When it comes to small low key races the Mothers Day Triathlon is a perfect example. The race was held in Elma Wa, if your not familiar with the area just know its in the middle of nowhere…
The weather was overcast & cool, the good news was there were only minor sprinkles. Harmony, Karen & I got the the race site about the time the organizers were getting set up. The 300m swim was in a small canal that was the color of thick chocolate milk. While the water situation was uninviting the real head shaker came from the nuclear reactors in the back ground.
The race was super small but well organized. No timing chips, body marking or age-group starts. The transition area even had people just leaning their bikes up against trees. My guess is about 60 people raced between the tri & du.
Wet suits on & we were all ready to get rolling.
The swim went ok, the water was really cold & there was zero visibility, you couldn’t see your hand right in front of your face underwater. My swim split was around 5 minutes & I’m not sure how long T1 was but I guess it was about 2.5 minutes.
The bike went well, avg speed 21 mph, avg cadence 99 rpm & my time was 36:30. I felt strong the whole time & really enjoyed it.
T2 was also about 2.5 minutes. I started the run with some calf cramps that quickly went away & my knee was feeling ok. About half way through the run my knee started giving me some problems but not too bad, the last quarter mile was pretty painful but I finished the run right at 20 minutes leaving my avg just under 7 minute miles. My totally time for the 300m swim, 13 mile bike & 3 mile run was 1:05.
Harmony pulled out a good race after weeks loooong hours at work & opening two new shows. Karen raced & finished fast even though she has a marathon six days away. (Good luck next weekend at the Capital City Marathon)
All-and-all I was really happy with the outcome & the race was fun. If your looking for an early season sprint with an open water swim I’d suggest this one.
My next race is the Onion Man Triathlon. This one will be an Olympic distance race, between now & then I need to spend some time in the open water to get used to cold as well as swimming in a wet suit. I’m also hoping the IT band issues keep improving over the next couple weeks.
