Yesterday August 10th, I was honored to competed in age group nationals in Milwaukee. To qualify you need to be in the top 10% of your age group in triathlon races or if the triathlon is a national qualifier then you need to be in the top 30%. Last I was able to qualify, so that I could register as soon as it was open. I decided I would do the Olympic Distance (1500 swim, 24.8 bike, 10K), as it is my favorite triathlon distance. I left for Milwaukee Friday afternoon. The expo was held outside the Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World. I picked up my race packet and ran into my friend Jeff. We chatted shortly and then I picked up my chip. When I picked up my chip I was handed a clear plastic bag. I was told this was what I was to bring my stuff for the race to transition, no backpacks or anything else. This was for security reasons, post Boston Marathon and considering we have been under a terror threat since the beginning of August. No big deal, well, the bag could have had handles or drawstrings. If that was the worse thing that happened this weekend, which is was, the weekend was pretty darn good.
I walked around the venue a little bit and listened to the race designers discuss the course. Lot of good information was presented and they answered questions. It was there that I saw two ladies, both in their mid 70s. They were competing in the Olympic Distance on Saturday. AWESOME!!!!!!!!! I hope I am still that energetic in my 70s. As I was walking back to my car, I saw my friend, Deb on a run. We chatted shortly and then went our separate ways. After checking into my hotel I met up with Jeff and Elizabeth for dinner. We ate a quiet little Italian place in Milwaukee. My nerves must have been going because I ate about half my meal before asking for a box. Normally I would polish that down.
I slept well Friday night and got up at 4:30 to get ready to head over to the venue. I arrived a little before 5:30, parked, and went to transition. Of course I was early and there before they opened at 5:30. Once they opened I went in and put my stuff down and set up. I sat down for a while because I didn't want to go stand around outside of transition. I met a nice lady in my age group named Deirdre. We chatted about races and how were feeling, our families, etc. A little before 7:00 I made a trip the little girls' room and then took what I was not going to use for the race and put it in my clear bag. We could not leave the bags in transition and had to bring them to a gear check table. A lot of people were upset at this whole idea. Sorry folks, I would rather have a what I considered small inconvenience then have some thing major happen.
The first wave was set to go off at 7:30. Unfortunately they were not given clearance for about 15 minutes and didn't go off until 7:45, thus pushing back all the other waves. Okay no big deal, the temperatures were not going to be obnoxiously hot and humid, high was 73 degrees when I was suppose to finish. I don't know for sure what pushed the start back. The only thing I can think of was that there was a stalled car on the bridge we were riding over, again probably security, safety first.
After the first wave went off, I hit the little girls' room again and met up with my friend Maxine, Jeff's wife. I had a great spot right by the mount your bike line. We got to see everyone we wanted. Coolest thing I saw was this girl nail a flying mount on to her bike. She got a lot of cheers from the crowd. It was really neat because we saw a lot of people attempt, but for sure not nail it. About 45 minutes before my wave I decided to head up by the pier. I ran into Jennifer Garrison, who is a superstud. We weren't sure of the time, but I told her that I thought we were still going off later than originally planned since we happened to be in the same wave. After that I met up with Amy. We talked a little bit before our wave was set to head onto the pier. Finally we were up.
I got in the water, they said that water was 69 degrees. I think not. I was freezing when I got in. Before we were set to go some guy who was suppose to be in the wave before jumps over us excusing himself and takes off. I guess he was in the bathroom when his wave went. So needless to say we were all set to catch him. The horn went off and I found a pack that I could swim with, just a little faster than me, but not so fast that I was sucking air on the swim. There was of course a little bumping going on, nothing major. Before I knew it we were turning around for the finish. Every buoy was on the right except the last one. We got to the last buoy right after going under the bridge and then I pushed in. We had to use a make shift ramp that was really steep, but we had great volunteers there to help us out. They said to lean forward, so I did, got right up the ramp. I made my way to transition. According to my results, which are still messed up, I was 33 out of 150 in my age. Okay, happy with that. Scary, I have kind of reversed my events in triathlon.
I got my stuff ready for the bike, took a swig of my inhaler and a gel and off I went. The bike course has some rolling hills, nothing bad and once you get up you are flying right back down. Even on the flats I was able to hold a nice speed. After the race I was chatting with a few friends and we all agreed that there was a headwind on the bike in every direction, which made sense because some clouds rolled in as I was getting ready to finish my ride. Amy, is an awesome athlete, so it was a surprise to me that I came out of the swim before her. I was like when is she going to catch me on the bike. I would say about 3 miles. We cheered each other along the way when we would see it other. I have said it many times, but I really love races where my Tri Smart teammates are there because we bring each other up. I also saw Elizabeth going under the tunnel making her way to the finish of the bike while I was on my way out. I made my way back and over the bridge and just let my legs get loose for the run after going up the bridge. I got passed by a number of ladies in my age group and a ton of 25-29 guys. They were hauling!!!!
In transition again, I grabbed a swig from my inhaler and a gel. Off to the run. My legs were a little heavy from the bike, so I started off slower than I wanted, but that was okay because after a couple miles I felt strong. I saw Amy a couple times on the run and we cheer each other and go. I was able to pass some people and I got passed by some people. I would see people along the way and then it became a little game for me to see if I could hold them off until the finish. During the course of the run I saw three ladies, all 70+ years. Amazing. As I would go by, I would tell them great job and how they were an inspiration to me. The run was flat, so it was great because I could pick up the pace as a I went along. The closer I got to the finish, the faster I wanted to go, but I could only go so fast, speed is still coming back. I got within a quarter mile of the finish and just left whatever I could out there. They announced my name as I was coming in. I let the guy take my chip after I finished and then walked up to a lady and said "Oh you look like you want to give me a medal." She told me " No, but Chrissie Wellington does." For those that do not know who Chrissie Wellington is she won every Ironman competition she competed in, I believe that is 9 or 10, with three or four of them being the Kona World Championships. So I got my medal from her and said "well thank you Chrissie Wellington. " I then made my way out of the finish area and chatted with my friend Dan for a little bit, before feeling cold and going to grab my sweats.
I have to say I know it is the national championships, but there are some mega fast people there, not only in my age group, but in general. It is an honor to get to compete there and very humbling. I enjoyed the venue a lot and since I am qualified for next year's event, I plan to compete there again. So much for taking it easy next year. :D
