Lost in Transition or Who Let the Dogs Out

This Saturday morning was the Grant County Recreation Commission Triathlon. It was also my perfect excuse to get out of cooking all day at the Oktoberfest. So despite not really looking forward to or really being ready for this race I signed up and hoped for the best. Looking back it was truly a cosmic mix of circumstances that resulted in my first ever and most likely once in a lifetime overall first place finish in a triathlon.

I'm a winner!

I haven’t done any running since the Tiara Tri the end of August because my plantar fascitis is acting up big time. I’ve managed a few small rides and some nice swim sessions but that’s about it. I signed up for the race thinking I would go, have some fun, take my time, and get out of cooking in a hot kitchen for 12 hours.

Race time was scheduled for 7:00 am. Sunrise was not until 7:28. I’m not a fan of riding in the dark and mentioned this to the race director who assured me it would be fine. Alrighty then. The forecast predicted much cooler temperatures which also didn’t make me happy. We would be swimming indoors but the ride on the bike in a wet tri suit was going to be unpleasant. Maybe I would go and just do the swim. That sounded like a better plan.

The race director called to tell me the start time had been pushed back to 7:30 so things were looking up. I arrived at the pool and only saw a few bikes on the front lawn. Was I in the wrong place? I checked in and picked up my number and asked about the route. The others there were asking about the dogs. What? Dogs? I was told that there was a farmstead we would ride by that was guarded by some dogs. Since everyone was asking about these dogs they must be well known in the area. Her advice? Just keep peddling, they’ll leave you alone after a while. WHAT?!!! They hoped the owner would have them pinned up but if not, just ride a little faster and they would give up chasing you eventually. HOLY COW!!

I set my transition area up near a bench and still didn’t see many other bikes and most of them had kickstands. Hmmmm. I walked into the pool and was given my choice of lane. I asked if it was a serpentine swim and got a blank stare. It was a 6 lane pool, very nice, and there were 6 swimmers. That’s it. No second wave. No sharing lanes. 2 teams (smart, considering the temperature outside was 46 degrees) 1 individual male, and 3 individual females. The other 2 girls were younger and in regular swimsuits. They were rookies but looked very fit. I’m used to losing so coming in third isn’t so bad.

We started swimming and I kept up a nice steady pace and finished my 400 meter swim in good time. I was surprised to see the other 2 still in the pool. They were each faster than me swimming but had to take long breaks at each turn. I hopped out of the pool and burst out of the doors into the cold morning air. Wowsers! That was not fun. I toweled off a little better then normal and put on my riding jacket and gear and off I rode following the directions of the volunteers and hoping I wasn’t going to get lost. (No maps since all the other participants were locals except me.)

It was COLD on that bike. My feet and thighs were stinging after the first mile but the faster I peddled the warmer I got so I just kept spinning away. At the second turn the volunteer warned me that the dogs were at the top of the hill and NOT pinned up. I could see the rider about a ¼ mile in front of me and when he got to the top of the hill here came the dogs. BIG dogs. I’m not sure of the breed but they looked like rottweilers to me. They went after that bike and I thought, this is it. I’m going to be mauled to death on a triathlon. My only hope was that the dogs would keep following the lead rider and leave me alone. No such luck. As I crested the hill they were standing in the middle of the road, snarling and drooling and right in my way. I started peddling faster and saying a few quick prayers. They came after me and I started growling back hoping to scare them away. It didn’t work. And when they started nipping at my tires and feet I let loose a bloodcurdling scream that surely was heard all the way back in town. The dogs eventually slowed and let me pass but my heart was pounding and I was shaking in the saddle. Why would the race director route us past this place? In addition to the dogs we had to cross the highway 4 times unassisted. I would rethink that route for sure.

The rest of the ride was uneventful until the last two blocks. A volunteer flagged me down and told me

Great to see Yolanda and her lovely smile.

to dismount. What? I got off and started running my bike down the street and she stopped me and said I could leave my bike there. What??? I said all my running gear was at the pool and she pointed to the ground and said they had brought all of it to me. What?!!!  They moved transition while we were out on the bike ride. That just rattled my brain. As triathletes, we practice our transitions and have a certain order to our equipment. They had brought everything I had laid out and put it in a pile on the sidewalk. Unbelievable. My shoes, hat, water bottle, all there and waiting on me. So I changed shoes and started running in the direction the worker pointed, which happened to be right past where transition was originally. In hindsight I realize I was the only participant that had to change shoes so for the rest it really didn’t matter.

The run went well for me and I was able to keep a good run/walk pace going. My foot felt pretty good and the cool temperature was perfect for running. The route looped around several parks and the volunteers were fantastic about letting me know where to go and where my next turn was. I was enjoying the jog through town when I saw my wonderful friend Yolanda and her husband Bill at one of the volunteer stations. Yolanda did the swim portion for a team and then helped out on the route. She told me that I was the first female to pass through and there was only ½ a mile to go! After hearing that I picked up my step a little and started to think maybe, just maybe. But surely one of the others would catch me. I listened for steps but didn’t hear any. With only a block to go I was really pushing, or at least my version of pushing. I heard a cheer of “Go Patty, you can do it!” but with only a few yards to go I heard another name being shouted too and realized that one of the other ladies was closing in on me. But she ran out of time and I crossed 10 seconds ahead of her. I was first across the line for the first time ever, and probably the last. But it felt very nice, even if there were only 3 in the race, a fact that I will omit from further recounts of the day.

I was cold, I was tired and as I drove home my foot really started hurting. I escaped the dogs and made it through the strangest transition ever and even finished with a kick. Looking back, if the other ladies had not taken the time to change into dry clothes for the ride they would have blown by me and left me shivering in my wet tri-suit. But today was my day. My first overall win AND I didn’t have to cook!