First Triathlon in Two Years - Dunes City Triathlon

After a long hiatus from the blogging and racing worlds, it only seems appropriate that I write a blog post as I re-enter the world of racing. Following leg surgery, six+ months of physical therapy, a long period of no running and 30-minute bike rides, I am finally back to riding and running regularly. I will be mixing it up this year, participating in some running races, some triathlons, and some bike races.

My triathlon season began last weekend with the Dunes City Triathlon near Florence, Oregon. Seeing that this was my first triathlon in nearly two years, I had no great expectations. As a bonus, this race gave us a reason to travel to the Oregon coast for a short weekend vacation! The race began with periodic heavy downpours, and the lake temperature was a cool 59 degrees. Putting on my wetsuit for the first time in two years and jumping into a cold lake with a group of strangers, I couldn't help but feel a bit claustrophobic and nervous. Starting in the middle of the group, I quickly was kicked in the face, which knocked me off my game for a bit. My swim was considerably slower than I had hoped, which I think was largely due to how long it took me to relax in the water. Toward the end of the two-lap swim, I was feeling pretty comfortable and relaxed, but I had already lost a great deal of time by that point. Coming out of the water, I was 6 or 7 minutes behind the lead woman.

I was excited to head onto the bike leg of the race, as that is my largest comfort zone. While we had been swimming, a rain shower had come, leaving all of my gear soaked in the transition area. As I attempted to get on my bike, one of my already-clipped-in shoes flew off the pedal, leaving me with a less than stellar transition onto the bike. Within a mile or two of the start of the bike, I heard my rear brake rubbing. I stopped to check it, but really could not see anything. Likely, the 20-year-old disc I was using was rubbing when I stood out of the saddle. Back on the bike, I started to feel like I was finally in a steady rhythm. With 1700 feet of climbing, the bike course had a considerable amount of elevation gain for an Olympic triathlon. A huge downpour hit me as I climbed the final (and largest) hill before the turn-around. Descending back down, my glove-free hands were frozen! Thankfully, they quickly warmed up after the descent.

Entering the run, Ted had counted me as in 6th place for the women. I was able to get in a running groove relatively quickly, and found myself catching people. The run course was primarily on trails through the woods, making for an interesting run. Around mile 5, I caught the girl who was in 2nd place, and Ted told me I was gaining on the girl in first place. I ran at a steady pace, but my deficit had been too large. I finished about 1.5 minutes behind the first place woman overall, and I was first in my age group. Given my slow swim and mediocre bike, I cannot complain about how the race finished for me. The courses were nice. All that could have been improved was the weather! We had a great next day in Oregon, relaxing at our vacation cottage two blocks from the beach.