Sunday June 18, 2010 it was a bit overcast, cool, in the 50s and crowded at Seward Park. The day before I spent getting my bike ready, laying out all of the items I would need, all bagged up in separate baggies so I would be sure to have everything I needed. Went to bed about 10:00 the night before and slept well until 3:45. Got up and ate 2 Lara Bars and drank a cup of coffee. Checked all my gear and loaded the car. Checked the bike on the rack one last time, number in place, checked the tires and woke up the wife to get ready to go. Drank 10 ounces of electrolyte replacement. Pretty sure everything was good to go, so off we went.
Watched the sun come up as we drove to Seattle. Traffic was light but slowly built up as the time went by. Making the transition from I405 to I90 I was passed by a truck with a bike marked for the race. By the time we got to Mercer Island there was a caravan forming; first one, then three, then six or seven and by the time we were on S. Rainer Ave. there was a wagon train moving toward the park. There is no parking at the site for the event which I had been told by several people was the only drawback of a splendid event. Luckily we found a spot on a side street about 1/2 mile up the road. We grabbed our gear, race bag, wetsuit, blanket, chair for Maureen, and started walking.
As we left 57th onto S. Orcas we joined a parade of competitors and companions walking, riding to the park. People flowing together from the side streets, down the main thoroughfare, a river moving toward the transition. About 500 yards from the park I stopped mid-stride and realized that I had unfortunately forgotten a vital piece of equipment, I had left behind my timing chip. As you might guess I was deflated. I actually considered just packing it in and heading home. But we picked up and finished the walk to the park. Maureen waited as I went into the transition area and racked my bike. Em was supposed to be coming so Maureen called to see if she could bring the timing chip. She and B were getting ready to leave so with about an hour to go before the start it was possible they would get to the race before I started. Okay that could work so I continued to set out my gear and get everything ready. Fortunately I did have everything I needed. I was anxious and realized I needed to go to the bathroom. Everything was ready except for putting on my wetsuit so I figured that I had time to go. I headed over to the line and it looked about 20 or more minutes long, but I really had to go. You could say that by now I was thinking this day is not going as planned. While standing in line, the announcer was ticking off the minutes until the transition area would be cleared, the minutes moving faster than I was and I still had to get into the wetsuit. Finally I got to use the porta-potty and sprinted back to the bike rack. I probably had more time than I thought but I was giving in to the pressure of the moment. I scrambled into my suit, grabbed my swim cap and goggles and went to the swim start area. Maureen checked with Em and she was on the way so all I could do was wait. I spent the next few minutes jogging and loosening up, checking visually with Maureen every so often for news of the chip. Maureen was with spectators and we were separated by the exit chute from the water. We could yell back and forth and gesture. I kept warming up, the announcer called the first wave and in minutes the horn sounded as the elite wave started. I was in wave 13 so I waited as each wave started every 4 or 5 minutes and still no chip. Finally I saw Maureen head up the street and she met B running down the hill, the police would not let them drive down the hill. They made the exchange and Maureen jogged the 100 or so yards to the fence where a woman in the no-man-zone made the pass from her to me. I grabbed the chip, quickly fastened it to my ankle and sprinted to the swim start. Everyone in my wave, 55 and older men and women wearing neon orange caps, were all in the water. I was on the shore and the last to get in. One step into the water and the horn sounded. I took another step, slipped, and ended up doing the back float affixing my goggles in place. I flipped over, started my stop watch and started to swim chasing the pack. There would be only one more wave, family and friends, after mine so I imagined being the last in a long line of finishers, wondering would I even finish within the allotted time. From this point on the event was pretty routine, swim bike run finish, no problem, at least that's what I was thinking as I started to snake my way up through the crowd of swimmers ahead. I wasn't too cold and found my stroke, I actually started to plan how I would go faster as the swim progressed. During the entire swim, a triangular counter-clockwise course, I held a true line and was able to move around some of the slower swimmers, I even passed a few that were in earlier waves. There were some who could not seem to find a straight course and kept zig-zagging in front of me which affected my time and one swimmer was intent on shouldering me out of the way on the last approach to the swim exit. But I found the shore, got up on my feet and jogged to the bike rack. I still haven't perfected the wetsuit exit but everything else went on quickly and I was running out of the bike area to the mount up. On the bike I felt good, was into the big gear sooner than I expected and stayed in it all the way. The ride around Lake Washington was awesome, a few light hills but I stood on the pedals and worked through them. I was worried about the entrance to the I90 express lanes but was able to make the climb, the access road was wider than I expected. Hit some head winds but also was up to 26 mph at one point. When you arrive at the Mercer Island end you go through a long tunnel, and since there were cars it was very quiet, I could hear the other cyclists change gears, it was really cool. I drank some water along the way and downed a gel pack while crossing the bridge. I finished the ride with no problems but I did have some trouble putting on my running shoes. Left the transition with a drink of water and tried to find my feet. I had a quick pace, short strides, but got comfortable and enjoyed the view. About one mile I got a side stitch, had to work through that and at almost mile 2 I was fine except I was going up hill to the upper park area. Made the turn around with less than a mile to go. Not moving too fast but moving anyway. Rounded a corner and could see the finish, soon passed a sign "300 steps to go" and tried to keep my form through the finish. The clock read 2:42 from the first horn, my time was 1:47 and change. I felt great but my quads were tight. Had something to eat, visited the bathroom, took a few pictures, then Maureen and I packed up and headed home. We were back about 11:30. We all had some breakfast and then everyone except me took a nap. I was tired but too wired to sleep. And that as they say is that. A hui hou, see you on the road.
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