joereed
09-26-2008, 11:38 AM
Saturday, September 6, 2008: Aluminum Man Olympic Tri (1k swim, 50k bike, 10k run)
http://forum.bytri.com/picture.php?albumid=1&pictureid=1
Aluminum Man is put on in The Dalles, OR, with the swim a loop in the Columbia River (out, down current, back in), the bike a decent climb out of the Columbia River Gorge and back down, and a run along the Columbia on a paved trail.
The first lesson learned in this race was to always go to tri's with Antonio! It's nice to have a bike mechanic with you, and there's never a dull moment with the guy.
The organization of the race was very nice when it came to registration, packet pick-up, etc. I think the volunteers were told to fill up the cups at the aid station, but I'm not sure anyone told them to hand the cups out, as often times they just kind of watched you pass by :p
I had a rough start to the swim. I nearly hyperventilated in the first 300 meters. I attribute it to the fact that I didn’t get a good enough warm-up before the start of the race, so the shock of the cold water really got to me on the start. I had to sidestroke for a while until I caught my breath and warmed up. I finished out the final 700 meters at a decent pace, but there was a definite sense of frustration as I felt like I would be playing catch-up for the rest of the race. So I finished at a little over 20 minutes for the swim. That was much slower than I had hoped for. I was in 35th place out of the water. LESSON LEARNED: get a good warm-up...get used to the cold - that Columbia River isn't a hot tub!
My transition to the bike was fairly smooth, no issues. I took off and in the first minute realized my bike computer was a little off – so no MPH to go off of for this race. Oh well, it was a hilly enough course that I think it may have been better for me to just go off of feel - it may have depressed me to see my MPH going up some of those steep hills. The first nine miles or so were a steady but not hard uphill – I passed quite a few people in that first set, which kept me motivated. Miles 10 – 15 were some pretty steep climbs and I just prayed to hold on. I only got passed by one person, and that was after the uphill, so I was thankful to hold on during those steep ascents. Overall the course climbed about 1,000 feet (which was the hardest climb this newbie has ever done). My bike time was around 1:26 for 50k. I also was able to get out of my shoes while still clipped into the pedals before going into transition – another accomplishment for this newbie! :D
The run was on a very nice paved trail most of the way that followed the Columbia. The only real downside of the run was that it went by some sort of cherry-processing plant that produces a smell that makes one pretty nauseous – it really did smell like a sewage treatment plant. I did 25 minutes for my first 5k, getting passed by two guys. Fortunately I was able to negative split the second 5k, doing it in 23 minutes (10k time came to 48:10). I was pretty happy about feeling strong after the turnaround. I ended up passing one of the guys who passed me early in the run, and caught the other guy with about 200 yards to go. We paced off each other the last bit and finished together. It was a good feeling to catch those guys. LESSON LEARNED: (1) the run training is starting to show! Thanks Harold! (2) it’s nice to have someone you know at the race, especially on the out and back course – Antonio looked like he was running real strong for his 10k when we passed each other.
All in all, a good day as Antonio finished fourth overall and second in his age group, and I finished third in my age group (my first ever placing in a tri)
The rest of Saturday was all about recovery, relaxing, and buying pirate hats at the dollar store to wear for the sprint tri the next day (a story for a different day)
I highly recommend the Aluminum Man Triathlon. It's a fun race and the hilly bike was a good experience.
http://forum.bytri.com/picture.php?albumid=1&pictureid=1
Aluminum Man is put on in The Dalles, OR, with the swim a loop in the Columbia River (out, down current, back in), the bike a decent climb out of the Columbia River Gorge and back down, and a run along the Columbia on a paved trail.
The first lesson learned in this race was to always go to tri's with Antonio! It's nice to have a bike mechanic with you, and there's never a dull moment with the guy.
The organization of the race was very nice when it came to registration, packet pick-up, etc. I think the volunteers were told to fill up the cups at the aid station, but I'm not sure anyone told them to hand the cups out, as often times they just kind of watched you pass by :p
I had a rough start to the swim. I nearly hyperventilated in the first 300 meters. I attribute it to the fact that I didn’t get a good enough warm-up before the start of the race, so the shock of the cold water really got to me on the start. I had to sidestroke for a while until I caught my breath and warmed up. I finished out the final 700 meters at a decent pace, but there was a definite sense of frustration as I felt like I would be playing catch-up for the rest of the race. So I finished at a little over 20 minutes for the swim. That was much slower than I had hoped for. I was in 35th place out of the water. LESSON LEARNED: get a good warm-up...get used to the cold - that Columbia River isn't a hot tub!
My transition to the bike was fairly smooth, no issues. I took off and in the first minute realized my bike computer was a little off – so no MPH to go off of for this race. Oh well, it was a hilly enough course that I think it may have been better for me to just go off of feel - it may have depressed me to see my MPH going up some of those steep hills. The first nine miles or so were a steady but not hard uphill – I passed quite a few people in that first set, which kept me motivated. Miles 10 – 15 were some pretty steep climbs and I just prayed to hold on. I only got passed by one person, and that was after the uphill, so I was thankful to hold on during those steep ascents. Overall the course climbed about 1,000 feet (which was the hardest climb this newbie has ever done). My bike time was around 1:26 for 50k. I also was able to get out of my shoes while still clipped into the pedals before going into transition – another accomplishment for this newbie! :D
The run was on a very nice paved trail most of the way that followed the Columbia. The only real downside of the run was that it went by some sort of cherry-processing plant that produces a smell that makes one pretty nauseous – it really did smell like a sewage treatment plant. I did 25 minutes for my first 5k, getting passed by two guys. Fortunately I was able to negative split the second 5k, doing it in 23 minutes (10k time came to 48:10). I was pretty happy about feeling strong after the turnaround. I ended up passing one of the guys who passed me early in the run, and caught the other guy with about 200 yards to go. We paced off each other the last bit and finished together. It was a good feeling to catch those guys. LESSON LEARNED: (1) the run training is starting to show! Thanks Harold! (2) it’s nice to have someone you know at the race, especially on the out and back course – Antonio looked like he was running real strong for his 10k when we passed each other.
All in all, a good day as Antonio finished fourth overall and second in his age group, and I finished third in my age group (my first ever placing in a tri)
The rest of Saturday was all about recovery, relaxing, and buying pirate hats at the dollar store to wear for the sprint tri the next day (a story for a different day)
I highly recommend the Aluminum Man Triathlon. It's a fun race and the hilly bike was a good experience.