Introduction:
This race got my curiosity for a few reasons. The first of which is that it was in Bend Oregon. We love Bend Oregon, and I would move there in a heart beat if I could just find a job down there. The distances were something that I was interested in as well. It seems to be a nice place that is longer than a Half Iron distance race, but not nearly a Full Iron distance race. The long swim caught my attention and I just got some good vibes from this race.
Besides: Can you watch this video without not wanting to get involved?
Needless to say, there are countless things to do as a family down here and my wife even said, "I am going to be just as busy as you tomorrow!" They had a "Kid's day of play" at a park, there was a farmer's market, live music, and it seemed like a full festival down there at the Transition area/finish line. I never had to worry about my wife or kids being entertained while I was out on course. I knew they were 100% taken care of.
Results:
For more photos, visit my album here: http://www.zazoosh.com/members/viewGallery/19176
Total
- Time: 5:54:07
- Place: 76/143
- Place in Division(35-39): 11/18
Swim
- Time: 37:54
- Place: 47
- pace: 1:23/100 (must have been a short course)
T1
- Time: 7:40
Bike
- Time: 3:56:54
- Place: 104
- pace: 16.68mph
T2
- Time: 3:16
Run
- Time: 1:08:22
- Place: 90
- pace: 9:10/mile
Day Before:
-The Day before the race, we wanted to check out downtown bend and I wanted to spend some time with my family before the long day. The morning again was quite cold...but it was a pretty day. No clouds and it turned warm. Even at this point, there was no indication of the "Night on Bald Mountain" weather report, so it was really hard to wrap my mind around the fact that the next day we were going to be in this crazy storm at the mountain summit.
I had a very hard time deciding if I would need to buy riding tights or not. It was very difficult to figure out how the next day would play out.
-We went to footzone or an equivalent running shoe store. We bought my wife some running shoes. I found some ASIC arm-warmers on the shelf for $10. As soon as I saw them, I devised a "layering" plan (See later) for the following morning. I was not going to be photo-worthy...but I was going to get through this race. I threw the arm warmers in with the order. We then went to lunch.
-After lunch, we decided to check my stuff in at T-1. We drove through Sunriver and up to Cultus lake. It was a pretty drive. As soon as we got out of the car, it was chilly and windy. The sweatshirts had to be put on.
-I set my bike up on the rack at my allocated space. 1136. I left my gels on the bike, but didn't put the bottles on.
I have a fever....
-I left my T1 Gear bag in the required location near the entrance of T1. I made sure to seal it up nice and tight anticipating an overnight storm rolling in. It was time to say goodbye to the equipment and hope that it is ready the next morning.
Goodbye, Bike. I'll see you in the morning!
I then went over to see the swim start and swim exit. The wind was picking up quite a few waves and it was daunting to look at the cold mountain lake with the rough water and the buoys going off into the distance.
Small yellow buoys for sighting, Orange buoys mark halfway, Large yellow buoy in distance is turnaround.
The water was crystal clear, cold and there was a lot of movement. As you can see in the photo, the clouds were starting to roll in and it really felt like the beginning of a storm was coming...
We drove the bike course. The several miles that we drove was full of long rolling hills and a very long false-flat. As anticipated, the Bachelor Climb looked pretty brutal...but After the hill training I did, it definately didn't seem unsurmoutable. There was just 4 miles of "The Suck" and then a downhill. I am glad we drove the course, because I would have thought that was it...But then it went up again. I was able to place in my brain "You are not at the top until you are at a Chairlift." for the next morning.
We got back to town and I dropped my things off at T2. This was a bit more confusing as it was still getting set up, but I was able to determine where my spot should be and get everything all taken care of.
We went back to the hotel and I started going through all the details in my head. There were a lot of them. The nerves set in, and I think at this point I became the "Triathlon Zombie" that my wife refers to. We went to the pool and took it easy that night. This was a great idea. Hot tub before race night puts you right to sleep.
Ultimately, I had all my gear bags delivered to the Transition areas, so there wasn't anything I could do but worry and think about the morning.
Race Morning:
The alarm went off at 4:30. I slept so hard I didn't even remember why I set it. Good thing I did. I got out of bed and put on my tri-shorts (omitting my tri-top) and my pre-race clothes. I brushed my teeth, filled my nutrition bottles, and made and ate breakfast. At the same time, my wife worked on getting the kids up so we could head out. We were out the door at 4:55.
I said goodbye to the wife and kids and got on the bus. This was one of the bummers at this race. Spectators were VERY HIGHLY discouraged from seeing the Swim...which is the most spectator friendly event.
I'm not a morning person and I was nervous, so I didn't really have much to say the entire bus ride. I sat across the isle from a guy doing this race as a warm-up for the Hawaii Ultraman World Championships. http://ultramanlive.com/ . I overheard that he was Top Ten Ironman World Championships 8 times, and this guy has been around the block. Unfortunately, I was not awake enough or extroverted enough to do anything more than eavesdrop on the conversation. I noticed that the air temperature was getting colder and colder. It was sad knowing that the last time that I would be warm has passed.
We arrive to the lake. I step off the bus and I am instantly freezing. I can see my breath and I am shaking without control. I have to tell myself to suck it up several times. I am surrounded by a bunch of badasses, so I can't be a pansy right now. It clearly rained overnight as everything was covered in sleet, Which made it harder to get ready. I got my bike set up and saw that the bike right next to mine was an Argon. I thought I recognized it, but I wasn't sure. I was walking over to the lake to put my race number on. Off the bus climbs Sean Harwin. He is the one guy I knew that was doing this race. After a quick conversation, I was off to get my race numbers put on. I went back to my bike and it was Sean Harwin who was racked right next to me.
I put on my wetsuit, swimcap, and goggles. I abandoned any form of warm clothes into my pre-race bag so they would be at the finish.
I turned on my Garmin to find satellites and the first message that popped up was "Low Battery". I was pretty angry because I intentionally left it on the charger for several days before that. I needed the Garmin on my bike for my speed, cadence, time, and distance. It was my bike computer. I guess I'm riding blind, today.
I made my way to the Warming Tent for the race start. The tent was warm. It was good to feel, but our feet were still freezing from the ground. I was grateful to know that I wasn't the only cold, nervous person. The race had not even started yet, and it was already turning Epic. It was hard to watch the first wave go out into the water. You can tell the transition from cold air to chilly water was not pleasant....unfortunately, at the point we got off the bus, we were all committed to this agony.
As we all shivered, we counted down for the 250 racers...And they were off. At this point, I had no desire to do this race as the storm was rolling in at the mountain, it was cold, dark and that water did not look inviting. The only reason why I was still there is because there were people standing in front of me and behind me, and they were all moving forward.
I hate this part. Moving forward into the 61 degree water. I was just wanting to be putting on my nice warm and comfortable running shoes.
Swim:
It was hard to let the water into the wet suit. I swam out to the start slowly getting my face into the water. After some temperature regulation, I reminded myself that this was going to be the warmest I would be all day and I should enjoy it.
And then the countdown. You know, the point where you MUST get your face in the water and you MUST swim, and you MUST get out of the water again, and so on and so forth.
The sound of the air horn meant much more than a race start. It meant that we were all going on a crazy adventure that day that none of us would forget...and it just started.
I put my face in the water and started going. The water was crystal clear...like there was just as much visibility under the water as there was outside of the water. You can see every detail of the bottom of the lake. The mud, the lava rock, the sunken logs....It was beautiful. I was in awe, flying over this new landscape and then suddenly...it just dropped off into darkness. My visibility was not hindered by the water or the dirt. The only reason why I couldn't see the bottom was because it was so deep there was no light. It was eerie. When I would swim beside somebody, I could see everything that they were doing...and there was no ground under them. Anywhere.
I settled in and felt comfortable. I wasn't going to push myself hard on the swim because there was no point. It was a long swim and there was no reason to push myself. I moved efficiently and was grateful each time I passed a sighting buoy.
I was very grateful to get to the turn-around buoy. It meant that I was halfway done. As I rounded the buoy, I looked down. I got to see the rope that held the buoy descend straight down into the darkness. It was weird to watch...Like if a rope dropped down out of the stars.
I passed several people, but I don't celebrate that too much, because they will just pass me on the bike. Suddenly, I felt a body climb up over my back. Somebody was swimming over me. It pushed me under water but I was able to quickly navigate to the side and get back up. I looked up and they had a white swim cap. This meant that they were in the 250K race...and they were fast for catching up (started 30 minutes before us). Instead of getting upset, I had a "tip my hat to you, fine sir" moment. I was laughing about it because of all the heated forum discussions about this on the internet. I wanted to get online and write "Somebody just swam over me...and I ain't even mad, bro."...Oh the things we use to keep our minds off the pain in a race.
I was grateful to get back to the boat launch...but it seemed like the last 200m took FOREVER. If I couldn't see the bottom, I would wonder if I was even moving.
I got up out of the water and started running towards transition area.
T1:
The Air is still freezing cold. The ground is still freezing cold. And I am now wet...and running. There were people offering to strip off my wetsuit, but I wanted to leave it on as long as possible.
They handed me my Transition bag which was wet from the night before. I closed my eyes and prayed that everything in it was still dry. I got to the changing room and immediately switched into "Bear Grylls climbing out of a river" mode.
I had no desire to get on the bike with any drop of water on me. It was more important for me to be completely dry than it was to get a fast time. I dumped my stuff out and got my towel which I don't usually do. I wiped the water off my body. I put on my tri-top at this time. I left it off before because I wanted it to be dry on the bike. I then put on a long-sleeved shirt and my riding jacket. I then put gloves on. Unfortunately, all of the clothes were freezing cold but I knew that I would be grateful once I got over14mph. I wiped off my legs and feet. I put the arm warmers (that I bought yesterday) on my legs to cover my knees and shins. I then put on my socks and riding shoes.
I knew that I was not going to break any records...but I am mostly dry and mostly covered. That was more important to me once we get onto the mountain.
I did a quick check and I was ready to go. I got a gel and dumped my bag and went for my bike.
At this point it started getting light out and I was awake and alive and I was ready for an awesome day!
I WAS IN THE LEADMAN RACE!!!!! LET'S DO THIS!!!!
Bike:
When you leave T1, it is usually quite exciting. There is music and people yelling and cowbells and the announcer on the PA. I definately remember my favorite song playing "RadioActive" by Imagine Dragons and the announcer yelling out racer numbers as they got out of the water. There were people cheering (volunteers) and a few frozen spectators. I remember riding past people cheering and I remember being grateful that my feet no longer had to touch the cold wet ground.
Once I got out of the parking lot past all of the people, it got really quiet. This is the time I take to assess my state of being, let my heart rate slow down, and ensure that I am mentally prepared for the next several hours. I took a drink of water (Which had a little ice forming on it) and made sure all of my gear was "locked down".
My fingers were frozen, but other than that, I decided that I made good decisions about my layering. I wasn't going to win any fashion shows, but everything was pretty solid for any bad conditions.
I had to guess on when to take my nutrition, since I didn't know my ride distance or time (other than 10 mile road signs, which were a Godsend).
About 15 miles in, we went into a controlled burning of the forest. It was really cool to be riding through a bunch of small fires from the edge of the road deep into the woods. It felt like I was escaping the apocalypse on my bike.
At Mile 20, I stopped to go to the bathroom. I also took my gloves off because my hands were warming up. At Mile 23, I ended up putting them back on.
Between Mile 20 and 40, the field was pretty much laid out. Occasionally I would get passed, which I fully expect but for the most part it appeared that the race was figured out. I got passed by a few VO2 members which was cool.
The rolling hills were killing me. You could never tell how steep or long they really were, so you were in a constant challenge of pushing yourself up them and being careful going up them.
At mile 40, I stopped at the aid station and had a banana. This was the last stop prior to "The Suck". I took a deep breath and got on my bike and hoped that I had the leg power to make it up the mountain.
People say the ride is beautiful, but I didn't get to see it. I had tunnel vision and was in a very dark place. I switched between standing up and sitting down very frequently and didn't see much beyond my front tire.
I thought I had reached the top and I remembered my saying from the other day..."You're not at the top until you are at the chairlifts." Surely enough there was more hill after the rest. I am glad I drove the course.
It started to sleet (Sort of rain/ice mix) just as I reached the summit and starting downhill. I pushed my way downhill but my bike got really skittish. I did not want to hit the pavement at 40mph so I gripped my bike and got as aero as I could and pedaled only when power needed to be applied. The wind gusts would slide my bike around. It felt a little like ice skating. I had to keep my head down because I didn't have any glasses or visor to keep the sleet from going in my eyes.
I got really hungry so I started gobbling down gels. They were like money. On one uphill, I dropped one, and it literally felt like I dropped a $100 bill. I justified in my head how I HAD to stop and get it.
The hill never seemed to end. There would be an occasional climb, but for the most part, the descent into Bend was amazing. I forgot all about the climb up the back side of Bachelor and I have never had the opportunity to bomb down a hill with no worries about the bottom....there didn't seem to be a bottom.
Once back in Bend (In the last 5 miles), there were several steep climbs that drove me mad. I was done with hills. No more hills. I put that anger into my pedals and powered up the hills. I didn't care about the run. I wanted the hills to be gone.
On top of that, there were already people 5 miles into the run. This made me mad too! I wanted to be on the run, but this stupid hilly course was keeping me from that!
At this point, there were some people getting close to this:
T2:
It was important for me to see my wife and kids in T2. Since they didn't get to see the swim they had no idea if I had even gotten out of the water. This was the first chance of the day to do the "I'm doing ok" check in and for my wife to see how I was doing.
I saw them just as I dismounted my bike. I ran my bike in and saw that Sean Harwin's bike was there as it should be. I grabbed my bag and headed into the changing room. I had no special layering needs for the run course, so I just pulled off all of the extra clothes and grabbed my race belt and visor and threw on my shoes. Out we go!
I saw my kids and wife again on the way out. I was able to give them high-fives and head out on the run.
Run:
Since I didn't have my Garmin (still), I had to go by feel. I was running at what I felt was a comfortable pace. I then figured I was probably going fast because I passed several people in the first mile. It was difficult to gauge because I am a good runner, however I have no idea what pace I am at for a 7 mile run and I have no idea what pace the people around me run.
My back and neck were really hurting from the bike ride...I remember wishing that I had an Aleve or something.
...There were tons of hills on that course. It was driving me nuts. It turns out that my pace was too fast to start with. I ended up walking at Aid Stations and on many hills.
I think I burned out at about 4.75 miles. I was hungry, my body hurt, my lungs were sore and I didn't feel any desire to push. I had a small celebration at each mile marker.
Once I got to 6.5 miles, I was going to push it all the way to the end. It was very difficult as my body was broken. There was a lot of stress and fatigue and I just wanted to finish to come to me. I knew I would make it....I just didn't know how long it would take. I kept running.
It was great to see the finish chute and hear the cheering. It really boosted my spirits. It was like a small caffeine kick. As I got closer to the finish, I felt a little stronger. I saw my wife and kids and that was encouraging...and then I hit the finish chute. That is when the caffeine wore off. 50 feet before the finish line, my body realized that it was done and all of the bad elements started flooding in. I was so grateful to cross that finish line, just because it meant the pain would no longer be increasing.
My daughter always takes my finisher's medals.
Post Race:
I stood there for a moment and let everything settle in. When your body stops moving after 6 hours of constant motion, it does a lot of funny things. Up to this point, I still had no idea how I did or what my times were. I did this race completely blind.
When you are in a car accident or other major trama, afterwards it takes a few minutes for the brain to catch up with what just happened and what immediate needs the body has. It is like being in shock. I don't know who to talk to or what to do. So I just sit down with some water and pretzels and wait for it to get sorted out.
It turns out the VO2 guys finished not long before me. That was encouraging. It was nice to talk to them and remember certain parts. I feel bad because I am not really capable to carry conversation after a race like that...but I tried to keep up.
It was at that point that I took off a sock and there was blood in it. At some point during the day, I cut my toe open. I assume that I didn't notice because of everything else hurting, as well.
There was a big festival at the finish line. There were bands playing, there was a beer garden, there was a farmers market, and businesses open serving frozen yogurt and wine and all sorts of things. I feel like I ran into a huge party and it was really cool. It was definately very encouraging as a racer to walk right into the middle of this.
There is no rain at the finish line because it is all dumping on Mt Bachelor. There are still people in it.
It was the weirdest thing to be standing in warm weather for once. Looking around, no spectators had any idea that it was stormy and sleeting up on the mountain 20 miles away. They had no idea how cold it was this morning, and no idea what kind of crazy adventure we'd been on. It felt like there was no way to describe it as there was nothing down there to draw reference to. I was in two completely different worlds.
I got changed into my warm clothes again and we walked around. For some reason, I thought, "I'll bet Sean Harwin is at the beer garden." As we walk by, there he is, drinking a beer. We go to ask how he did. Yeah...He won. He let us know that they adjusted the Belt Buckle times so I may have won a belt buckle. I still at this point had NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what time it was or how I did. We went and looked at the results. 5:54. I felt good about that...but I didn't know if it was buckle-worthy. It turns out they adjusted the buckle time to 6:00.
We walked around and gathered up my transition bags. I lost my goggles and swim cap. I am sure I lost them between the boat ramp and the transition bags back at the lake. That place was in a different world now...
We went and at food and went back to the hotel. I sat in the hot tub for a while and that helped relax.
We came back at 7:00PM for the awards ceremony. Some of the leaders of the 250K were just coming in so we'd stop and cheer them into the finish line. I felt kind of odd getting a buckle when the initial time was 5:15, but if they've got them to give out to the x-amount of highest places and I was in the x-amount of highest places then it is valid!
After that we went back to the hotel...and slept.
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