Oregon Dunes Triathlon: May 7, 2016


Some mothers for Mother's Day might want a spa day, flowers or jewelry. Not me. I wanted to do Oregon Dunes Olympic Triathlon Mother's Day weekend. Mr. W is always game to use the RV and get out of town. 

We loaded up the Wonder Wagon for a weekend of camping at Honeyman State Park.  Honeyman State Park has been on our camping wish list for awhile. This fit perfect into my training as Oregon Dunes was six weeks before my first half Ironman race in Victoria B.C., my A race of the season. 

I was most nervous about the bike course. In my training I had already completed a 56 mile bike ride but I had not trained a lot on hills. My friend Anne gave me good advice which ended up being my mantra on the bike course. "Spin those f**kers up (gears)!" and "Hills always appear bigger than what they really are." 







PRE RACE

There are so many pros when I travel by RV and race. I love having all the comforts of home and can pack my own food.  I had oatmeal with banana and peanut butter, OJ and coffee. I had mixed my Nuun bike bottles and pre-made bike nutrition (PB & J sandwich) the night before. 

My friend Miranda picked me up along with my bike a.k.a. Johnny and we headed to transition at Lake Woahink across the highway from Honeyman State Park. It was exciting to see our friend Alycia directing traffic as we entered the parking lot. 

I've met some amazing people since beginning this journey in triathlon, I have to say that most of those individuals are women. I realized as I was setting up my transition area that I forgot my helmet in my RV. I calmly mentioned to Miranda I forgot my helmet. A lady next to Miranda overheard our conversation and offered me her extra helmet. Her husband ended up going to our camp site and getting my helmet. To make a long story short my helmet was waiting for me with my race sticker in transition after the swim. 


SWIM 1,500 METERS 

The swim was in Lake Woahink was cold. Thankfully it was not as cold as my first open water swim of the season a few weeks earlier. I like swimming. I am not a fast swimmer but I really enjoy open water swim. I did have a brief "OH SHIT" moment when I first started swimming. "Drunk on a plane" was my swim mantra that got me through. A few days earlier I had read on a Women For Tri Face Book page a woman shared how it helped her through her open water swim. It helped me get into a routine with my stroke and breathing. The swim was two counter clockwise loops. Where at one point we had to get out and walk and re-enter the water. 




My friend Miranda and I getting ready to enter the water.

T1: I got out of the water feeling a little tired but mostly thankful to be done with the swim. I wasn't the last one out of the water! 


BIKE 24.8 MILES 

It was cold. So I opted to wear a long sleeve shirt. Instead of the triathlon shirt. This was my first race with my areo bars and clipless pedal. The bike course was beautiful and challenging with a 1,723 ft. elevation gain. It was a out and back so seeing all the other bikers on their return gave me something to look at. Seeing my friend Chad, gave me a good boost. He was rocking the bike! I was really proud of myself as I did not get off my bike at all. Did I want to? Yes, but I powered through. I even managed to pass a few people. 

T2: Mentally the run is the easiest for me. I was so excited to be off the bike. Racked my bike, took off my shoes and helmet. Ditched my long sleeve shirt. Sorry, Nuun but Pactimo's triathlon shirt has a horrible fit which results in me pulling the top down over my stomach 4,567 times during my last olympic triathlon I couldn't bare to do that AGAIN so I opted to run in just my sports bra. I put on my race belt, shoes and visor and grabbed my water bottle and off I went. 


RUN 6.2 MILES 

I was excited for the run as it was on trails and two loops that took us over to Honeyman State Park. I ditched my handheld water bottle on lap two as I wanted my hands free. I was feeling strong. My left leg was angry.  I figured it was from the combination of my encounter with a garbage truck a few weeks earlier combined with the intense rolling hills of the bike course. I met up with my friend Miranda and Nick on the run. They were on their second loop, as I was on my first. It was great to run  with them for a bit. Then things got confusing. I was getting tired and there was a lack of volunteers on the run course some how I must have done an extra loop. I wasn't the only one as another lady was mixed up and pretty pissed about it. Since I wasn't doing this race for time I could care less. It just added to my confidence that my training for my 70.3 was paying off. 

The finish line was up a huge sand dune. I was so happy to be done! It was fabulous seeing my daughters at the finish line. Looking at my time even for running extra, I beat my first olympic time. I call that success. 



Swim:40.58
T1: 6:28
BIKE: 2:06
T2: 3:35
RUN: 1:10
TOTAL: 4:07

I didn't realize until after the race that I came in 3rd in my age group! See how much I care about time? I was more excited about getting back to the RV with the family and enjoying a beer.

It was a fun weekend. My family and I loved Honeyman State Park. I already want to do this race next year so I can work to improve my cycling. The weather ended up being beautiful.  The countdown to Victoria is on!

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