Boulder Peak Olympic Triathlon (Boulder) 2004

Boulder Peak Olympic Triathlon, Boulder, CO

Date: August 8, 2004

Total Race Time: 4:01:09

Splits
Swim: 0:34:51
T1: 0:02:26
Bike: 2:00:35- MPH 12.9
T2: 0:02:14
Run: 1:21:03 - Mile Pace 0:13:04

Time: 4:01:10

~~~~~ Post Race Report~~~~~

Sunday August 8, 2004 - 6:30am Race Start

3:00am... my alarm went off... I woke quickly to get dressed so that I could head into Boulder, Colorado.

My Triathlon Suit, Heart Rate Monitor, Sandals, and Fleece jacket were laid out on the floor in "Transition" style the night before. I knew my time had to be spent efficiently that morning so that I could leave the house no later than 3:45am. I had to drive an hour to get to the Boulder Reservoir, and I didn't want to be late.

So I mixed my Cytomax, an electrolyte replenisher and grabbed my morning raisin bagels and filled my Camel Back with Water to Super Hydrate during my ride in to Boulder, Colorado.

I was a little nervous the day before... realizing that I'd face another Olympic Distance Triathlon... that's a 1500M open water swim, approximately 25 mile bike, and a 10K run. The bike leg had a hill called "The Beast". This hill consisted of a 15% Grade Up Old Stage... that's a six hundred foot elevation gain in two-thirds of a mile... loosely translated, it was basically straight up! -- I had tackled "The Beast" two years ago but I wasn't sure what this year would bring.


The transition area officially opened at 5:00am. I arrived early... about 4:45am. It was pitch dark and somewhat cold, but I knew that the sunlight and warmth would come with the start of the race. -- The parking lot filled quickly. It was neat to watch the stream of headlights pile in one after each other. It was like a pilgrimage of some sort... we all parked on a grassy area, so there were no parking lines... just volunteers with flashlights doing their best to direct the athletes and spectators.


My belongings were in a "Triathlon Style" backpack, so I walked my pack and my bike over to the body marking area. That's where they use a huge magic marker to write your race number on both arms and on the front of both legs. Your age is written on the back of your calf. So, I took off my warm fleece coat to bare my arms long enough to have my race number drawn on... then into the transition area I went! It was set up by wave, and I was in wave number four... so I headed over to that section to rack my bike and lay out my towel, bike shoes, helmet and run gear for use after the swim.


This year there were new bike racks... each metal unit held four bikes. In the past, there were just poles that were supported by two 2x4's in the shape of an "X"... and you balanced your bike seat on the pole hoping that the weight of another bike wouldn't make the rod bow so much that your bike would fall over. In the past, with those older bike racks, we would run out of room... so it wasn't unusual to return to your bike and find that someone had "Moved in" to position their own bike, towel and accessories. In the sport of "Triathlon" we call that "Fighting for Real Estate". With the new bike racks, we all had enough space. We felt comfortable that our bikes would remain standing in their original position and that no one would feel left out or imposed upon.


After my transition area was setup, I begin the ritual of squeezing myself into my wetsuit. If you've never put on a wet suit, just imagine putting on a pair of jeans that are two sizes too small right after they come out of the dryer! That would be a reasonable comparison. The water temperature was actually 71 degrees... but even though I could have made it without the wetsuit, I always use it for added buoyancy. :)


I headed over to the swim start to get warmed up... check my goggles for a good seal and hope for a race with no personal injuries and no equipment failures. -- Unfortunately for me, my internal dialog got pretty loud.. and it wasn't a very positive one. Every fear and doubt I had about doing this race was starting to surface. But in spite of feeling too slow or too over weight to be a triathlete, I quickly recentered in my purpose for competing this year... that being to revisit the distances I've raced in the past and to remind my body that I *CAN* do it! My actual goals were not to have a Personal Record this year. My goals were to Race and Finish! And I knew I could do that! So that became my focus and I managed to let all of those other thoughts and feelings subside.


Well the sun was up and the park was full of energy and excitement. The generator powered lights were now off and the pre-race music blared. As an athlete, I couldn't hear the noise around me, just the noise inside my head. I found comfort in this being my sixth year of racing triathlons. "I can do this..." I thought to myself... remembering how incredibly nervous I was two years ago on this very same swim beach. Relatively speaking, I was MUCH more relaxed this time. So, I gathered with others who wore the same color swim cap as myself and we waited for our wave to start.


6:45am the horn went off... it was a running start... and into the water we went! -- Between my scratched swim goggle lens and the bright bright sun, I couldn't see the first buoy... so I swam forward until something large and orange came into view. Arms were swinging and water was splashing... we were on our way to cover 1500 meters in the open water. Lucky I remembered to start my stop watch... I was wearing my heart rate monitor to gauge myself during the race. -- We were about 200 Meters into the swim, and I kept hitting the feet of the person in front of me... and there were people swimming close to me on either side. I could barely see from one buoy to the next... the buoys are what guides you through the swim course. -- There was one person that swam a zig-zag pattern back and forth in front of me... I wasn't sure if I was off track or if they were!!! I just remember seeing them swim almost perpendicular to my line of travel!! I'm sure they eventually finished the swim... but I think they swam closer to 2000 meters instead of 1500!!!


I was out of the water in 34 minutes... I was pleased with my swim leg!! I ran barefoot up the long, uphill, gravel covered peer to the Swim Finish. I looked for my coach and friends who came to watch! There were so many people cheering and waving... I was so disoriented from transitioning from water to land. Just keep running I thought... I'm still on the clock for my Swim. We wear these Timing Chips around our ankles and I ran toward the mat that would record the end of my Swim and the beginning of my Transition Number One (T1).

My friends were awesome! They cheered for me as I finished my swim, and they waited patiently for me at the Bike Start! I fumbled to get my wetsuit off, my tri socks on my wet feet... my bike shoes, helmet and glasses on, and grab my bike from the nifty new bike rack and I ran to the bike start to mount and head out to face "The Beast!" For fuel, I had a power bar cut into half inch strips and laid across the top bar of my bike. The Power Bar is pliable and sticky enough that it just lays across the bike and "holds on" until I'm ready to eat it! So, after I rounded the first bend I peeled off the first of six Power Bar strips and "had lunch!" !!!

Keep your cadence up..." I thought to myself as my legs went slower and slower... I just couldn't do it the way I wanted... I felt the disappointment rush through my body... but I quickly shifted my thoughts to my purpose this year... "Just finish Carla... you can do this!" I pedaled along. I saw someone on the side of the road fixing a flat, and I was quickly reminded to be grateful that it wasn't me! -- I rode the rolling flats to "Lee Hill"... the turn off before "The Beast". I vaguely remember the race course from two years ago and I had missed two opportunities I had to practice the bike leg... it was no time for regrets. I would give it what I had and know that would be enough.

The climb began... I shifted to my middle ring... just relax... pedal... breathe... round and round my legs went... it was too hard to push, so I shifted into my "Granny Gear"... that's the easiest gear I have. Just be patient I thought to myself... just keep pedaling. -- Well, "The Beast" was upon me... it was longer and steeper than I had remembered. "I can do it" I kept thinking... the truth of the matter was, my options were "Pedal or Fall!" I was clipped on to my bike, and at such a slow cadence, I didn't know if I would have enough momentum to be able to un-clip before falling over. So, out of the saddle I came... round and round my legs went... "Just keep pedaling..." I thought to myself... I can do this... "You did it two years ago, you can make it! Don't stop!" -- There were other bikes around me some walking, some panting heavily trying to labor up the hill! My legs were burning from standing, so I sat for a minute, finding it very hard to keep going. "Just relax... stay within yourself"... I wanted to make it... so after resting for a few rotations, back out of the saddle I came. My breath was labored... "Stroke, stroke..." I said to myself. You play games to get through the tough parts of these races... "Pedal or Fall" started to resonate in my head again, but I didn't want to think such a negative thought... so I scrambled to think of something else to say to myself as my legs grew more and more weary with each rotation. "Ok...if I can get out of my clips, I'll walk..." I was about three-quarters of the way to the top. I wanted to give in... but now, the trick became to get out of my clips. That in itself was a challenge... so round and round I went trying to get enough momentum to make that ever so slight sideward movement with my foot to unclip... sounds like a simple task, but it was not.

I tried several times... "I can't get out!!!" I thought to myself and the panic of falling became more real to me as I grew more and more tired... "Just stay in..." I tried to convince myself... I glanced at my heart rate monitor which read over 170 beats per minute. I gave one hard push around and with my remaining strength I managed to unclip my right foot from the bike. I was so relieved... yet sad to know that this marked the first time I had ever walked during the bike leg of a race. :::sigh::: I tried not to spend too much time feeling sad. I was almost to the top... and the camera man was less than twenty feet in front of me. I wish I could have been riding for the picture, but I wasn't. I tried to let that be ok for myself. :::sigh::: "It's about finishing Carla... and you still have almost twenty miles to go..." There was a part of me that felt like the race was over because I choose to walk, but I reminded myself that it wasn't... that this was just one part, the hardest part and that I would finish the bike leg riding!

So, I finally crested over the top of that very steep hill... and I rode for almost another mile before enjoying the equally steep descent. "Why can't they have downhill bike races..." I thought to myself! I actually excel going downhill! My maximum speed was forty-five miles per hour! I remember glancing at my speedometer! Yeeeee-ha!!! I thought as I passed people who were more tentative about cornering and riding at high speeds!! "On your left!" I yelled with pride as I passed!!! I knew they would catch me on the next up hill, but it was fun for me to be in my highest gear pedaling my way down the side of this mountain!!!

The rest of the bike course was either rolling or flat. I watched my trip meter and was happy to see that the distance for this bike leg was closer to twenty-five miles than the twenty-nine I originally thought it was. So, I pedaled in a low gear into the park and headed for my final transition! My friends were waiting... yelling and waving to receive me after my Bike Finish!! They scurried to watch me transition for my run. I strapped on my run belt which held my race number and plenty of GU... then off I went to complete the final 10K leg of this race!!

My legs and overall energy level felt good as I headed out for the run. I wasn't moving very fast, but I held good running form! "Stand up tall, head level... move your arms!!" The words from my many coaches over the years rang out loudly in my head! I smiled when I saw my friends again as I left the transition area! "I'll be back in one hour and twenty minutes!" I yelled... I wasn't sure they heard me, but I know my pace, and I thought for sure I was accurate with my estimated run times. So, I trotted out on the run course... I thought I might walk when I got out of sight from the raving fans... but I kept running. I was proud of that. My first mile was about 11:30 pace... I felt like I wanted to just take off! My second mile I started to slow down... my pace was close to 12 min... still ok in my book! Then I slowed to about 13 min/mile pace... which was slower than I wanted, but I just started my "count down" and looked forward to reaching the turn around point where I knew I would be working my way back to the Finish Line!

I saw several people I knew out on the run course... we all encouraged each other! It was so awesome! "Good Job!" "Way to Go!" I heard so many positive comments even from people I didn't even know! I trotted along... walking through every water station and drinking at least a half cup of water. I ate several GU's... my energy felt stable and consistent... I had actually eaten too much that morning and after that Power Bar on the bike, I felt full instead of comfortable. I had reached the turn around point, and I was on my way back... the last three miles were before me. I remember running that same course last year in my Half Ironman... I remembered how demanding it was then... then my thoughts went to the future... I like to fantasize about completing my first Ironman in Kona, Hawaii... I imagine myself running on Alii Drive trying to make it to the finish line before the sixteen hour cut off time! No matter how tired I am, just the thought of being in Hawaii competing in the Ironman some how manages to harness' my energy and it helps me stand upright and run in perfect form with a renewed sense of commitment and stride! "I can do it..." I thought to myself as I trotted faster.

After that , I managed to glance up and the beautiful mountain-scape of Boulder, Colorado! I do so love this state... it's so beautiful here. This is the part of endurance sports that I love. I find myself being extra sensitive and aware of my surroundings... at this point, I wasn't even aware of my running... I just knew that the mountains were beautiful and I was glad to be able to experience them.

Here come the Pros!" ...someone broke my concentration... and I realized that I was running along side of Nicole DeBoom! Sister of Tim DeBoom who has won the Ironman World Championships many times! I ran next to her for about three steps! :) It was a delight even though it was short lived. The pros did three loops to allow the spectators to see more of their run leg. It was exciting! That's for sure! And with that, I knew the finish line was near. I didn't have much left for a sprint finish, but I did manage to stretch out as I ran through the crowd lined street! I heard the announcer say my name "Here Comes Carla Thompson!!! From Highlands Ranch!!!" I was excited... playing out all of my Ironman Triathlon fantasies in that very moment! My team mates and friends were reaching their hands out to give me a "High Five" !!! I ran close enough to the sides to touch their hands as I tried to sprint toward the finish line. My legs were starting to cramp... so I ran slightly slower than I wanted for my finish.

I ran toward the finishers arch, and across the mat... I listened for my favorite sound... that high pitched electronic sound that means my run finish time was recorded! -- The volunteers immediately reach for your ankle to remove your timing chip. I was tired, but I had enough energy to look around for my special friends... I had lost them in the crowd... we were finally reunited... and that marked the completion of my second Boulder Peak Olympic Distance Triathlon 2004.
Big Fun in the Sun!!! SWIM, BIKE, RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carla Lynn!!!