heart rate, it was in the high 160’s. Each time I tried to push it a little harder.

I tried to pass everyone I saw. I did. I passed one woman in my field early on in the bike. It was a two loop course, around the lake. When I started the second loop, I tried to push things even harder. I ate a Gu here. I chanted all kinds of things in my head to stay focused, i.e., “hip groove”, “feel the pain”, etc. Much as I tried to make my quads burn to the point of pain, I really only felt a little burning. I was breathing hard, but not getting out of breath.

Rounding the last corner with about a mile or two to go (near that hideous white fence), I went all out. I was approaching two female bikers riding side by side. The woman on the right was my niece. The woman on the left appeared to be taking her time passing my niece. As I neared them, I yelled “Blocking”. Then I yelled “On your left”. That got the point across and she sped up to get out of my way. I passed them both, saying a quick hello to my niece. I felt a little bad being so aggressive; but I don’t regret it. (Those 7 seconds could have easily been lost here.)

I passed another woman in my age group at the very end of the bike course. I felt sure she’d re-pass me during the run. Once I entered the cones leading up to the dismount line, there was no more room to pass. I slowed down and undid the velcro on two out of three straps of my bike shoes for quik removal. Then I saw the race photographer and tried to get back into aero position for the picture. (as you can see in my race photos at the bottom of this page, I didn’t succeed).

I forgot to hit my stopwatch coming off the bike. And the official results aren’t showing my bike split either! The leftover time from official results for “bike + T2” equals 41:43. I think I went very fast in T2, so my bike split was probably over my sub-40 goal…I am not going to complain about it, tho!!!! In retrospect, I do wish I had seen my time during the bike. My confidence on the bike is great enough that I think I can look at my time and push myself harder to achieve a goal. Perhaps next race I will set my cateye computer to display Time.

The Run:

Skipped the socks – yes, it WAS worth it!

I was very klutzy running to my rack during T2 and almost dropped my bike. I guess I was in a frenzy! I unbuckled my helmet while still running. After racking my bike, I was very fast at changing into my running shoes. I planned on skipping the socks today to save time…I know from training that donning socks costs 10 seconds – so this was a good choice despite the blisters! (see photo at right) I grabbed my water bottle. I left my running cap behind, thinking my sunglasses were enough, and I would risk sweat running into my eyes to save seconds.

I ran the first minute at a somewhat easy pace while ate a Gu and strapped my water bottle to my right hand. I have to have water with me, even on short races. That way I can sip it whenever I want, and not waste any time at aide stations. I placed a second Gu into my left hand. Holding something in my left hand helps control that odd flicking motion I discovered when analyzing my treadmill videos!

After I had everything in place, I started pushing hard. I glanced at my heart rate and it was 172. I wanted to keep it above 170 the whole run. I was breathing hard. I was working hard. It was, well, hard!

I was passing people and not too many people passed me. I thought that was odd. I saw a couple of 40-44 woman passed me. (I’m very glad to be out of THAT age group). No-one in my age group passed me. I wondered what that meant. Was I finally pulling off a podium finish race? Or, was I way behind all the faster females? I still had no idea of my time. All I could do was keep pushing hard and do my best.

When I got to the turnaround, I pushed even harder. I was so tired and wanted to stop. But I kept going hard anyway. I told myself that if I ran faster, it would be over sooner. I kept track of my HR to make sure it was above 170. I focused on fast cadence, short strides, lift lift lift. Again, I chanted odd little things in my head. My hope was that watching to make sure my heart rate was up, and focusing on form, would mean that my hard effort was going toward speed, not toward wasted movements.

At the 2 mile marker, I tried to push even harder. I was getting very hot! I was wishing I had grabbed my running cap to shield me from the sun. Apparently, it’s good for more than absorbing sweat off my brow! When I made the turn out of the neighborhood, there was about 1/3 mile to go. I really really wanted to stop. I started running all out. I thought of the Pose running drill and tried to do that the rest of the way in hopes that gravity would carry me to a strong finish. No-one in my age group had yet passed me, and I wanted to make sure they didn’t pass me now.

It was so hard – somehow I dug in deep and kept going all out until the finish line. I heard someone call “Go Carol”… I had no idea who. All I felt when I crossed the final mat was relief that it was over. And I was soooo HOT! As soon as they took my chip, I jogged down to the lake seeking the cool water. I wasn’t even aware I had blisters on my feet, until I stepped into the water and – OUCH, they stung. I hesitated for a brief moment, but the call of that cool water was stronger than the pain, so I dove in. I lay there in the water for an unknown period of time, unaware of anything but the relief that I felt.

Then I remembered my niece. I had seen her about 10 minutes behind me in the run. I went back to the finish line to look for her. I looked by the post-race food and in the transition area. She was nowhere to be found among the throngs of people. I knew she was planning to leave as soon as she finished – so I guess I had missed her. Shoot – I had wanted to cheer her on crossing the finish.

I saw my coach Jon. We talked about the race and I thanked him (rather emphatically) for his help in my running. He was pleased when he learned that no-one in my age group passed me on the run. We talked about alot of things, which I will save for another blog. He won first place Master’s Male Open (elites). He is an amazing triathlete! Jon inspired me to think that maybe someday I can be more than a middle of the packer. Maybe someday I can even win!

Post Race Award Ceremony:

I finally peeled the tape off my stopwatch and looked at my time. My average heart rate was 168. Max hr was 183. The overall time showed 1:25:39. I knew that past winners in my age group fell in the 1:25 time range. I had some hope that I would get a top three spot, but was afraid to hope too hard, as it always depends on who shows up on race day. Still, no one in my age group had passed me in the run. That felt good.

I ate a ton of food: cookies, fritos, oranges, bananas, red beans and rice… and drank lots of water. During the awards ceremony, I was chatting with a man and two woman who had raced as a relay team. They were a friendly bunch.

I waited with anticipation as they called up the winners in each age group. Hoping that I made it, but not wanting to hope too hard. When they got to my age group, they announced…

“First place, from Chapel Hill (hmmm, Chapel hill, that could be me)
with a time of 1:25:22 (could that possibly be me?)
Carol Scheible (OMG, it is me!!!)

I waved my arms in victory, and then walked up to collect my prize and pose for the photo. It was an incredible feeling to stand up there, smiling and looking out at the crowd. I was so happy… truly the best moment of this midlife crisis I call Triathlon.

When I went back to my place in the crowd, the woman I had been talking to earlier, introduced herself as Ann; and told me she reads my blog. Ann thanked me for all my helpful tips and articles, and said that I had inspired her to do this race. It brought a tear to my eye to know that my words had made such an impact on someone else. Her relay team even won 2nd place!

All in all, it was a perfect day. And I think I have found my niche: sprint races with an extra long bike. I can’t wait to race again!

Race Photos: (click to enlarge)