Our trip was easy and uneventful. We left Champaign at 6:40, connected in Dallas, and got to Portland at 11:30 local time. We picked up our rental car, a Toyota Highlander (big enough to transport my bike) and headed off to my friends' house.
I had shipped my bike out the week before and saw online that it arrived and had been signed for the day before I was to get there. (I later learned that I almost didn't get it.) We called our friends to check our directions and got their place quickly. I got my bike out of the garage and started putting it together.My bike made it to Portland in good shape. The chain was off and my front brake caliper had taken a little bit of a hit, but nothing was broken and except for a sketchy rear brake I was good to go.
We loaded up the rental car and headed for the race site and Friday's mandatory packet pick up and bike check in.The drive to Hagg Lake from Portland was pretty quick. We drove through a couple of smaller outlying towns and a little bit through some wine country and eventually got to the park where the lake was.
We got to the registration area and I quickly made my way through the line, picked up my schwag bag, my race number sheet, and got a stars and stripes wristband snapped onto me. I took a brief walk around the expo exhibits and headed back to the car to get my bike. As I did this, my wife stayed in the expo and visited each of the exhibits (she got a USAT cowbell for her efforts).I stopped by bike support to get my rear brake looked at and the mechanic ended up pulling the cable and lubing it and all of the contact points...good as new!
From there I dropped my bike off at its assigned spot and we were done for the day. We headed back around the lake road and when I saw the whole thing I made it my race goal to not die. I heard there were hills, but this road was HILLY!
We went to our hotel to get changed and then met our friends back in Portland for dinner. We ate a cool little place called The Farm Cafe. We had an excellent meal and a couple of drinks and headed back to the hotel in Hillsboro.
Race morning:
Woke up around 5:30. Had a coffee and a pre-race nature call. Ate a little bit and headed to race site...about 25 minutes from the hotel. Parking was off-site with school buses to transport us to race area. Still dark outside. First wave starts at 7:15...mine starts at 8:24. Nature keeps calling, although I am suprisingly at ease. Again my only goal is "don't die."
As I'm returning from the porta-john, my wife says "I think your wave is starting!" I look down to the dock and see what looks like black swim caps on the start line...I run towards the water, but see that they are navy blue. Still on schedule. After a few more waves, I'm in the water waiting for the start. Get ready....GO!
SWIM: The water is a cool, but comfortable 73 degrees. Unlike the brown lakes of the midwest, it is a greyish-green color and somewhat clear. I start out swimming too fast, but calm down and settle in to a good rhythm. Too bad I can't swim in a straight line...I'm pulling to the left. I have to sight often and adjust back to the right. I'm getting a little bit mad at myself. I'm wondering how much longer my route is than the rectangular 1500 meter course that is laid out in the lake. I finally round the last bouy and head for the finish. I start kicking hard to get done faster and my right calf starts to cramp. I slow the kicking and it goes away. I finally hit the boat ramp and the loooooong run up hill to T1. Watch says 27:02...a good swim for me.
T1: I'm winded from the swim and the long run to transition. I fight with the wetsuit a little, get my shoes on, helmet on, glasses on, grab my bike, and head for the exit. Glasses steam up, take off glasses, hop on the bike and start the long climb up towards the bike course. (2:48)
BIKE: The bike course follows the road around the lake. It's a two loop course, loop one is a preview...On loop two I know what to expect; this is good and bad. The first part of the ride is slow. People are passing me, I'm trying to catch my breath and get a good cadence going. Hills, hills, hills. The uphills hurt, but the downhills are fun!
Just after the turn around was a 2KM long climb. I was going about 7 mph up this climb. The second time around I picked it up a little bit and was going 8-9 mph. First loop was really hard, second loop was pretty hard. I finished the bike and headed to T2. (1:16:11)T2: Transition was pretty quick. I was relaxed and smooth. Rack the bike, helmet off, bike shoes off, running shoes on, grab hat, grab race belt and GO! (1:24)
RUN: Did I mention those hills? The run course went in the opposite direction from the bike course, so the last 3+ miles of the bike course was a preview for the run. I just tried to relax and hold a consistent pace throughout the run. I was passing a few people on the run - but they were older people. I felt pretty good throughout the whole 10K.
I hit most of the water stops on the way out, although the weather was perfect. It was an overcast morning and the temperature was in the 60s. So, I never felt like I was getting too hot or dehydrated. I hit one water stop on the way back and that was all I needed. I started up the last uphill and then headed downhill towards the finish area, and it was over. (52:21) (2:39:45 total time)Overall I had an excellent experience. I really felt no pressure in this race. My biggest challenge was getting there...qualifying. The level of competition and difficulty of the course were so much greater than any race I had done previously, so I eventually just relaxed and soaked in the experience of being there.
