Betwixt the Mountains

A Lake Logan Triathlon Race Report

Dee Dee and I didn't know what to expect for this one. We were leaving the general vicinity of Canton, Georgia and traveling through the mountains to get to Canton, North Carolina. I was totally able to find some humor in this situation.

We managed to slip out of town around 3 PM on Friday. Racing on Saturday is an odd experience for me. We traveled familiar roads up to Hiawassee and made a left turn into North Carolina. I admit feeling a bit of nostalgia. The Summer Sizzler was this weekend, and I passed it up in favor of Lake Logan in honor of Dee Dee's first international distance triathlon.

The ride up was everything I hoped for. We were treated to spectacular views of the mountains. Up and down and around, we went. Dee Dee has this thing with her ears, and I got a report every time her ears popped :-) Once we were through the mountains, it was a straight shot to Waynesville, NC. We were staying at the Oak Park Inn there. We arrived late, but thought we could shoot down to the race site and pick up our packets. On the way over, Dee Dee and I laughed. We were wondering, where were they were gonna find routes for this supposedly flat course? We got there right before closing time, only to find out that packet pick up was back in Waynesville, ten miles up the road! LOL...

Dee Dee and I checked out the race site a bit, then travelled back to Waynesville to find our hotel. We had driven right past it without realizing. While we were checking in, the owner suggested we go to a little Italian restaurant down the road a ways. We asked him if we could walk, and at first, he said no. Then, he said that "people like us" could probably walk, but it was about a mile down the road. Dee Dee and I thought that sounded good to us. After dumping our stuff in our hotel room, we set off on foot to find this restaurant.

Yea, bad idea! Note to self... Never walk somewhere in a strange town without checking it out in the car first!!

We walked for about twenty minutes and no restaurant was in site. We weren't really sure how much further this place was. We opted to turn around and get the car. We walked another twenty minutes back to the hotel. We definitely got our pre-race exercise in!! It turns out, the restaurant was 1.5 miles from the hotel, and we were about a quarter of a mile away when we turned around. It was no big deal. When we got there, we were fourth in line for a table. A threesome of triathletes from North Carolina came in behind us. They wanted to sit outside. When their table was ready, they asked us if we wanted to join them. Dee Dee and I thought that was just grand, and we had a very nice dinner with Dan, Katie, and Andrea from Raleigh, NC. Dee Dee had her usual pre-race spaghetti dinner, and I had a nice piece of fish. We sat outside on the patio and had a gorgeous view of the mountains, highlighted by the setting sun.

After dinner it was back to the hotel to try and get some sleep. The hotel was nice, but definitely not worth the money. A Sleep Inn or Best Western would have been comparable. I guess we paid for location this race. Neither Dee Dee nor I slept very good. Evidently, Dee Dee had not been sleeping well for three days. She said she had been having dreams about drowning! LOL!!! She was up before the alarm went off, as usual, and I dragged myself out of bed around quarter to five. You'll be happy to know that I had a decent breakfast this time. No Krispy Kreme donuts for me!!! We packed up all our stuff, loaded the car, and headed off to the race site in the wee hours of the morning.

We weren't one of the first ones to arrive, but we were pretty early. The transition area was fairly well lit. Dee Dee and I avoided the rush at packet pickup then went and got body marked. I'm pretty sure we were one of the first ones on the rack. We were able to setup side by side. While we were setting up transition, Danni came by and began setting up her space in the rack behind us. It was great getting to met YAB (yet another blogger)! It is so much fun going to races all over the south and basically having people you "know" at the races. Danni was sporting a really HAWT tri bike. She looked like she was ready to get down to bidness!

Dee Dee and I grabbed our wet suits and headed over to the line to the port-o-potties. We did our thang and began the walk to the swim start. Due to the drought, the lake is 5-6 feet below normal. Normally, the swim started on the other side of the bridge. You did an out and back, swam under the bridge and came out right by transition. This year, they had to move it a half mile down the lake. They set up a little transition area there for our shoes and swim gear. Dee Dee and I put on our wet suits there. Danni was already there, suited up and ready to go. I slipped into my suit with no problem, but Dee Dee was like a high schooler going to her first prom. She couldn't get anything right with her wet suit, and she pretty much admitted to me that it was nerves. LOL!! This was a good thing, as it really made it easier to deal with the tension. I was a bit anxious to get into the water for my pre-race warm up, and time was running out. We got Dee Dee situated, and I ran down to the lake and jumped in. I hadn't been in my wet suit since Langley Pond. I felt like a cork! I had swum a short distance out into the lake when the race director announced it was time to get out of the water. I swam back in, then down the shore a bit and was happy with that. The water was warm, but not too warm. It would definitely be a comfortable swim.

The RD counted down the minutes to the first wave and started them off with a horn. I was in the third wave. The second wave got into the water while I waited with Dee Dee. I gave Dee Dee a kiss and got into the water after the second horn sounded. Liz had told me to make sure I had an "out" on the swim. Since it was an in water start, everyone would go vertical at the same time. I made my way out into deep water at the end of the line. The RD had instructed us to go around the yellow buoys. The orange ones didn't matter. They just marked distance. The RD sounded the horn for our wave and we were off.

The first thing I noticed was that I was getting left behind! LOL!! These North Carolina peeps are really good triathletes, and they can swim. I put my head down and focused on my race! I started out a little faster than I usually did, but not fast enough to get out of breath. Once I got into a rhythm, I picked up the pace. Out in the center of the lake where I was, I had plenty of open water to swim in. I kept pulling to the right, but every time I sighted, I made the adjustments to stay on track. Before long, I began to catch up to and pass the peeps in my wave. Things got a little crowded at the first turn around, but I managed to swim across somebody's legs without getting kicked. Once I turned around, I swum out wide to stay in open water.

At this point, for some reason, my goggles decided to start leaking on me. I think I scrunched up my face or something and broke the seal. My first attempt to flip onto my back and reset them failed. A few minutes later, I had to do it again and finally got it right. The really fast chicas from the wave after me (Dee Dee's wave) came passing through, and I tried to latch on to some feet, but they were just too fast. I settled for the feet of some guy who was swimming about my pace. It didn't last long however. I ended up having to pass him. At the final turn to shore buoy, I got hit by a blast of refreshingly cold water. The lake is fed by streams that run down out of the mountains. I noticed that the lake was only 2-3 feet deep at this point, and I almost laughed. It wasn't long though, before I was back out into deep water and heading for shore. I swam until my hands touched the bottom, stood up, and climbed the bank up onto dry land. My swim time was 28:53, in line with most of my times for that distance.

I ran to the swim transition area and took off my wet suit. I was not looking forward to the half mile trip back to transition proper. After putting on my shoes and grabbing my plastic bag (with suit juice and anti-fog spray), I began a slow jog down the dirt road. There were a few peeps (with kids) from the cabins out cheering us on, and that made me smile. Once I arrived in transition, everything went very smooth. Since I had run in shoes, my feet were relatively dry and no sand! Woot! I slipped on my bike shoes, grabbed my helmet and race belt and began the run back to the road. I hopped on my bike and started what proved to be a very fun ride. My T1 time was 9:56. That has to be a personal worst ;-)

On leaving the park, you were treated to your first and only "real" hill. I tried my best to save my legs. I stayed in the saddle and grinded my way up the hill. The true reward was on the other side. There was a really sweet long downhill. I hit 41 mph going down that hill, and the wind was whistling in my ears. I knew from the route report that I would have to climb that sucker on the way back. I looked out to my left as I sped down the hill and saw all the peeps still in the lake from the later waves. I knew my sweetie was out there swimming, and I tried not to let my nervousness distract me from the task at hand. I resisted the urge to shout "Go Dee Dee"! LOL!!

The bike route was delicously flat. There were a few hills to test your legs, but mostly it was pedal, pedal, and more pedal! I wasn't feeling 100%. Towards the end, there were a few spots where I just didn't have anything left in the tank. I dug deep, kept pedaling, and totally ignored the peeps passing me on the bike. We travelled out to Canton, NC, made the turn around, then headed back to the lake. At mile 23, the huge hill loomed. I gritted my teeth and vowed not to walk. After grinding for what seemed like an enternity, I crested the hill and began my decent down into the park. The signs warned us to slow down, and I heeded them. I know all about running off the road and into fences :-) I managed to pull my feet out of my shoes quickly before the dismount line. I hopped off the bike barefooted and ran down the path to transition. Total bike time was 1:15:06.

I had felt like I sucked the bike this day (I didn't). So, again, I took my time in transition. It's funny how time slows down when you are calm, cool, and collected. When I put my bike on the rack, my heart jumped for joy when I saw Dee Dee's bike was gone. I threw on my Zoots and hat, turned my race belt around, and was out of transition in 1:45. That's very respectable for me.

After the way my legs felt on the bike, I wasn't sure what I had left for the run. The route description described the run as "imperceptably uphill" to the turn around, then fast and downhill to the finish. Well, all I got to say is imperceptable my A-S-S. Sure, it was a one percent grade most of the way up, and two percent in some places, but it was ALL UPHILL the entire way. I had planned on keeping my heart rate in the 160-163 range for the first half of the race. I quickly established that zone and made my way up the race course. That's a good pace for me, and a little faster than the start of my run in Chattanooga.

Some jackhole was firing a gun and/or fireworks along the run route. The other athletes and I laughed as we ran by, pictures of Deliverance dancing in our heads. I walked for a few seconds at each of the water stops, but I basically ran the entire way up to the turn around. I was so happy when I finally reached the turn around. I was tired of going up and up and up!

On the way back down, I was flying! I could have easily kept my heart rate in the 160-165 range and enjoyed more speed with less effort, but that wasn't the deal. My goal on the way down was to keep my heart rate in the 165-168 range, and that is what I did. Going down hill was just a bonus. Did I mention I was flying? Most of the run route was shaded, and I was having a fantastic run. I saw Danni between miles two and three (my five and six), and I yelled at her. "Hey Danni! Rock it, girl!" She smiled, yelled back, and kept running. I knew she was having a good race.

Once I saw the cars, I knew that the race was almost over. I picked up my pace and my heart rate climbed above 170, approaching my lactate threshold pace. I crossed over the bridge, around the corner and headed for the finish line. I decided not to kick it in this time, as I was already running pretty fast, and I had pretty much left it all out there on the course. I crossed the mat in 56:45, a 9:07 average pace, and a total triathlon time of 2:52:23.

I grabbed something to drink and headed over to transition to see if Dee Dee was back yet. She wasn't. I started to walk down to the road to wait for her to come in when I saw her making her way down from the street. I shouted some encouragement to her and waited for her to come out of transition. As she started her run, I ran with her for a bit to give her the scoop on the run route. I relaxed and smiled as I watched her head out over the bridge and into the forest.

At this juncture, I knew I had at least an hour before Dee Dee made it back. I went and got some food. Sat for a bit, then headed over to transition to pack my stuff. I decided to take my bag back to the SUV. I saw my friends Katie and Andrea coming back from the run and I shouted at them. They told me Dee Dee was on her way as they had crossed paths out on the route. After changing my clothes and dumping my pack in the car, I headed back to the finish. I ran into Danni and her family one last time. They were on their way home. We said our good byes. It was such a pleasure meeting you Danni! I'm looking forward to seeing you and your family again in November!!

I knew that Dee Dee would be tired after her run. I went to transition and packed up all her gear and straightened out her wet suit. After cleaning up her transition area, I headed to the finish line and found a shady spot to wait. I helped the race peeps remove chips. About twenty or thirty minutes later, Dee Dee came running down the road. Andrea joined her for a short bit, and I thought that was so cool. Tri peeps are such a cool bunch. I took a few pics and cheered Dee Dee to the finish. She crossed the line in 3:59:59, well before the race cut off. I was so proud of her.

Dee Dee was definitely tired. She wanted to pack up and get the heck outta there! I obliged! LOL!! Dee Dee is the boss!! After Dee Dee changed her clothes, we packed up the car and took off. We filled up with gas in Waynesville, got some liquids and a big cup of the best boiled peanuts ever! Then it was back home to Georgia. The ride back was just as spendid as the ride there. We even stopped off at a scenic overlook to take in the sites and snap a few pictures. After stopping for lunch in Hiawassee, we made it home around 4 PM and passed out! Phew!! What a long day!

I've been thinking about this race quite a bit since yesterday. I did better than I thought I did. As a matter of fact, if they hadn't had to move the swim, I would have PRed fo sho! The swim went OK. The bike was good, and the run was fantastic! Even better than that, I had executed the plan again, flawlessly. It really doesn't get any better than that!

Dee Dee told me after the race that she NEVER wants to swim that far again. LOL!! Today, she's been looking at more triathlons, including some Olympic distances. It's funny how that works. Once you learn to respect the distance, going longer is fun!!

We left the camera at home. We ended up buying one of those disposable digital cameras from the drug store. As soon as we get the pics off, I'll get some posted for you!!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I know we did :-)

Wes