IronColl's Peach City Classic Oly Tri

[IronColl]

Pre-race

This race was always on FishPant's list and when she mentioned the possibility of a road trip this year I was all for it. I was having difficulty finding an Olympic distance triathlon that fit into my schedule but this one was perfect with the timing. We both had our arrangements and made the weekend a go. We had an enjoyable drive out and even had a chance to check out the first part of the bike course. Since her parents live in Naramata I was quite familiar with that part of the bike, but it was the initial climb out of Penticton to the road that is very steep. I questioned our relationship at this point.
The day before I rode part of the Ironman course to refresh my memory, about 40km at a good pace for me and relaxed the rest of the day. We went to the farmer’s market, had iced coffees and then a wonderful supper. I slept very well.

I woke up Sunday morning with my stomach in a knot. I made a bagel with cream cheese and a scrambled egg, but it took everything to choke down that egg and the bagel remained untouched. I kept thinking of the panic I had in the GWN swim and couldn’t shake it. I tried relaxing but I thought that I was just going to vomit.

We get to the race site in plenty of time and set up transition. There were not assigned places but I found a spot in the fourth row among several other women. I was getting ready when they made the announcement that wetsuits were not being allowed for this event as the water was too warm. After a bit of panic, I did feel some relief because part of the problem in GWN was that I found my wetsuit to be quite constricting. I was confident that I would feel better during the swim because of this announcement. The sprinters took off at 645 and the Oly men were supposed to start at 7 and the women at 705. Things changed and we ended up starting about 10 minutes early. I was a bit disappointed in this because I wanted to see Sara come out of the water in her race.

Swim – 1500m goal :35

I started off in a good place in the pack and had a bit of an issue as I submerged myself in the water. Sara told me that the water felt like the pool and was comfortable so I kept that in mind during my swim. I had a bit of a problem initially maintaining course, but I corrected myself quickly and stayed with a few women who I managed to swim with for most of the race. It was a two loop course but we swam around the buoy at the halfway point rather than having to come out of the water and go back in. I really liked this. I maintained a long stroke with fork fingers and bilateral breathing.

Actual time - 37:48

Bike – 40km goal 1:30

After a slow transition (2:11) I was on my way.I knew that it was a challenging bike, having been out to Naramata and back many many times over the past 7 years. It started out with a nice out and back along Lakeshore drive, exactly like IMC will be, so I talked to Freda and asked her to get familiar. About 2km is when the course gets challenging. Severe uphill ahead! And it seemingly never ends! I remembered that I am light and quick and good on hills and I used the combination of gearing and standing and sitting to get up it as fast as I could. I was sacrificing my breathing, but was it good to go past some people even though it sounded like I had just put out a cigarette moments before because I could hardly breathe. I called this hill “mini Richters” because it was in three parts but about a million times steeper. The first 5km or so were actually the hardest of the course because there wasn’t a downhill to use to get a lot of speed. Once this was done, I caught my breath and got into a good rhythm and pedaled hard. I knew I was in the bottom third coming out of the water, so I worked hard and passed people when I could. One lady was working on passing me on a hill and I was commenting that I was personally offended that she was passing me. We had a laugh about it and she did end up getting ahead. I stayed with her but she didn’t like this young pup too much so she took off in a blast of speed. I would glance behind me every so often to see where others were, but I was doing well and no one seemed to be gaining a lot of ground. At about 12km into the course the leaders were coming back the other way so I would let out a whoop for them. I attacked the hills, knowing that these ones were reasonably short and then power the flats and downhills. At about 17km I was approaching where I knew Sara’s mom would be. I let out a yell and a wave and passed someone because I wanted to be showy. From here to the turnaround was challenging. Big climbs followed by downhill and repeat for three times until the turnaround. It was here that I caught up to the lady who had offended me earlier. We just abut touched wheels as I was approaching fast and she was wide but then swung in. No harm done. I said hello then got ahead and then vowed to stay that way. Heading back towards town I was going up the hill to Sara’s moms again, when I hear behind me “so are you 25 years old or is that your race number”. This man was flirting with me on course! We were chatting and laughing going up the hill. I said I was a much older than 25 married mother of three young kids. He applauded my fitness and determination as he was passing me up the hill. I said to him “if you want to stay ahead you better try and do it now” and he took off. I did my best to keep up but I couldn’t so I continued to ride hard and have fun. I eventually did catch him on the last uphill and he said he had been waiting for me. We rode “together” for a bit until he got a bit ahead. He glanced back and when he turned forward I poured it on saying “looking for someone” as I blasted by him. I kept the lead until right before transition where we chatted and laughed and he told me he would be “honoured to have a wife as fit as me”. I wished him well and wondered if I just got engaged.

Actual – 1:25:59

Run -10km goal 1:00

Love the dead legs feeling! Not. I grabbed a gel to carry, switched shoes and off I went (1:38). We had to go up that blasted hill again. My legs were tired, but a good tired, from the bike, although my right calf was rock hard. I stopped to stretch going up the hill and that seemed to help. I wanted to use my usual strategy of running except at the aid station for this race, but this hill was making it difficult. I did a shuffle run up which was probably marginally faster than walking but it felt good for the ego. I drank water at the stations (there was no other offerings) and took my gel at the first one. That seemed to help perk me up a bit but I couldn’t get a good rhythm. There were a few people that passed me up the hill and I was trying to catch them but having difficulty. Instead I turned myself to the scenery. The lake to my left and the orchards around me. I thought of how lucky I am to be able to do this and to have a family that is supportive. My legs got faster and my heart felt light. I was now ahead of most of the people who had passed me. The turn around was in the distance. My bike buddy was on his way back “hey 25” he said and we high fived. I laughed and ran faster. I hit the turn around and started to feel stronger so pushed it more out of my comfort zone. I wanted to catch him but he was flying so I did my best to stay ahead of the lady that offended me on the bike course. I encouraged everyone who was still running out and kept a smile on my face. Soon I was at the top of the hill and I could see three women in front of me. I used the downhills to gain speed and I stayed relaxed. I passed the first one about 200m from the finish. She was running with her toddler and daughter and that made me smile. I passed the second one 50m later and ran hard to the finish line. Turns out that lady was in my age group and ran hard to keep up with me. I only finished 9 seconds ahead.

Actual – 1:00:55

Finish time 3:08:30 (PB)

I am very proud of many things. I worked hard even though I didn’t taper, biked 40km the day before and had the intention of biking the last third of IMC that afternoon(thundershowers prevented me). I finished in the top half of all females and in my age group. This is a first for me. I am not used to having this kind of success in triathlon. I am disappointed that I am not swimming as fast as I would like, but so proud of my biking that it doesn’t really bother me that much.

Thank you for reading.

Pictures to follow later.

[IronGoddess]

I have been waiting for this race report. Awesome. Sounds like the day went exactly to plan. You should be so proud of yourself this journey you are on can not be easy. Well done!

[Jwolf]

Awesome, Coll! I am so happy for you. You are on fire this year.

[deerdree]

i'm so impressed!!!

[Spirit Unleashed]

Thanks for the report and good job on the pb.

Um....you ate cream cheese?

[FishPants]

I am very happy we are still friends after that course

You know already that I think you are awesome, but I will declare it here: Awesome job!

[HCcD]

Awesome race, IronColl ...

[Tori]

Congrats Colleen! You looked great in the FB pics!

[purdy65]

Nicely done Colleen!

[La]

Way to go, 25!! I love race banter with other competitors.

Your times are about the same as what I'm hoping to achieve in my race on Sunday (but my bike/run won't be as hilly as yours).

[Ken B]

Wow! Nice event! Great times and a fantastic report. Congratulations!!

[scrumhalfgirl]

bravo bravo bravo!

[Habs4ever]

You rock! What a great day.

[Size5]

Sounds like a good prep race! Was it stinking hot??

[Hammie]

Great job! Congrats!

[RA.]

Thanks for writing such a nice report! You rock! (But I think you already know that I think you rock.)

[Miss*Smiles]

This is a perfect example of why you are called Inspirational.

You are awesome! Congratulations on a great job, and on a PB!!!!!

[Dr. S]

What a smashing PB! Congrats Colleen!

[jes]

You're having such a great year! All your hard work is really paying off!

Can't wait to read your IM report!

[IronColl]

Sounds like a good prep race! Was it stinking hot??

Not at all. A very comfortable temperature.

Thanks everyone!

[Robinandamelia]

You did terrific, congratulations! Well done and great PB!

[gnu]

Amazing!!

[runJrun]

Just fantastic!! Sounds like you are killing it on the bike! Each time I read one of your reports I get the urge to try it out. I cannot wait to hear how IMC goes, you are rocking this!

[Sir Crashalot]

Congrats on the PB!
Where are the pics?

[carm]

Congrats. That's a HUGE confidence booster to put into your tickle trunk for the big day at IMC. Awesome work.