Today's Points:
1. Summary.
2. Tips for people wanting information about the race.
** E-mail or comment for questions about the race. More than happy to answer them! **
Pacific Crest - Olympic Triathlon
June 25, 2011 in Sunriver, Oregon
I signed up for this one the first day it was available, as we had already locked-on our housing for the weekend after the rest of the family was in Sunriver, OR, for the festivities last year and invited us for this year. So, this has been a year in the works, and I was quite excited about it. It was a family trip with a triathlon and an add-on 5k for Tera.
This olympic distance race starts at an alpine lake in the Cascades south of Bend, then you bike through the mountains back to Sunriver, and then run a nice course through the town. I liked it, and I want to go back for another weekend, but Tera thinks it's a bit too long of a drive and we need to find something closer for a family weekend.
When I write a race report, I like to give a summary, some points for people to who are reading to find out about the race, and then review my written goals versus what happened. For that comparison of goal to reality, I put the notes about reality right next to the goal so that there is no question about what I am talking about the next year when I'm thinking about it. So, this report is broke down into a summary, a review of the location/venue , and then the comparison of reality to the goal. You'll also see what a detailed race plan can look like.
The Quick Read:
1. The race went well. The swim was as expected. The bike was faster than expected. The run hurt really bad!
2. I met my overall goal of top 10% overall by finishing 42 of 504. Ninth in age group was good for about top 18% in the age group, but I'm now in the 40-44 which is certainly the most competitive (ie fastest) age group. My time would have gotten me age-group third in 35-39, but getting old suck s and it is what it is.
3. The bike section was really great and fast on the downhill. The road rattled my teeth, as expected. I won't do this course again, but I'd absolutely love to do the long course with really smooth roads most of the way.
4. I found a new threshold of race intensity. I averaged 164 bpm on the bike and 170ish bpm on the run. The bike killed my run. And I now have a saying...if you bike like there's no run, you won't have a run.
5. I actually freakin' walked in the run. OUCH! I nearly cried from pain afterwards. I think my wife's family thinks this 40-year old cried because I didn't do what I wanted to. I didn't actually cry, but I wanted to, and it was from this new threshold of intensity. Wow! Felt good in a really strange way. An hour later, I was good to go, so no major problems other than trying to get back into training this week, which has taken a couple days longer than expected.
6. Swag includes a nice little bag and not much else. There was a lot of post-race food, but none of it looked good to me except the strawberry shortcake, which I had plenty of.
Comments to those reading this for information about the race and venue:
1. The roads on the bike are mostly rough chip-seal. You'll rattle a bit, but it's not that bad. The downhill cruise is worth it, with a nice portion on really smooth asphalt that will make you wish every ride was like that. Reminder: it's 29 miles on the bike, not 24.
2. Be ready for heat. We got lucky this year with 70's, but it's normally hotter. Not much you can do about it if you live in the mountains and summer doesn't get there til a week before the race.
3. There are two transition areas. Pay to have your bike bussed up there if you've already done the race once. If this is the first time, drive your bike up there on Saturday afternoon. Leave only your bike on Saturday, and take the rest of everything with you on Sunday morning on the bus.
4. Take the bus on Sunday morning. Have everything in your trash bag that they'll give you. Minimize your gear to fit into the bag, which is fairly large, but obviously don't leave stuff out that you would normally have with you. For example, take your maintenance kit and pump but make sure they fit in the bag before you go.
5. You don't have to stay in Sunriver if you're the only one doing the race. You could consider a less expensive area in La Pine or any of the campsites or resorts in the area. However, if you have a big family get-together and many are doing various races, consider staying in Sunriver in a rental home.
6. The race is well organized and has a very friendly feel to it. Most folks in the Olympic distance seemed to be from Oregon, and I was treated really well being from out of state.
7. For fly-fishermen, take an opportunity to schedule a couple hours to fish the hatchery area on the Fall River because it is so peaceful and beautiful. The catching is tough, but the fishing is really cool for such a small little stream basically next to the road. There are also lots of other areas to fish.
8. Consider adding a couple of days to the trip if you're travelling to the area. The weekend went by really quickly for me, even with a 11-12 hour drive on both ends (Thursday and Monday). I wished we would have added at least a day maybe two to do some more family stuff. I could have fished more, and Mt Bachelor was calling me for some summer-time backcountry skiing (not sure how that would have worked yet, but I'm going to look into it for sure!).
Next up....detailed review of the race, and then a comparison of written goals to reality followed by venue notes.
No comments:
Post a Comment