For once I was actually calm before a race. Don't ask me why. The promise of good weather? The proximity of the race? Low expectations? Something to break up the tedium of my summer job?? In any event I was glad.
I prepared all my stuff the night before so all I had to do when the alarm sounded at 4 a.m. Sunday was roll out of bed, dress, slap some PB&J on a piece of white bread, grab a Diet Coke and head out into the very dark morning. (Really dark! Inside-the-basketball dark!) It really was an interesting sensation to drive in that kind of darkness. However, there was--literally--a bright spot: the new moon and the morning star in the eastern sky, right over my destination. (No, I did not expect three wise men with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. A few dozen competent race organizers I'll take.)
It didn't take me long on my chosen route of 155 to reach FM 279 and head along the eastern edge of Lake o'the Pines. I'd already dodged an opposum on the road in, and now I spotted a deer waiting to cross the road. Luckily the nature of the road kept my speed low enough I was able to avoid any accidents. Everything sure looked different in the dark. Little worms-and-six-pack shacks acquired a down-to-earth allure missing in daylight. By the time I turned west on 726, the eastern skybehind glowed purple-pink with the promise of a rising sun.
I found the entrance to the park quite easily. But when I made it to the entrance, I found the gates all locked and not another car in sight. Alright, it was 5:36 and I didn't expect anyone official before 6, but.... I did see one vehicle off in the direction of the transition area. An RV was parked near the entrance. But there was no one near enough to ask questions. After mulling it over for five minutes, two vehicles passed me by and headed off west. Since they looked like they knew where to go, I quickly hopped back in the car and followed. After a roundabout way we found ourselves very near the transition area and parked near the bathrooms. Disembarking from our respective vehicles, we still looked a bit lost. But I could see the bike racks and two people standing near them, so I took that as the place to go. I hoisted my pack and rolled my bike down the hill. I hung the bike on the rack nearest the bike exit, took out my camp chair, and sat.
Just sat. What else to do? Eventually a fellow with some air of authority approached me to say transition wasn't open yet, but rather than make me remove my bike he just said, in a friendly fashion, "Just go away." And he shooed me forth, but not before I asked him about packet pickup. He had no idea. Maybe near the pavilion.
To condense the next hour very simply: I spent a great deal of time either jogging or walking the distance from transition to the pavilion and back as one volunteer would direct me one way and another would send me back. Eventually they did set up packet pick up, but not at transition and not at the pavilion; rather, halfway in between, near the bathroom. I didn't breath easily until I got my race number. (By now fellow ETT folks had shown up so I had company.) I headed back down for body marking, then back up to wait for timing chips. Those took a while to set up but I was first in line to get mine. As I waited they unloaded a line of much-needed portajohns (the Ladeis' had no paper), and as soon as I got my chip I gave my greetings to the Green Goddess.
Set up transition area. Said hi to some folks. Needed to warm up. Howzabout hauling that swag bag back to the car? That would be a good jog. And so I did. By now lots of people on disc wheels were whizzing by to test out the bike course so it was duck-and-dodge. Not much tension on my end as I watched the late comers scramble for an open spot on already crowded bike racks. Eventually I grabbed my cap and goggles and headed to the beach and got in the water. Near shore the water clarity was good as was the temp. I did some easy strokes--too easy, really, in light of what lay in store.
I sat and waited on a concrete embankment with Ross Pritchard, who was sitting this race out and had an assignment as "official" club photographer. (The photos are his.) Steve and Alan were there for a while, and Kami. It was great fun watching the "clear" water trickle down my arms and legs in brown rivulets. Hmmmm....
About ten minutes for the first wave to go Kami and I headed to the water's edge. Again, unnaturally calm. Go figure. We "blue caps" of the second wave were consigned to wait as all individual males in their spiffing yellow latex caps prepared for the start. Nothing fancy. No gun. No whistle. Just a countdown from 1o on the PA system and "Go!" And they were off.
Kami and I waded into the water to wait for our two minute start. I submerged up to the neck to stay warm. (It wasn't that chilly for July, but the water was more comfortable.) Same laid back countdown, and then we were off. Things were thick. I stuck fairly close to the buoy line and so was fighting feet, legs, arms all the way. I never stopped, though. The OWS at Tyler State Park paid off in my ability to navigate without pulling up. Couldn't see much far ahead anyway. I figured as long as I was in the pack I was okay.
I made the first turn, and normally this is where things usually thin out, but not this year. We began to catch the slower men from the first wave so I had an entirely new set of arms, legs, etc., to battle. (Strangely, the men were easier. I could often split two and find a way through. The women--they ain't moving for anyone!) Made the second turn. This is where things have gone wrong in the past because I always pulled too far left and wasted time. This time I managed to stay straight and followed the buoys straight in.
I wish I had swum a few more strokes before standing up. For those tall guys, it may have been the right thing, but when I stood the water was still thigh deep. Nothing for it but to strip off the cap and goggles and slosh forward in a parody of a run. Had to run up sand and a bit more before crossing the timing mat.
At the bike rack I did things a bit differently. Usually I put my helmet on first but this time I worked from the ground up: shoes, then race belt, then helmet and sunglasses, before clopping the few yards to the mount line. Clipped in and headed out. I was so wet!! Water poured from under the helmet and other places. Luckily I wasn't chilled. First hill up to the dam--not bad. Did the last bit out of the saddle but the legs were fresh. On top of the dam I again departed from heretofore normal procedure and did not immediately gear up to the big chain ring but kept it small and spun for a couple of miles, averaging between 17.5 and 18.5 mph.
Turning off the dam, the real challenge began. These weren't big hills, just long ones. I'm guessing the maximum gradient was around 2-3%, but they went on for half a mile. I shifted smoothly from large to small gears, kept the cadence reasonably high (80s) even if the speed was 13-14 mph. Had some good recovery on the downhills. (Nothing like going aero and bombing down a hill at 28 mph.) I drank some Infinit every ten minutes or so. It was good (and necessary) but it clemmed up my mouth, making me wish for a nice swig of water to clear the decks.
Took forever to get to the turnaround, but on the way back seemed like more downhill than up. One point I was hammering downhill at 30 mph, and for a brief moment, I could almost--almost--imagine I was Fabian Cancellara. (Hah! He goes faster than that uphill!) Played leapfrog with one rider for a while until she (?) finally dropped back for good. Turned back on the dam, but only briefly as we were directed down the east side. It was a nice, long downhill/flat road, but it was merely the calm before the storm--and I knew it. IT was approaching. The Monster. The Golem. The...Dam Hill.
There. It loomed on the horizon like a puny East Texas alp. I could see ant-like figures climbing. The internal debate began. Ride it? Walk it? Ride it? Walk it? (Scenes of LBJ daisy flower commercial: BOOM!! "Johnson. You know he's right.") Approaching the foot, I put my fate in the hands of God and geared down and headed up. I remained in my next-to-smallest gear for most of the climb, and then down to the smallest for the rest. I used the "fog technique": pretend that there is a fog up ahead and you can't see the summit, so look nowhere but in front of the tire and churn it out. And it worked. I made it to the top, turning past a trooper directing traffic and headed back over the dam. I recovered very well, spinning along in the small ring. By the time I got to the final turn, I spotted Ross with his camera. I made some half-baked gesture before taking the turn. Shoulda been paying attention. The turn was about 130 degrees and I went almost too wide. I kept the speed reasonable on the way down and into T2.
I dismounted fine at the line and got my bike racked with no problem. Getting the helmet off proved a bit difficult. If I try to pull it up and off like a regular helmet it pulls my ears off, but forward and off, I lose my sunglasses. Oh, well. I sat down on my camp chair and put on my socks and shoes and ran off.
Felt fin heading up the slight rise to the park entrance, but after about 400 yards I felt a deep cramp in my lower-left abdomen--almost the groin. This usually happens to some degree off the bike and it will disappear after a while, but this got really intense and lasted for almost two miles. I stopped once to bend over but that didn't help. Adding to the "fun" of the effort, my right ear had water in it and I couldn't get rid of it. Woosh, woosh, woosh! I had an oceanic soundtrack accompanying my run.
My hope of following a good swim and a good ride with a good run faded quickly. I just kept moving and forgot about trying to pick up the pace. I saw the 1 mile marker. I hoped the pain would subside soon but it didn't. Where, oh where, was the turnaround? I couldn't see it. After an eternity I found it, but it still wasn't two miles in yet. Luckily the path was more downhill on the way back. Around the 2 mile point the abdominal cramp finally faded but then I felt a tightness in my left glute and both calves. (I'd hate to think what it might have been like if it had been hot!) Where, oh where, was the finish line??
At LAST I saw the inflatable arch and people standing around. Incapable of anything resembling a "kick" I at least determined to present good form in the last 200 yards. (It sure fooled Kami! Later she acted surprised when I said I'd experienced trouble on the run as she thought I'd looked "good" at the end.) I crossed the second mat and had to lean on the guy removing my timing chip. Duke took photos. (Oy! I hate to think what I looked like.) I sought out the huddle of finishers from the club--all looking better than me, or so it seemed.
The post-race bonk had already begun. I heard that the baked potatoes were ready so I got in line, fixed one up, and found a seat in the pavillion. I'm not overly found of these potatoes but it was the only game in town. In any event I hoped it would perk me up. When I'd eaten as much as I could stand, I found the trash and again sought out some more finishers. Then the PA said preliminary results were posted on the U-Haul truck so I went over to see what I could see. Took me a bit to find my group. 5 ladies in my group and I was 4th. What an ambiguous result! Not dead last, which is good, but so close to third (by one minute) always feels demoralizing. I knew I'd done my best but couldn't help but think, "If only I'd pushed harder on the run...."
I looked around but didn't see anything resembling post-race festivities. I was sweaty, stinky (really stinky!), and thoroughly without words or anything resembling social grace. So I went to the transition area to pack. The race organizers had already dismantled much of the area. (Alarmingly, there was no one there to check race numbers against bikes, but in afterthought, I realized since they hadn't required race numbers on the bikes, that would have proven impossible. Still, there should have been security.) I packed up my stuff. Alan Harris stopped by to say something but I really and truly couldn't think what to say, so he wandered off. (Sorry, Alan!) As I headed toward my car, I ran into Steve and Alan, and still found myself completely without words. I didn't even say "Good race!" or "See you later!" I just trundled off to my car, loaded it up, and headed out.
I managed to make it home before noon. (This race was actually closer to home than either Athens or Rose City.) Jim wasn't home. I turned on Le Tour but before I got caught up in it, I hopped in the shower. Boy, did that feel good! I felt halfway normal. I stretched out on the couch and watched the day's stage. I hoped to drift off to sleep, but texting and commercials kept me away.
Later that evening I checked for race results and found them posted around 5-ish. Imagine my surprise when I found my group and saw only four names, and my own in third place! (Perspective, though: 2 of the 3 Female Masters winners were from my age group, so that put me in fifth--just 1 competitive point for the club, but better than none!) My next thought was: what about my hardware? I texted Kami. She soon replied that when asked, Steve said there hadn't been any! Since Steve is one for jokes, I thought he was joking. Turns out he wasn't. I don't know why, but Sportspectrum didn't have the awards with them. No one believed they would actually mail them as promised, but I got an e-mail later that night from someone relaying that message. (Next day I received an e-mail from Sportspectrum saying we could pick them up if possible. So yes, Virginia, there is hardware after all, but it's gonna take some effort to get it home! Luckily my folks are headed over there Thursday and will be able to pick mine up as well as others in our club.)
So that was Jefferson 2009. I hadn't done it since 2006 because it's usually so hot and because I hate that hill. But I think I'll do it again because it's just so convenient. And I'll try and be a more upbeat person at the end!
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