Second time on the Rev3 Course

Had a great day yesterday. Cleveland Tri Club organized a course preview day with Rev3, the race company putting on the triathlon.

I had to get up at 4:30 a.m to make it on time, but it was actually not a problem. I woke up before the alarm.

Here's a photo of the sun coming up on my drive there.

The swim clinic in Lake Erie was terrific. I didn't think there was much to learn about open-water swimming, but there was! We did a lot of things I've never practiced on my own, basically out of fear of looking foolish. We all did running beach starts, with dolphin dives once the water was up to our knees. We practiced our buoy turns. We did a beach exit. We did it again. I was able to FINALLY mix it up with some people, and actually was kicked in the arm pretty good. I was glad, because I keep being pretty worried about how I will react if I am really beaten up on the swim. I also learned that running out of the water, even if the water is only up to my knees, is really tiring and gets my heart rate way up. So, that's something I am noting for the future.

For the bike, we split up into four groups. (Here's a photo of the race director, standing at left, giving instructions for the ride.) My group was supposed to be 17-20mph. The ride leader must have had some sort of ego problem, because as soon as we made it through town, we were going 23. I could keep up, but I learned my lesson on this course in June. When riding with a bunch of people who are only doing one loop, if you hammer the course with them, your second loop will SUCK. So I let myself get dropped before I even got to Milan. I did Milan alone, and was almost to Florence when I saw Adam from BeginnerTriathlete.com up ahead. I caught up with him and we stopped at the gas station together for cold water and bathrooms. We stayed together for the next 10-15 miles, and we ended up riding with the Race Director, Eric, and a friend of his. I couldn't believe it! Here we were, with the Race Director drafting off of us! It was awesome! He was extremely personable and a great listener about what people are looking for in a race. He is clearly committed to doing a great job, and being responsive to customers. Rev3 is definitely setting itself up as a competitor to the Ironman brand. They want to be set apart by being family- and spectator-friendly, and by listening to their customers. The four of us stayed together until Berlin Heights, where there was an aid station. Shortly after that was the turn to head south for another loop. I pulled off there and said goodbye to Adam. (I took a photo of him [at right] before he left.) We saw Eric and Janet(?) ride past, and waved. Then I set out on my second loop alone.

The wind had really picked up, and of course the hill in Milan and the gradual climb into a headwind in Vermillion were much more challenging the second time around. When I came back to Berlin Heights, the aid station was no longer staffed (they had warned of this ahead of time) but they left bottled water there. I went into the gas station for drinks and the bathroom and some Fig Newtons. I was close enough to being done that I was letting my mental guard down, but far enough away that I still had a lot of work to do, into the wind, alone.

When I finally made it back to the resort, I had done 97 miles!! I felt great. The run course was still set up, so I did a couple miles out there, and felt pretty good.

Then I covered my bike in the bed of the truck and grabbed my gym bag. I stuck my head into the Black Bear Saloon, and Eric recognized me right away and congratulated me on making it back. I headed for the shower and washed the bugs and salt and grime off my skin. Then I went back to the pub and ordered this:
Hamburger with cheddar cheese, onion, fried egg, bacon, rosemary mayonnaise, lettuce. Served with a side of fries.

On any other day, I would be completely grossed out by the thought of this burger.

I ate the entire thing.

Drove home and made it in time to read the stories and help get the kids in bed.