Hickory Grove Triathlon

When I first started doing triathlons, I thought they were a pretty big deal. I knew how hard running was, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how people could run after they'd gone for a swim and a bike ride. Having done a marathon in 2002, I figured I could handle a sprint-distance triathlon the following year. I was hooked after that first race and did four more sprint distance triathlons the following year. I always seemed to be cooked after the 5K run at the end of the event. The jump to Olympic-distance seemed like too big of a leap for me; I mean, I would have to run a 10K at the end - no way! The 2005 season was packed with more sprint triathlons.

It wasn't until the fall of 2005 when I apparently lost my mind and signed myself up for an Ironman that I realized I'd better get ready to tackle the mighty Oly, and his friends Half IM and IM. I did one more sprint early in the 2006 season before I became hooked on long-course triathlon. I've totally loved the training and racing (or more appropriately in my world, participating in) long-course. I thought it really suited my strengths - I may not be fast, but I can go forever.

After all the long stuff I decided that I wanted to try out another sprint, just to see what I could do. Nearly all of my racing this season has produced PRs, so I was cautiously optimistic about going fast again.

The Hickory Grove Triathlon (formerly the Cy-Man) is held in Colo, Iowa, about 15-20 minutes from Ames, so it seemed like a perfect time and place for me to go. Plus, some of the Team Vardo triathlon faction would be competing.

The plan was to hammer the swim (at least to my weak abilities - I haven't been swimming very much this summer), really push the bike (I've been doing LOTS of cycling this summer), and then just suck it up and embrace the pain of the run. I also had this very lofty little goal of a podium finish (top three in my age group), but I knew that was a stretch, at best.

The weather was awesome. It was a bit chilly when we pulled into the lot at about 6:30am. I got my transition area all set up then went for a quick recon of the first part of the run course - pretty flat and on grass and trail. I jumped on my bike for a taste of the three-loop bike course (totaling 15.5 miles) - it was sweet and fast. I made it back into transition in time to make the final wetsuit decision - I opted for the extra warmth (while standing on the beach for 30+ minutes before my wave went off) and buoyancy, put on the wetsuit, and headed to the beach for a little swim warm-up.

My wave went off at 8:18am, and it was a great start - not a lot of contact and I found open water very quickly. Since it was only 500 yards, I cooked along pretty well and made it out of the water in the right place despite having the morning sun directly in my eyes. Swim time was 8:27 - a PR by 3 minutes and fourth fastest in my AG. After a run up the hill to T1, I floundered around trying to get out of my wetsuit and onto the bike. T1 was 1:52 - not bad for me all things considered.

I got onto the bike without any problems. I'm so used to really having to pace myself for 50+ mile rides, so it was good to just get out there and blast it. I passed a bunch of people, but didn't see too many in my age group right off the bat. That meant I either had a really good or a really bad swim. Things started to get pretty crowded by the end of the second lap with nearly 300 people spread out over the same 5-mile loop. I did a little inadvertent drafting, but only because I couldn't get to any daylight. I pushed the pace the whole way and landed back at T2 in 45:50 for a 20.3 mph pace - another PR and third fastest in my AG! Following a 1:23 T2, I headed out on the run.

It was painful as usual, but I concentrated on staying relaxed and a quick cadence. I wasn't passed by anyone in my age group. I spotted one female who left T2 right ahead of me, but I couldn't make out her age on the back of her leg. I slowly reeled her in by the end of mile 1 and realized she was in my age group. She was running with someone else, and I opted not to pass her (thus giving away that I was in her age group and putting a huge target on my back) and just hung right with them for another mile. At mile 2 she started to pull away, and I couldn't hang with her. My goal was to get to the finish line as soon as possible and not get passed by any other 30-34 year old female! I kept up the pace to finish the run in 26:17 - another PR and sixth in my AG.

Immediately following the finish I searched out that girl that finished ahead of me to congratulate her on a great race. It turns out that she knew I was just behind her on the course, and she turned it on to drop me! We had a good laugh and introduced ourselves.

After some nutrition, I checked out the results. It looked like I was 5th out of 29 in my AG. The first one in my AG finished second overall, so that took her out of the top three in my AG. Rats! It looked like I was one spot out off the podium. So close... If only I'd beaten that one girl!

We hung around for the awards, and I was surprised to hear them call my name for third in my AG! I picked up the hardware - a pint glass - and I went home a little puzzled by how I could finish 5th in the AG, but end up with an award.

It wasn't until I really examined the results that I realized what had happened. The second place girl in my AG had posted a bike time of 37:something, which translates to an average speed of 27.5 mph. Um, I don't think so. It looks like she only did 2 laps of the bike course instead of 3.

It was a great day for a triathlon! Lots of PRs all around and my first hardware at a tri!