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08-14-06, 10:05 PM
Here's the direct link to the article about the race in the local paper:
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/app...362/1004/SPORTS
It was a beautiful place for a race, and the weather could not have been better. I drove up to the race with Robin Lee, who had recently moved here from Berkeley and the Berkeley Tri Club. We got to the race site Saturday about 5:30 PM, checked in, racked the bikes in the transition area, and checked them over (pumped up tires, etc.). Once we showed picture ID at check-in Saturday night, we had no problems getting across the border Sunday morning by bus. As it turned out, each leg of the race would have a different surprise in store.
The swim was from Peace Arch Park at the U.S. / Canada border across the bay to to the Semiahmoo Marina; 70+ yards yards longer than a mile. The water at the start was no more than knee deep on me, so we had to wade out quite a distance to even attempt swimming, and then some more until it was deep enough that I wasn't dragging my arms along the bottom.
Once we got to swimming, it was quite nice - the water was cool but not uncomfortable. Rumors of US Immigration and Customs agents floating in the water and checking waterlogged passports enroute were entirely unfounded :-)
Since I've noticed a tendency to swim a bit to the left (I generally breathe on the left in a race), I started on the right side of the field. The sun wasn't in our eyes and it was a long straight-line swim with a big tower at the other end, so sighting wasn't much of an issue. I seemed to be going a bit to the right, which I normally don't do, so there may have been a slight current but it wasn't a big deal. There were no intermediate markers to indicate progress so I was a bit conservative in my level of effort. I was tired near the end of the swim and probably faded just a little, with a brief but intense wave of fatigue as I got out of the water. At least I didn't swallow any of the salt water.
The 35K bike leg was a 2.5K flat section, a 0.5K hill (not too steep), 2 loops of a fairly flat 14K course, then back down the hill and 2.5K flat section. The few downhills were shorter and steeper, while the uphills were longer and more stretched out. As soon as I got on the bike at the mount point just outside T1, I had a sense that something wasn't right with the bike, but since I had ridden and checked it out yesterday I initially attributed it to a harsher ride from the Zipp 404 on the front. To make a long story short, the symptoms were so pronounced I got off the bike at 4K to discover my front tire had gone flat. A frantic tube change that cost me quite a few minutes and I finished the rest of the bike leg without further incident; my split was about 1:13.
The 10K run course had a big climb at the 3.5K mark, was rolling for another 3.5K, then downhill to flat for the last 3K. First 2K were at 6:20/K, then I felt quite a bit better for the rest of the race. A higher cadence and a bit of a more forward lean got me up the climb without too much struggle. I finished the run at 54 minutes, for an average 5:24 / K pace, the fastest 10K I've done in quite a while. The finish line clock read 2:57 and a few seconds as I crossed. I had projected a 2:45 goal but a more conservative swim effort and the bike mishap were the major sources of the difference.
Robin, on the other hand, did quite a bit better - 3rd in the women's 25-29 age group and I think got a nice medal for her fine effort.
Chris
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/app...362/1004/SPORTS
It was a beautiful place for a race, and the weather could not have been better. I drove up to the race with Robin Lee, who had recently moved here from Berkeley and the Berkeley Tri Club. We got to the race site Saturday about 5:30 PM, checked in, racked the bikes in the transition area, and checked them over (pumped up tires, etc.). Once we showed picture ID at check-in Saturday night, we had no problems getting across the border Sunday morning by bus. As it turned out, each leg of the race would have a different surprise in store.
The swim was from Peace Arch Park at the U.S. / Canada border across the bay to to the Semiahmoo Marina; 70+ yards yards longer than a mile. The water at the start was no more than knee deep on me, so we had to wade out quite a distance to even attempt swimming, and then some more until it was deep enough that I wasn't dragging my arms along the bottom.
Once we got to swimming, it was quite nice - the water was cool but not uncomfortable. Rumors of US Immigration and Customs agents floating in the water and checking waterlogged passports enroute were entirely unfounded :-)
Since I've noticed a tendency to swim a bit to the left (I generally breathe on the left in a race), I started on the right side of the field. The sun wasn't in our eyes and it was a long straight-line swim with a big tower at the other end, so sighting wasn't much of an issue. I seemed to be going a bit to the right, which I normally don't do, so there may have been a slight current but it wasn't a big deal. There were no intermediate markers to indicate progress so I was a bit conservative in my level of effort. I was tired near the end of the swim and probably faded just a little, with a brief but intense wave of fatigue as I got out of the water. At least I didn't swallow any of the salt water.
The 35K bike leg was a 2.5K flat section, a 0.5K hill (not too steep), 2 loops of a fairly flat 14K course, then back down the hill and 2.5K flat section. The few downhills were shorter and steeper, while the uphills were longer and more stretched out. As soon as I got on the bike at the mount point just outside T1, I had a sense that something wasn't right with the bike, but since I had ridden and checked it out yesterday I initially attributed it to a harsher ride from the Zipp 404 on the front. To make a long story short, the symptoms were so pronounced I got off the bike at 4K to discover my front tire had gone flat. A frantic tube change that cost me quite a few minutes and I finished the rest of the bike leg without further incident; my split was about 1:13.
The 10K run course had a big climb at the 3.5K mark, was rolling for another 3.5K, then downhill to flat for the last 3K. First 2K were at 6:20/K, then I felt quite a bit better for the rest of the race. A higher cadence and a bit of a more forward lean got me up the climb without too much struggle. I finished the run at 54 minutes, for an average 5:24 / K pace, the fastest 10K I've done in quite a while. The finish line clock read 2:57 and a few seconds as I crossed. I had projected a 2:45 goal but a more conservative swim effort and the bike mishap were the major sources of the difference.
Robin, on the other hand, did quite a bit better - 3rd in the women's 25-29 age group and I think got a nice medal for her fine effort.
Chris