Waiting in the "VIP" area for the race to start
Sarah Groff was kind enough to stop in the middle of her race and pose for a picture
The chase pack
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Watching the Elite race in the "VIP" area with TCSD President, Stephen Banister
(Stephen was also the winner of the M30-34 division in the AG race the following day!)
Yuliya Yelistratova of Ukraine
Now, onto MY race:
Swim
In my old age, I am finding the that getting an adequate warm up session is critical. Being in the last (12th) wave, I had plenty of time on my hands and was able to get in a solid swim warm up. My body felt loose and ready to race. The starting chute was very narrow and fit only about 6 or 7 people wide. I ended up being in the 2nd row of people at the start line, but was able to maneuver to the front when the horn went off and we sprinted into the water. As I reached the first buoy I had the feeling I was pulling away from the rest of the guys in my wave, but it was hard to tell because I was lined up to the left at the start and I also breath to my left. From then on I focused on swimming as straight as I could from buoy to buoy while avoiding getting kicked by any of the swimmers from previous waves that I was passing. I was racing with a new wetsuit and new type of goggles and was happy that I did not have any troubles with either of these items.
I finished the swim with the fastest overall swim split at 19:01 and had a little over a minute lead in my age group going into T1.
Bike
My transition went well and the bike leg started off normal, but that quickly changed about a mile or so into the ride when crash #1 occurred. I was about half way between the first and second U-turns in the course when I hit a bump or pothole or some unknown hazard in the road. I think what happened was that I was riding near a bunch of people trying to figure out if I was still in a no pass zone and not paying attention to the road or looking for hazards. I definitely was not expecting and did not see whatever I hit. The bump was big enough that it caused me to slip out of my aerobars, lose control of my front wheel, and go down. I'd estimate I was riding about 15 mph at the time so it wasn't the hardest fall, but when I stood up I definitely had some significant road rash on my elbows and hands. I took a little time to gain my composure and started to assess the health of my bike. I rotated my aerobars back to where they should be and put my chain back on. After about 30 seconds, I felt I had recovered from the mental trauma of flying over my handle bars, so I hopped back on my bike to continue with the course. I immediately noticed my saddle was rotated out of position so I had to stop again and bang it back in place before continuing.
Not more than 1/4 mile after my first crash, I approached the 2nd U-turn on the course and this is where my 2nd crash occurred. Because I was in the last wave of the Olympic distance race, the bike course was already very crowded and at this time several people were already on their 2nd loop. As I approached the U-turn I was among a pack of other riders. Unfortunately, one of these riders went down in front of me and I was basically boxed in so that I had no other option other than to run into him and fall down too. So, less than two miles into the bike I had already hit the pavement twice! As I got up from my second fall one of the volunteers pointed out to me that I was bleeding. I snapped back at her explaining that I had already crashed and was well aware of the blood. I quickly realized I was yelling at a poor volunteer that was trying to help me, so I immediately apologized and explained to her that I was having a bad day.
As I continued on after my 2nd crash I really began to contemplate if it was safe for me to continue. I was unsure if my bike was damaged and was concerned something might break causing me to have a third crash. Less than a minute later as I was beginning to accelerate down a hill I heard a loud pop and immediately noticed my front tire had gone completely flat. Fortunately, I was able to come to a safe stop and didn't hit the pavement for a 3rd time. At that point I realized my day was over and I decided to start my walk of shame back to the transition area. Except, instead of being hung over and carrying my heels, I was scraped up and carrying my bike shoes.
So, yeah...I crashed twice within the first 3 miles of the bike course. Of course I am unhappy with that result and I felt especially bummed when I saw people walking around after the race with their finisher medals and looks of accomplishment on their faces. But, as I was driving home after the race I began to laugh out loud. I mean, who crashes their bike twice in the first 3 miles?!?! That is an accomplishment in itself!
If I can take one positive out of this race, it was my swim split. M swim split wasn't a PR, but having the top overall split with some fast swimmers in the field is a good indication that my swim conditioning is in a decent place. Right now, I just need to look towards the future and put rest of this debacle behind me (what a well placed cliche!).
I think with the help of some Neosporin and Advil I should be good to go in a couple days. Based on preliminary forensic investigation, my bike appears to be in a similar condition to my body; scraped up but functional. Before this crash I was already low in the age group rankings for coolest looking bike, but now I'm probably fight to not be last. Oh well...
Next up is Wildflower Olympic on May 5th.
Notice the blood and scrapes!
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