Breezy Point Race Report

Breezy Point Sprint Triathlon
June 1, 2008

1K Swim / 12.4 mi Bike / 3.1 mi Run

Summary
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Swim - 40:17.90
T1 - 5:54.45
Bike - 41:23.95
T2 - 3:11.10
Run - 34:41.45

Total Time: 2:05:09
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- Karen's Pictures
- Official Race Pictures

The day began at a nice leisurely hour of 4:15 am. I'd been up till about 11:00 pm the night before getting all my stuff ready, my numbers on my bike and jersey and helmet, packing my transition bag, getting my bike ready, and lots of other things. I can't eat much before all that exercise, so breakfast was a couple of PowerBar gels, a cup of coffee, and a bottle of mocha Frappuccino from the hotel convenience store.

Our Team in Training group rolled out of the hotel parking lot about 5:30 am, and we were on the Naval base by 6:00. I got my bike checked out, my race number marked on me, and my transition area set up, then went to pick up my timing chip. By that point is was about 6:30, and I was pretty much set up and ready. I warmed up with a short little run, then came and watched them set up the turn buoys for the swim course. One kilometer of open bay water looked a lot bigger than I thought it would. I could hardly see the farthest buoy. Yet at that point I was still surprisingly calm. About 7:30 they opened the swim course for warm-up swimming, so I wiggled into my wet suit and spent some time in the water. I'd forgotten just how salty salt water actually is.

A little before 8:00 they shoo'ed us out of the water and out of the transition area, and began staging the start waves. I was in wave 5 of 10 to start. There were over 600 people milling about, so I could barely see when the first wave started. As my time got closer I was moving up toward the seawall, till finally they moved our wave of 56 guys to the top of the boat ramp. That's when the reality set in and the nerves kicked in. But then it was our time, and we went down the ramp and into the water, and swam to the start area. Lots of good luck was wished all around, and then the air horn sounded and we were off!


The swim to the first turn buoy (250m) was the hardest. The current kept pulling me out of line, and I was nervous enough at that point that it didn't occur to me to swim toward the left of the buoy. Instead I kept getting pulled right, and then correcting, so I zigzagged that leg. Sighting was also a lot harder than I'd imagined. I ended up breast-stroking a lot more than I'd planned just so I could see where I was going, and occasionally having to stop completely to resight. I felt like wasn't making any progress whatsoever, but I wasn't going to look at my watch till I reached the first turn. Finally I did, and I was just over nine minutes. A horrible time, but about in line with my pool time, and on track to make the 45 minute cutoff, so I relaxed a little.

A nice left turn, and I was swimming straight against the current, so the second leg was slow, but I was finally starting to get a rhythm, which felt good. I was grateful to reach the second buoy, which was the halfway point. I took a moment to look back toward shore, and was totally unable to locate the boat ramp where we'd started. That was a little scary, but at that point I was already out there, so there was nothing for it but to finish the swim.

Third leg went better still, and finally I reached the last turn buoy. There was a life guard there on a long board calling out "Turn left! Into the sun!" And we did. The turn toward the swim finish was right into the morning sun. Glad I had mirrored swim goggles (thanks for the suggestion Ned!). Now the current was with me, and I could see the end of the swim, so I started to really push. For the first time in the swim I actually started to pass people (after being passed by wave after wave myself). Then I reached out and my hand touched concrete, and I stood up. One kilometer of water was behind me. Six months of swim lessons, practice, and lots and lots of encouragement, and I had done something I hadn't thought I could do. It probably sounds silly to anyone who's a decent swimmer, but the thought of being that far out in dark water that's 50 or more feet deep (it's a navy ship staging area and so dredged out quite deep) was really scary, given that six months ago I could barely swim 10 meters. But it was done! 40 minutes and 18 seconds -- the third worst swim time of the race (but at least not THE worst), but it was done, and within the allowed cutoff time.

So, up the boat ramp and into the transition area. I wriggled my way out of my wet suit, and got ready for the bike portion. It was a long transition (just under six minutes), but I was tired from the swim, so I didn't rush it too much. Then out on the bike for a much-looked-forward-to ride. By that point I was tired of being passed by everyone, so this was my chance to make up a little ground. I tucked into a decent aero position and took off. No one passed me on the bike course (of course, all the really serious athletes were already ahead of me, having passed me in the water, but still...). It felt good to keep passing people on the course. What was hardest was that I'm used to riding in hills, where you have to work harder going up, and easier going down. Norfolk is, naturally, very, very FLAT. So except for some difference due to the wind, it was a constant-effort ride. That was harder to do than I'd expected. My speed wasn't great, but I averaged 18 mph over the course, going as high as 26 and as low as 12 depending on the wind. I finished 12.4 miles in 41 minutes and 24 seconds.

I came sailing into the transition area and hopped off my bike, started to run it to the rack, and nearly fell over. I hadn't backed off the intensity soon enough, and my legs were not at all pleased at the notion of going from pedaling to running. So I slowed down a little and walked my bike in. I finally got my legs to cooperate, and got my running shoes on. T2 was better than T1 at just a little over three minutes, and I was out on the run course. Last part!

The run itself for the most part was not terribly noteworthy except that it was completely devoid of shade. On the base, the entire race (except the swim of course) was all on tarmac and asphalt, so it was pretty hot, and there were no trees along the course to provide any meaningful shade. By two miles I was getting quite warm and thirsty, but didn't feel like I could actually manage to keep any fluid down at that point and still keep going, so I slogged on. I finally made the turn onto the seawall toward the finish, with a half mile to go. That's the longest damn half-mile I've ever seen. Looked more like five at that point, but fatigue was a bit of a factor. :) As I closed in on the finish, though, there was the cheering crowd, and that was a real motivator, and gave me the boost to put in a final kick across the finish line! A run of 3.1 miles completed in 34:42 (which is horrible run time for me, but it was hotter than I was used to, and I'd been a little busy prior to the run). Total time: 2 hours, 5 minutes, 9 seconds.

I came into the finish chute, and went to take off my timing chip (which was around my ankle on a neoprene and velcro ankle strap), but I couldn't get it off. At that point, I'd pretty much had it. The volunteer there had to take it off for me. I then made a bee-line for the refreshments table and got in some water, some Gatorade (or their equivalent) and a couple oranges.

Through it all, my wonderful family was there to support me, and take care of me after the race. The post-race party at the park featured some great BBQ and other foods, though I still couldn't stomach much at that point. By dinner time, though, I was ready to eat small herd animals.

It was a lot of work, and tiring, but it was fun, and I'm looking forward to my next race on June 22nd. Thanks again to everyone who was so supportive, and especially my family, who've put up with a lot of training and standing around in the heat at the race. It's really meant a lot. And especially to everyone who donated to LLS. Being able to raise money for such a good cause really made this a doubly meaningful race.