Yesterday I ran the Jordanelle Olympic Distance triathlon at Rock Cliff. I signed up for this race after East Canyon, to make up for transferring back to the Sprint distance. I know I needed to get in an Olympic distance before my scheduled Half Iron distance tri at Ogden Valley in September.
I did a mini-backwards-triathlon last weekend to make sure I could do the distance and then get accustomed to the water at Jordanelle. Let me just say, the Mayflower side of the Jordanelle was incredibly choppy, and it was so windy last weekend! But we started at the Rock Cliff side of the reservoir for the race. We had to park a ways away and ride our bikes to the transition area. It was quite cold in the morning, and very dark. I didn't have a head lamp, so I was careful getting down there. There are some race days that are wonderful and great, and others are just so mentally defeating that it makes you question why you do it. This was one of those mentally defeating races for me.
I set up my transition and chatted with my teammates, Erich and Dave, before the start. The water felt warm, but the air was still cold. I thought maybe I should wear my wetsuit. So I put it on.
We started a bit later than expected. When my wave went off, I took my time and repeated a positive mantra to myself to help calm any residual anxiety I had from East Canyon. I relaxed, but I tired out really quickly from the restriction in my wetsuit. Darn it! I knew I should have gone without. Too late now. The water felt wonderful after awhile!
The run up to transition was a steep incline about a quarter of a mile. I got on my bike and took off. My legs were tired from the swim (being in my wetsuit), and the first half of the bike was a straight incline on a 1-2% grade. I felt so slow, and I felt like I couldn't will my legs to move faster. I knew I was one of the last ones out on the bike course, so I just tried to focus on making it back to transition. Early on, I thought I had popped a tire, but I was lucky I didn't. I think it may have been a piece of gravel getting stuck somewhere. The last half of the bike was a downhill and made me feel much better! The last hill was pretty steep, so I think I may have even hit 40mph on the downhill!
Most of the sprinters were done by the time I got back, so lots of people were walking in the bike lane. I got back to my transition area and then went off for my run. I felt like I was an eternity away from the road. It was hot and my legs were cramping. What I wasn't ready for was some trail running. Mile 2 to 3 was on a trail path between the marina areas and then wrapped around through the nature trail. By my second loop, I believe I was the only one left on the course. I wanted to quit, but I just told myself to keep going. The rest of the triathletes were already on their way out. One lady asked if I was still racing. She commended me for my spirit and cheered me on. I just wanted to cry, and even considered making this my last race of my triathlon career.
I knew at this point I accepted the fact that I was pretty much dead last. I was mentally and emotionally drained. And it was so incredibly hot! I finally reached the finish line, and all but the volunteers were gone. It was heartbreaking. But apparently I placed 3rd in my age group.
Although this was a great race, it really almost broke my spirit. I talked to one of my teammates afterward, and he said the same thing happened to him at one of his past triathlons. I guess it's not always about having the fastest time, but about having the biggest heart.
As they say DLF>DNF>DNS.
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