140.6 – T1 (aka 0:19:31)
Photos: The T1 room with our transition gear; a shot of the bike transition area; my favorite picture of Michele headed toward her bike; me headed into get my bike; and me through the arch and on my way to spot 2295.
-
After crossing through the swim finish arch, I turned toward Monona Terrace and headed over to the wetsuit peelers (aka strippers), whose sole purpose as volunteers was to help athletes out of their wetsuits in an expeditious way. I had my wetsuit unzipped and was valiantly trying to get my arms free so I could get at least my torso out of my wetsuit before I got to them, but my heart rate monitor wrist watch got in the way in an ugly way. I ran over to two women who weren’t helping anyone else at that time, and they helped me get my arms free (sadly, in the process, I let go of my good goggles, which I had in my hand—thankfully I escaped with my swim cap as a momento). After peeling my torso down far enough, I dropped to the ground and laid on my back while they yanked my wetsuit off—and a hell of a lot faster than I’d ever been able to get free on my own.
After thanking them profusely, I threw my wetsuit over my shoulder and headed up the helix to the transition room. I saw my parents and Rosalyn from IM Mondays toward the bottom, and apparently ran by Kristie, Eric, Cara, Sparkle, Sunshine, and Vardo’s family without spotting them, then saw Theresa, Steph, and Jenny at the bike out area before heading into Monona Terrace. The run up was pretty cool—lots of cowbells, signs, people clapping—even for no one in particular, which in general made me feel like a rock star. I remember checking my watch on the way up and being stunned at my swim time—I figured I was on pace for a ~!:35-1:40 swim at best, so imagine my surprise when I realized I’d done it in 1:22 instead.
I used that momentum to carry me into T1, grabbed my bag, and ran into the women’s changing room. It was about this point when I realized I had only packed my normal T1 towel—a small sweat towel—instead of a full-size towel…guess I forgot that I had planned to do a complete clothing change and went with habit instead. So, I dumped out my bag, attempted to dry off with a tiny little towel, and started the changing process. Turns out it’s not easy to pull on a sports bra and tight UnderArmour long-sleeve shirt when you aren’t quite dry…thank God for the kind volunteer who helped me pull the back of my bra down and get my sleeves down on my shirt. I have to admit it was odd being completely naked in front of a bunch of other people, but thankfully I was more than a tad preoccupied and didn’t really have time to think about it too much.
The woman changing next to me and I had a quick discussion about the clothing options for the ride, and we both ended up opting for both leg and arm warmers in addition to shorts, jerseys, and, in my case at least, my UnderArmour shirt. After putting the finishing touches on my outfit, getting my toe covers pulled on over my shoes, pulling on my gloves, and slapping my helmet on my head, I turned out to head out, only to find Sue in the row of chairs behind me. I wished her good luck on the bike and headed out, after also finding Susan from the Bike Shop on my way out. I found out after the race that Vardo was also in the changing room at the same time—turns out she and Sue came out of the water at about the same time—but I didn’t see her at all.
As I headed out of Monona Terrace and to my bike, I made a desperate stop at the line of Port-o-lets outside the bike area. As luck would have it, bike shoes, water (it had started to rain at this point), and slick plastic Port-o-let floors don’t really mix, and I found myself sliding dangerously across the floor—thankfully (and I mean seriously thankfully), I stayed upright and didn’t fall—I have to think that would’ve been disgusting. After completing my task in said Port-o-let, I ran up to find my bike after waving to Steph, Theresa, and Jenny on the way. Vardo’s dad was actually volunteering in the bike staging area and had conveniently opted to hang out near Vardo’s bike (which was on the rack next to mine), so I saw a friendly face, got some additional words of encouragement, grabbed Tack, and headed on my way to the bike out arch.
Unfortunately, once my bike was in motion, I noticed that my bike computer crapped out—it was fine when I racked it Saturday, but it wouldn’t register. I knew it would drive me bonkers not to have at least cadence for the ride, so I opted to cut my losses and stopped by the InsideOut bike mechanic tent for some help. I had to wait for the mechanics to finish up a tire issue before they attacked my computer. It took the guy about a second to pop off my computer and assess the situation (apparently my sweat had corroded the connections), then he sprayed something onto the connections, wiped it off, and popped it back into the holder. He spun my crank to double-check his work, and handed Tack back to me.
With my bike computer fixed and far and away the longest transition time I’ve ever had, I crossed the timing mat at the bike out, hit the lap button on my watch, and climbed on Tack for the ride of our lives…
After thanking them profusely, I threw my wetsuit over my shoulder and headed up the helix to the transition room. I saw my parents and Rosalyn from IM Mondays toward the bottom, and apparently ran by Kristie, Eric, Cara, Sparkle, Sunshine, and Vardo’s family without spotting them, then saw Theresa, Steph, and Jenny at the bike out area before heading into Monona Terrace. The run up was pretty cool—lots of cowbells, signs, people clapping—even for no one in particular, which in general made me feel like a rock star. I remember checking my watch on the way up and being stunned at my swim time—I figured I was on pace for a ~!:35-1:40 swim at best, so imagine my surprise when I realized I’d done it in 1:22 instead.
I used that momentum to carry me into T1, grabbed my bag, and ran into the women’s changing room. It was about this point when I realized I had only packed my normal T1 towel—a small sweat towel—instead of a full-size towel…guess I forgot that I had planned to do a complete clothing change and went with habit instead. So, I dumped out my bag, attempted to dry off with a tiny little towel, and started the changing process. Turns out it’s not easy to pull on a sports bra and tight UnderArmour long-sleeve shirt when you aren’t quite dry…thank God for the kind volunteer who helped me pull the back of my bra down and get my sleeves down on my shirt. I have to admit it was odd being completely naked in front of a bunch of other people, but thankfully I was more than a tad preoccupied and didn’t really have time to think about it too much.
The woman changing next to me and I had a quick discussion about the clothing options for the ride, and we both ended up opting for both leg and arm warmers in addition to shorts, jerseys, and, in my case at least, my UnderArmour shirt. After putting the finishing touches on my outfit, getting my toe covers pulled on over my shoes, pulling on my gloves, and slapping my helmet on my head, I turned out to head out, only to find Sue in the row of chairs behind me. I wished her good luck on the bike and headed out, after also finding Susan from the Bike Shop on my way out. I found out after the race that Vardo was also in the changing room at the same time—turns out she and Sue came out of the water at about the same time—but I didn’t see her at all.
As I headed out of Monona Terrace and to my bike, I made a desperate stop at the line of Port-o-lets outside the bike area. As luck would have it, bike shoes, water (it had started to rain at this point), and slick plastic Port-o-let floors don’t really mix, and I found myself sliding dangerously across the floor—thankfully (and I mean seriously thankfully), I stayed upright and didn’t fall—I have to think that would’ve been disgusting. After completing my task in said Port-o-let, I ran up to find my bike after waving to Steph, Theresa, and Jenny on the way. Vardo’s dad was actually volunteering in the bike staging area and had conveniently opted to hang out near Vardo’s bike (which was on the rack next to mine), so I saw a friendly face, got some additional words of encouragement, grabbed Tack, and headed on my way to the bike out arch.
Unfortunately, once my bike was in motion, I noticed that my bike computer crapped out—it was fine when I racked it Saturday, but it wouldn’t register. I knew it would drive me bonkers not to have at least cadence for the ride, so I opted to cut my losses and stopped by the InsideOut bike mechanic tent for some help. I had to wait for the mechanics to finish up a tire issue before they attacked my computer. It took the guy about a second to pop off my computer and assess the situation (apparently my sweat had corroded the connections), then he sprayed something onto the connections, wiped it off, and popped it back into the holder. He spun my crank to double-check his work, and handed Tack back to me.
With my bike computer fixed and far and away the longest transition time I’ve ever had, I crossed the timing mat at the bike out, hit the lap button on my watch, and climbed on Tack for the ride of our lives…
posted by roehr @ 1:33 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home