Bike Course Ride with Team USA Coach

Brooke and I were emailing status updates on our bikes!

A group of us with the late-arriving bikes met up with Team USA Coach Kris Swarthout for a late Saturday preview ride of the course. It was very helpful and we all agreed we would not have been comfortable amongst all the left-sided traffic, navigating the course without him. It was further complicated by race-related road closures. He did a great job talking us through this ride.

The road surface is quite smooth and clean, but there are a lot of turns, some pretty good hills including a 16% grade, but the most challenging of all - the steep and fast descents followed by sharp turns. We are hoping for dry roads.

I wish I had better pics, but it's hard to be in the moment, or on a ride, and taking photos too. The scenery was quite stunning along mission bay. 

USAT's Kris Swarthout (USA jersety), Tim Yount (red hat),
Jeff Dyrek (back to us)

Kris

Making a right from those left-hand lanes!

Auckland skyline and space needle in the background

The lost-and-found bike crew!

After the ride I joined up with the group for dinner at Wildfire
where you are offered every type of meat imaginable
(and they had awesome broccoli)

3:5:3 Race, Team USA Meeting, the Roo arrives

It's been a busy day here!!

3:5:3 Solo Race
Donna and I were up at transition at 6:00 am for the 3:5:3 race - 300m swim: 5k bike: 3k run. I alerted the officials that I would only be swimming and running and they were fine with it; it would just mean a DNF (did not finish), but I got the swim start practice which was my main goal. It was funny to only see my run stuff in transition.

We had self-selected our wave starts prior and I opted for the last wave since it sounded like the most fun. The "Stoners" are described as "‘I swim like a stone and I’m bringing my flippers’ And yes we will allow flippers in this wave start."  It was a mixed bag of us including first-time triathletes and some huge guys with flippers. I'm quite sure we had the most fun waiting in line. My feet got pretty cold queuing up on the concrete but race day we have to do the same.

This morning was the warmest and least windy it has been. The water was 58 degrees but at least it was nicely still (picture above). I'm still not used to the salt water 'taste' but the swim itself was fine. I dawdled in transition a bit to stay out of the way of my rackmates who had to remove their bikes. Then I took off on the run feeling awesome but per instructions (sigh!) did not race. I threw in a few pickups, had fun, and thanked all the volunteers on the course! I liked running up the finish chute where the pro women would run just hours later.

Team USA Meeting
Jeff and Tim of USAT and Coach Kris Swarthout led a meeting with a packed house of Team USA'ers. We went over rules, attire, procedure, strategy, and schedule. The tricky thing is the bike - we are riding on the right side of the road for part and the left side for part but whatever lane we are in, we are to stay left, and pass right, which is opposite of what we are used to.

The winds, combined with rain and steep descents and sharp turns on the course, have made for some treacherous riding. We have been hearing stories of lots of wipe outs. One person was blown over on their bike at a stop and the bike slid under a car and was run over.

There are a lot LOT of details to keep track of and remember about race logistics and race details. Everything from what can/can't be worn, to when it can/can't be removed, when and where to check in, report, queue up, etc. This is my first race that uses penalty boxes. If we get a yellow card on the course (for drafting, blocking) we have to report to the next penalty box and serve our two minutes.

The whole Team USA thing hit me at this meeting. That's all I can say really. This is such a neat opportunity and I am SO SO SO glad to be a part of it all, and grateful and thinking of all who have encouraged and supported me.

The Roo Arrived!
We got word this morning that the 16 "missing" bikes were safely in Auckland. Mine arrived around noon at the hotel. I put it together myself, sort of, then gently wheeled it off to the race mechanic at the Cloud who fixed, tightened, adjusted, and redid.

While I was waiting, the pro women were finishing their race. I watched on the big screen TV, knowing they were finishing just a few hundred feet from me.

Coach Kris is taking the group of us late-bike-getters out on the course at 5:30 and the team mechanics are working extra to get everyone taken care of.

I threw this picture in too. Two triathletes, two bikes, two bike boxes, and all their stuff wedged into one room! 

Tomorrow is bike check in, uniform checks, and body marking at 4 pm for Team USA. The rest of the day is pretty open, but we are expecting rain and yuck. Coach Jim's instructions are to relax, stay off my feet, and do some race visualization (but not after 5 pm). I'm definitely going to be ready to GO come Monday at 9:55 am!!!

Dinner with Triathletes

I am among kindred spirits here. Tonight I had the pleasure of dinner with three triathletes who are part of the 8-person crew who will hike for three days in Rotorua following the race. I did not know them before coming to New Zealand, but during this meal that we shared, it was one moment after another of finding myself identifying strongly with them.

Caroline and I both got excited about the steamed broccoli side. When the waiter suggested that we might share just one, we each politely said NO WAY. There is no sharing where broccoli is concerned, we each wanted it all for ourselves!

Suzanne wondered about portions being sufficient for her appetite. (I thought I was the only person who worried about that sort of thing!) We got reassurance from the waiter that the entrees were reasonable and not those tiny little gourmet morsels centered on a huge plate with some pureed something-or-other squirted into a random artsy design.

Let me tell you, there was no wasted food. We left four very empty plates, but had four sated appetites.

At least among the four of us, the commonalities were: (1) food is of vital importance; (2) we don't like waiting around; (3) we don't like being hungry.

This hiking stuff could prove interesting. We discussed whether the hike leaders/hosts know what they are getting into trying to keep us all fed and happy!! (I didn't even mention the buffet pasta meal after the opening ceremony the other day....SCARY to see all the ravenous triathletes going after it.)

Dave shared a bit about his triathlon career dating back to the 80's and racing Kona in a Speedo. He's 72 now, he won a gold in the Aquathlon Wednesday, but he still talked about hitting speedwork and track workouts to sharpen up his run for next season. He's competitive and works hard to be at his best. I've thought that maybe it's weird at my age to strive so hard to improve, but I learned from Dave that there's nothing wrong with the desire to be your best at any age.

Certainly an upside to an event like Nationals or Worlds is spending time with others who share the same interests, and it turns out, some similar characteristics. Pretty cool!

Swim Course Familiarization

I walked to the swim course familiarization for age groupers wearing three layers of clothing including two hoods. Not a good sign.

Although it's a balmy (!) 59 degrees, when you add in the 25-35 mph winds and the off-and-on rain showers, well, it's not exactly my ideal swimming conditions, but it's what we've got.

There was a bag drop in the Cloud for things like our towel and clothes. Volunteers would tag your bag and write your number on your hand to come back and retrieve it. The building was full of people changing into and out of wetsuits and shimmying out of wet swim suits under strategically placed towels. There are not a lot of body-related hang ups here.

The color of the water here is really beautiful. It's more deeply green and very clear so I do find that inviting. Until I jumped in, that is. The water temp is the same as the air temp - 59 degrees. I've never been in water this cold before, but after the initial shock and within a few hundred meters it felt alright. I did wear two swim caps and my head and face were fine, only my hands were sort of cold and numb. The main problem was the chop. The further out we got in the water, the choppier it became. I just reminded myself we were all facing the same conditions and just to do the best I could with it. Sighting and swimming straight will be extra challenging.

Swimming back toward the pontoon, I kept up with a pack of men pretty easily so I finished on a good note. I will just need to keep my focus, stay positive, and remember that I tend to do better in more adverse conditions.

After I finished, I stuck around and chatted with folks from the team, made dinner plans, and watched the other swimmers. I like to see the variety of strokes and styles out there.

Tomorrow morning is my 3:5:3 race at 6:55 am. Since I don't have a bike (or the right kind anyway; only road bikes are allowed) I'm going to swim (300m), skip the bike (5k), head out on the run (3k), and duck out before the finish. It'll give me a bit of a race simulation before Monday.

After that, I'll watch the races for the U23 women, elite women, and U23 men. Hopefully I will also be putting my bike together and riding it.

"Settle In" Day

In our swim training, Coach Jim has us do "settle-ins" where we train to go out fast and hard and then settle in to our pace. It teaches you to recover and not panic over a hard effort.

Yesterday I went out hard, today I am just settling in. I started with a nice kiwi breakfast of avocado, chili-fried egg, ham, and greens on toast. I sat and read a book and just enjoyed!

I met another Team USA-er, Sarah Nice (a 60-64 AGer) who was off to get her rented race bike. The shop offered me a brand new bike to rent for the race, but I came back to my hotel to a message to expect my bike tomorrow morning. The bummer is I'll have missed out on the 'course familiarization" rides, but I'm not that worried about it.

Here's some pics from the day.

Cycling groups are everywhere, and beautifully decked out!

Paratriathlete running under one of the triathlon banners on all the lightposts

Elites and U23s getting ready to swim.
It's the norm to "hang out" in your cycling kit or wetsuit around here!

In they go!

Not everyone dives!

GIGANTIC ship and tug just past the turn buoys. A little disconcerting!

I am glad for technology that keeps me in touch with the family, including the cat....yes, the cat was in on the Skype call!

Off to get ready for swim practice!