Paging Dr. Leo Marvin - Devil's Challenge Race Report


photos: Ken and the boys ate breakfast by the lake. Me - go time! It started raining during my swim. I was in wave 10 of 12.

You can't control the weather. You can control how you respond to the weather and train to improve your performance in various weather conditions. This last weekend, during my last sprint tri of the season, it rained.

I'm happy to swim and run in the rain, it's fun. I'm working to enjoy riding in the rain. I've trained and raced in the rain, cold, heat and wind. The previous weekend it rained during my fourth tri. That bike course is flat with long straight stretches and I'm comfortable holding a strong pace in a straight line in the rain.


photos: This is me on my hotwheel and me on my two-wheeler next to the annoying next-door neighbor kid. These are the faces I'd like to make while riding my bike in any weather condition.

I'm working on the downhills. The Devil's Challenge Triathlon is known for its challenging bike course filled with climbs, descents and turns. Throw in rain, cars on course and gravel, and I'm using every mental trick I can to stay relaxed and in control.

Like Bob Wiley's fish Gil, it's easy for me to get all locked up inside. I had two moments of pure panic on the bike course, I recovered but chose to let go of my bike time and finish without the screaming wet downhill pace. I climbed each hill and felt stronger technically and physically on the uphills but my overall bike time was several minutes slower than the previous year because I let go of the free speed the downhills deliver. It's where I'm at. And, as a triathlete I see value in the big and little moments training and racing, not value based only on finish time.

Great things did happen:
- I had my fastest OWS (shore at 8:26, timing mat at 8:50) and caught up to the slower men from the wave in front of me.
- I had the fastest T1 and T2 of the Athena category (any woman over 145 pounds can register for Athena)!
- I cut over five minutes off my run time! I spend the least time running this year. I do strength and agility run work, but have focused instead on the swim and bike segments.

DCT 2009 swim: 9:57, T1: 2:58, bike: 1:10:37, T2: 1:49, run: 33:12. Overall: 1:58:30.
DCT 2010 swim: 8:50, T1: 2:20, bike: 1:14:41, T2: 1:20, run: 28:00. Overall: 1:55:09.


photos: my wave enters. Ken caught me moving in T1. Bike dismount line.


photos: The muddy path to transition. The timing mat for T2 (notice the huge mud puddle right before the mat.) Me early on the run course, I like the crazy look my foot has in the picture.


photos: I'm the second woman in this picture chasing the lady in front of me. I caught her right before the chute and Ken therefore missed me in the picture, you can see a silver of my bottom and my shoe right next to the right edge.


photos: Leaves are changing. Cute hay bales. A drizzly day.
Questions for You:
- What About Bob? is one of my favorite movies. What's your favorite line?
- What are your tips for cycling in the rain?

What About Bob? trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi971112729/

What About Bob? the dinner scene. I eat corn on the cob like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvVKFCP5cCA

What About Bob? quotes
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103241/quotes

7 comments:

chris mcpeake said...

great race report.
congrats

Unknown said...

I love your race reports and the excitement you share about the moments. Thanks for taking the time to put them together, and the photos are nifty.

As to What about Bob? Such a fun movie. Les and I just watched it again a couple of weeks ago.

Do you just cringe when the last triathlon of the season comes? I've got Elephant Man this Sunday, and know I could sign up for another sprint on Oct. 30th and one on Dec. 12th (season is longer in NM).

David Doyle said...

Great description of the conditions.

I did the Devil's Challenge on Sunday too. Was my 3rd time, and even though I normally like racing in the rain (i've PR'ed twice in rain), Sunday wasn't as good.

Gosh, even though I've raced it before too, I forgot just how challenging the hills are on this course.

Well done - with the last tri of the season done, enjoy a bit of RnR, and then into off-season training.

Cheers!

David Doyle said...

Great description of the conditions.

I did the Devil's Challenge this past Sunday as well. Usually I enjoy racing in the rain (had PR's twice in rain). But this past Sunday was tough. I've done that tri 3 times before, but I forget just how challenging those hills can be. I had fun, but wasn't my best tri performance.

Now with the final tri of the season complete, you can look forward to some RnR and then off-season training.

Cheers!

Christine said...

My only tip for riding in the rain is to forget about pace. Go slower and be safe. Brake smoothly and brake earlier, watch for increased debris on the bike path. People who speed demon in the rain are going to wipe out - sometimes right in front of you. Think about rain as a bike handling challenge and not a race.

And the last thing is just to smile about it. It's just some liquid sunshine.

Christine said...

My only tip for riding in the rain is to forget about pace. Go slower and be safe. Brake smoothly and brake earlier, watch for increased debris on the bike path. People who speed demon in the rain are going to wipe out - sometimes right in front of you. Think about rain as a bike handling challenge and not a race.

And the last thing is just to smile about it. It's just some liquid sunshine.

Sara Cox Landolt said...

@Chris - thanks so much! And thanks for commenting.

@Patricia - hey there birthday twin! Fun that we enjoy What About Bob as well. :-)

@David - thanks for stopping by & commenting on my post. Cool that you also did Devil's Challenge! Yes, the hills are a big part of that course!

@Christine - thanks too for your comments and for your advice with cycling in the rain. It was a long ride for me, but I'm proud of the choices I made.

Thanks everyone for your support!