It's the last race of the season for me (my 6th race) and I have discovered that the Devil didn't go down to Georgia but came up to Baraboo, Wisconsin for a little race called the Devil's Challenge Triathlon - the last of the Wisconsin Triathlon Series. This time the prize wasn't a golden fiddle but a chance to boast triumph over the hills of Central Wisconsin. Throw in the addition of cold temperatures and the race became a memorable one.
With the proximity of the Wisconsin Dells and its many indoor water parks, I decided to make this trip a family one. With the race on a Saturday, a hectic Friday was undesirably planned to get through work, packed and on the road through suburban traffic in a reasonable time frame to get in at least a drive around the bike and run route. With 30 minutes of daylight, we arrived in the Devil's Lake state park. I discovered that I wished it was dark as to avoid the sight of the numerous hills that made up the 15 mile bike course - not little rolling hills that prevail in the countryside around Plainfield, Illinois, but rather long, steep hills that seemed to belong in some mountain state and not here in the Midwest. Wow! Okay, I can handle this...just need to get some sleep, visualize the ride and imagine the hills flattening out as I cruise past one cyclist after another.
After what seemed like a minute after I closed my eyes to sleep, the alarm clock was buzzing at 5am. Transition opened at 6 and race was at 8am. Threw on the tri suit and shoes, grabbed my gear bag and bike and sprinted out with great excitement to load the truck... and as quickly as I ran out the door, I was back in the room and back under the covers. Holy Cow, it's cold!!! With a few deep breaths and a couple of layers of clothes, I braved the outdoors again and set off for the race site. The truck thermometer said 31 degrees. Holy Cow, it's cold!!! So besides my visualization of flattened hills, I had to also con myself into believing I am a polar bear and it's a blue bird, sunny day. Registration, transition preparation and doing warm-up exercises seemed to take the chill off and soon I was feeling more accepting of the coolness of the Wisconsin fall morning - a warm truck offered some help as well.
As the sun came up for the start of the race, the temperature crept up to 45 degrees and with aid of a wetsuit the elements became tolerable. With a little more mental prep, I was ready to start the race. I was in the 6th wave of the 400m swim start - a beach start. Stepping into the water brought the realization that the water was warmer than the air temperature. It made for a very comfortable swim in the calm waters. All the hours doing lap after lap and one drill after another have really paid off. Beginning with total immersion swimming one year ago, Coach Joe has taken me far in developing my swim technique and endurance - something I would have thought impossible at the start of my experience with ET. The swim was very straight forward; nothing fancy about it. In and out of the water in 7:19 and off to transition.
Transition is an area that I have worked on improving over the last few triathlon events as the T-times have contributed too much to my overall time in previous races. I have learned to get out of my wet suit quickly, organize my bike accessories and run bare footed before hopping onto the bike with the shoes already attached to the pedals. It paid off handsomely in this race as I zipped through transition and onto the bike in 1:49 when most people were averaging 2:30. I think it had to do with my willingness to tough out the cool weather while others were putting on cool weather gear.
And so I began the bike ride feeling the coolness of the air drying off the water on my skin...bbbrrrrrr! Fortunately, I warmed up quickly with the ride up the first hill right out of the gate. Having the experience of a coach paid off with these monster hills. Coach Joe advised to pace myself up these hills and think about consistent front to back, smooth pedaling while staying seated. Like the little engine that could, I found myself chugging up these hills passing scads of people exerting tremendous effort in their climb - many were even walking beside their bikes. The reward for climbing those hills was awaiting at the crest of every hill...the downhill. 40-45mph descents - what a rush! And that was the entire race - trudging uphill and flying downhill. Finally, the end came in site and that was the first I saw of my fan base (my family) and Coach Joe, who has seen every one of my races this season. What great support I have gotten this year - way above and beyond what I could have expected from ET and Coach Joe! After 51:34, it was into transition 2 for a 1:28 change which was slow because I realized my feet were frozen and I couldn't feel them going into my running shoes. With shoes and number bib on, I was out the gate for the 5k run.
Running was always my strength and after the bike ride, I felt so good and strong that I just took off like a rocket. I quickly found that zone I like to be in when running - a place where everything around me is a little fuzzy and I can hear my heartbeat and breaths reverberating in my ears. At this point, I am focused on my cadence and pace - be damned the hills and cars and people who get in my way. No one was going to pass me. Mile marker 1 passes then mile marker 2. The pace is faster, things in the periphery become even blurrier and the end is soon in sight. Not even an amateur photographer stepping into my running lane was going to stop me from crossing that finish line. Waiting on the other side were my little girls with a careful hug and kiss for their sweaty dad. That made the race worth it. The run lasted 18:25 - a personal best that even surpassed my previous 5k run-only PRs by over a minute.
With the run finished, so was my race. My overall time was 1:20:34, which put me at 20th overall out of 735 racers and 7th in my age group. I was so proud of myself. I also learned that I was unofficially in 1st place among flatlanders as all 19 competitors ahead of me were from Wisconsin and racing in very familiar territory. With this race concluded, so was my tri season as well. It's been a great first year. I owe so much to Coach Joe and ET for the great training, strategic race planning and constant guidance to ensure a safe, injury free racing season. It culminated in an experience so enjoyable that I am already planning next year's season. With that, I give you my leave to get back into bed under the covers - I am still thawing out after that bike ride! Holy Cow, it's cold!!!!
Enjoy all the photos from the Devil's Tri weekend at ET Photo.
