Date/Location: | May 08, 2021 – Folsom Lake, Granite Bay, CA |
Distances: | Swim 1.5K – Bike 40K |
Time: | 2:11:27 (29:33-1:41:54) |
Place: | 4th Female, 12th OA (out of 17 |
Teammates: | FCA: Caryn Galeckas, Robin Soares, Suzanne Hartley, Timothy Hess (AquaBike),Troy Outman, Troy Soares; Dana Haldeman, Dave Campbell, Dominic Pollizzi, Josh Cagney, Keith Hansen, Tony Marengo, Wyatt Hamilton |
TDF AquaBike Race
We get the race and I start to get excited. We haven't done a triathlon race for a long time. When I'm setting up my transition, I have a lot of fun putting items in places where I can quickly grab them. After that, I head down towards the swim. I see swimmers running up the hill including my dad. There are a few waves to spread people out, so he got a head start. I cheer him on and also notice that the cones aren't completely straight making the swimmers not know which way to run. I grab the cones and straighten them out so it makes it easier for the swimmers. I set my shoes in place from the half-mile run-up to transition. The water is really low this year. Still debating if I need to use shoes or not. I head over to the swim start. I'm putting on my goggles and getting on my wetsuit. My goggles come undone. I try to put them back together but the quickest way is to tie them. Wyatt and this other lady help me do it. My goggles are ready and I'm ready to go. I feel my necklace. Whoops, forgot to take that off. I quickly hand it to Wyatt's mom. It is nice of her to hold on to it for me. 3, 2, 1, Go!
I run towards the water and dive in. My goggles roll up my head. I knew that was going to happen; they weren't super tight. I stand up in the water slightly running and try to put them back on and gently go into the water and start swimming. They should hold out the water. I'm swimming straight but have no idea what buoy we're going to. I try to follow people but it's difficult when you can't see where it is and don’t even know which buoy. I just continue following everyone else. I'm right smack between two groups, one very left and one very right, kind of weird. I keep trying to swim following the main pack. Finally, I can see the buoy and know where I'm aiming for.
As I’m swimming along my left hip starts to get sore. I have no idea why. I was having problems with my right hip so would expect it to be sore, but not my left hip. I start to try to kick more with my right leg but my left hip is still sore. I continue swimming with my left hip not feeling the best. We're coming up on the orange buoy and I get past it. I only see a white buoy up ahead. I think that's where the turnaround is. I finally get into a good rhythm and my hip doesn't hurt as bad now. Finally, I get to the white buoy and turn around it. Now I have to find the next buoy. I see two buoys, they're both orange, and one of them's closer. I have no idea which one to swim to. I kind of just follow the swimmers in front of me even though there are not very many. I guess I must be way behind. There's this one swimmer in front of me which I follow, hoping they are accurate.
I finally figure out that we're heading for the farthest orange buoy. I am following the person in front of me and they look up and veer to the left to try to get back on the path. I think we're on path, but I also vear a little left just to make sure. I'm in a good rhythm now with my hip not hurting and my stroke feeling strong. I feel fast but I'm not in a fast position. I see someone to my left vear far off course to the closest buoy. They should really not put two of the same color buoys in our direction. It's confusing. After a long time swimming, I finally get to the orange buoy and swim around it. I can see the shore. I also notice there are not very many people there. I must be towards the back.. which isn’t the most fun position to be in.
I get close to shore and I can feel the sandy bottom. I stand up and start to walk through the water while trying to take off my wetsuit. I get the zipper down halfway and try to take my arms out but I can't because it's not all the way down. I had problems with this last time. I didn't think it was a big deal, I thought it was a one-time thing. I try to pull the zipper down but it won’t. So the next option is to zip it all the way back up and pull it back down. By that time I’m already out of the water and walking on the sand. The wetsuit thing is not what I call a quick transition. Finally, the zippers down and I can pull my arms out. I'm in the sand now which is not ideal because I can’t easily kick things off. I stop in the sand and I kick my wetsuit off. Sand gets all over it. That will be fun to clean up later. I've been planning to run in my shoes, but Ariel says she can grab my shoes if I don't want them. I think that I could just run up the sand barefoot and that way it would actually dry off my feet better than the shoes would. Any then my socks will go on faster in transition. I grab my water bottle though. I'm feeling hydrated right now, which means my plan of drinking a ton before the swim worked. As I'm running up I'm feeling pretty good but it's kind of annoying to carry a big heavy wetsuit in one hand and it makes you unbalanced. I'm actually kind of getting tired from running uphill. I pass a few people though. I finally get to the top and get into transition. I quickly put on a jacket with it unzipped. That's okay I'll put it on during the bike. I grab everything else and head out on the bike.
As I'm biking out up the hill, I start to slide my feet into the shoes. I have a little bit of trouble but finally get my feet in. I tighten up my shoes. I keep biking and stand up on my bike with no hands and zip up my jacket. Okay, all good to go, still a little sandy but all good. I bike out onto the race course feeling pretty strong. A guy behind me passes me on the bike. I guess he's a slow swimmer but a fast biker. I keep biking knowing this is it for me. I'm doing the Aquabike today because my hip won't let me run. And it was annoying that it acted up in the swim. I'm biking fast in aerobar position. I only bike for a little bit of Auburn Folsom before I turn left onto another road (Cavitt). It's a little confusing, I see an arrow so I move into the left lane which is unusual. I see directors up ahead.. looks like they're going to direct us left. Then a car passes me on the right.. should I be in the bike lane? I’m not sure. When I get near the course directors, they don't even direct me left. I almost go straight, but they say "no, go left". I make the left turn but it is a little confusing. I'm on the road though and doing pretty well. I turn again onto Laird Road.
I see a girl up ahead and I pass her. I get farther ahead and see a bicyclist pulled over on the side of the road. I stop and ask him what happened and he said he ran over a nail. I bike over to him and offer him my tube. He first tests the tube to see if it would hold air, but it is leaking. I give him the tube to help him in his repair. He says he hopes he can even take the wheel off because he has a special bike where it takes a lot of work and you have to use a tool to take the back wheel off. I gave him 2 yellow tire-iron things to help him get the tire off once he gets the wheel off. The girl biker behind me also helps by contacting someone for him. I now take off onto the bike after giving him some materials. I am biking and feeling pretty good. I get to an intersection and stop right before it. I realize that I should have given him the extra cartridge because he already used some of his and it might not fill up his tire. I debate on whether to bike back to give him my cartridge, but I remember his friend stopped by, and possibly his friend had a cartridge too. I keep biking forward. I am biking and the girl behind me passes me. She yells over her shoulder that I would probably pass her back. After a while, I am able to get closer and pass her back. I tell her good job.
I see a small intersection up ahead. They direct me right. I’m now on Horseshoe Bar Road. Up ahead is another intersection which I go straight on. There is a huge truck and it’s just deciding to turn when I’m coming. It turns and I slow down so I don't hit it. It finally speeds up and I keep biking.
As I'm biking along the road a falcon flies over me with one of his legs extended holding bracken and sticks for his nest. I thought that was pretty cool. I decide to keep my eye open for more animals. There wasn't anything cooler though, just goats and horses.
After a while, I get onto King Road which heads towards Auburn Folsom Road. My legs are really sore now. My calves especially are hurting. I guess that means I'm pushing it. But I haven't even gotten to the halfway mark. I remember biking towards here not too long ago when my mom was running her 13 Mile Run. I get close to the end of the road before Auburn Folsom and turn. I don't think I've actually biked on this road before. I keep biking and I get to a place I remember called Martha's Gardens where there are a bunch of gloves on the fence posts. I normally always wave at each glove every time I bike by. I follow this biker as I go around the turn and then remember that she might not be doing the race and could be an ordinary biker. I look back trying to see if I went the right way. I see a cone but I can't read it from here. I'm just going to have to trust God that I'm going the right way. Plus if it was a big turn there would have been flaggers. I realize I’ve been so distracted I didn’t even see the famous gloves. After a while of biking, the road starts to curve and I remember this area because of an outdoor volleyball court. Next a course monitor directs me left. I know my mom never really likes this road because she says it's busy.
I also know that I must be by Powerhouse road because the miles are racking up. I decide to eat my gel because I'm pretty far in the mileage. As I'm eating my gel, up ahead I see the sign for Powerhouse Road. I know I'm going to turn soon. I quickly finish my gel and drink some water as I turn. I have heard about how hilly this road is, but I know that I can push through this. Since I'm only doing the bike I just have to sprint up this hill to have all the downhill next. I push up it. As I'm going up I see a bull with really long horns. I remember this hill now. As I go by the bull I see a wreath on a tree with a picture of a bull and flowers around it. I wonder if they used to have two bulls and one died. I finally get to the top and start biking down. I know the hill isn't over yet because it ends higher at Auburn Folsom road. I stretch preparing for the next part of the hill that I'm going to experience. I see the steep climb but I know this area and I know it doesn't last long. I push hard to the top towards my friend Breanna's house.
I turn on Auburn Folsom Road. Now I have a downhill. Instead of relaxing though, I use the downhill to try to go faster. I'm hoping to start racking up miles and quickly get back as fast as possible. I have about 30 minutes to get back if I want to get the hour and 45 mark for the bike. Praise the Lord my calves aren't hurting as bad anymore and I have more energy. I go through an intersection and a police officer is directing cars to let me through. I thank them and hurry on to the next intersection. I know this course by heart now because I’ve biked to Granite Bay a few times. I get to the next intersection and another police officer is directing cars there. I say thank you and continue on. The police officers are really nice to spend their time directing traffic for us. As I continue biking I look for landscapes that I know to see if I’m getting closer.
As the road starts to curve, I know I'm near the castle. I also see a biker in the distance. I know I can catch them. They go over the rise of a hill and I pedal fast to catch up. After getting over the hill I speed down the other side and stretch at the same time. I see the biker up ahead, but they disappear around the corner. I pedal past the castle. I see them up ahead on the flat stretch. They're still very far, but I bike hard trying to catch up. By the next curve in the road, I know I'm getting closer. I'm also closer to Twin Rocks Road which is right by Granite Bay. I see the Granite Bay sign and get excited.
Almost there. I've gotten way closer to the biker now. At the turn up ahead I see the intersection for Twin Rocks Road and the police officers. I get into the left turn lane to make the turn, I also say thank you. I pass the biker who made the turn in front of me. I tell him good job. Now I have some rolling hills until I get to the little sand gravel spot. Every time I normally bike here it’s always tiring, but now since I'm racing and I'm almost done I know I can really push it. I push hard up the hill and relax a little on the downhill. As I get to the sandy area I'm careful to not slip in the sand. The gates open this time making it easier. I power up the sandy area with my tri bike on the dirt. I get onto the road and know that I'm almost there. On the levee, I sprint back to transition. The levees are normally the hardest part for me because it's windy. The race excitement though gives me energy to power through it. Up ahead I see someone half on their bike using their foot to push them along. I try to realize what's wrong and I see that his chain is dangling snapped. As I go by him I tell him “good job you're almost there, keep it up”. I know it must be hard to have a snapped chain and have to hobble back to transition. I unstrap my bike shoes on the uphill and slip my feet out as I head down the hill to transition. I start to swing my leg over my bike. I'm in a really good position and I've been practicing swinging my foot over when coming home from school. As I'm right about to get off, instead of making it a smooth landing, my bike shorts somehow get caught in my seat. I still get off well, but my bike falls next to me a little bit.
I run to transition, put up my bike and start to head towards where all the other runners go hoping to just turn right into the finish line for the aqua bike. My dad tells me to go one way but the race people tell me otherwise. I am like, “Dad, come on”. But then Dad tells them that I’m doing the Aquabike and they tell me to go the way my dad said to. Whoops, my dad is right. I head out that way and run toward the finish. I finish by pointing to God, giving him the credit. He helped me through this race by helping my calves not hurt, helping me not get lost (even though I wasn't focusing at some points), and helping me feel hydrated in the swim. I got a pretty good time of 2 hours and 11 minutes. I was shooting for around two hours so it worked out.
