tri fit family: The adventure to and from LaGrande with a race in between

The Adventure
We left Corvallis just in time to catch the prime Friday five o'clock traffic in Portland. I-5 came to a stand still just before we got to I-205, so we quickly changed course and got on I-205. Moments after my sigh of relief that we managed to get out of that mess, we found ourselves in the same exact position on this freeway. Hot, tired and hungry, the kids began to complain about this and that, but really they were just plain hungry. It was about 6pm, and we had been in the car for 2 hours, but traveled only about 70 miles.

We barely made it over the 3 lanes of stopped traffic to the exit, but figured we should stop for dinner and wait out the traffic. A large church parking lot off the freeway offered a pleasant dinner stop complete with a tree for shade, a curb for sitting on while we cooked our dinner, and a big open space for a few games of hide and go seek. By the time we got back on the freeway, the traffic had lightened up and we continued on.

Although our plan was to get all the way to Echo, Oregon, just an hour away from LaGrande, we decided to stop in Hood River for the night and save the bulk of the drive for the morning when we could enjoy the beauty of the Gorge. This also gave us the opportunity to stay at the Tucker Park Campground along the Hood River. The campground was full of bikers, wind-surfers and kite boarders who all came to Hood River to enjoy the outdoors so we felt right at home. We picked our spot right next to a gigantic rock where the kids challenged each other and themselves to find the fastest route up and down. Trevor and I enjoyed a beer while timing their climbs on the stopwatch. It was fun to walk around the campground and pick out the "choice" sites right along the river. Next time, we'll know to get there just a little bit earlier!

Mike's Ice Cream shop in Hood River. YUM!

Beautiful Hood River

The drive along the Gorge is amazing. Windsurfers and kite-boarders, cliffs and rock formations. We listened to old time fiddle music while we made our way to Morgan Lake in LaGrande where the race would be held.

Trevor's folks and our 2 nieces drove from Missouri to visit us for 10 days. They timed the drive so they could meet us in LaGrande and see the race. This was pretty exciting for us all, as we had not seen the girls in a few years and they had never before seen a triathlon race.

I did not sleep one minute the night before the race. I managed to stay calm, and rest my body although my mind just raced about this and that. Nonsense really, but I just could not shut it off. No time to fret about a lack of sleep, I clumsily readied myself and tried to appear cheerful to everyone around that was anxiously watching my preparation.

The Race

The horn sounded and we were off. I positioned myself on the right, but made sure there were people on both sides of me. I felt great at first, had my own space and really don't think that I was knocked into by anyone.... that is until I decided to stop and look around a bit about 300meters out. Once I broke my rhythm it was hard to get it back. That little voice inside my head kept telling my to lift my head to make sure I was on track. After rounding the last buoy I knew I was headed home and forced myself to keep my head down. It helped that I was swimming next to a guy who was about my pace. We swam the entire 600 meters or so together which helped me remain confident that we were on course. I figured that I had a lot of catching up to do, but when I hopped on my bike, my legs just did not feel that great. Not sure if it was due to the elevation, the fact that I was due to start my period, or the lack of sleep the night before. Regardless, I gave it all I had but it did not feel too good.

I was surprised to find Lizzy at the base of the first major climb. We exchanged a few words and she asked me how my swim was. "Apparently not that bad if I am here with you now." I was happy to have caught up with her so soon, since she is such a strong swimmer. This gave me a bit of confidence that maybe I was not too far behind the leaders.

The bike course was rough. In 17 miles there was nearly 3000 feet of climbing, which on this day felt really hard. The descents were steep, loose and very rocky. I'm pretty sure I felt each and every rock and root and at times worked hard just to hold on the the handlebars and stay on my bike. I wished that I had ridden my full suspension bike for this course, but had to deal with what I had. I would get close to the women in front of me on the climbs, and then we would hit a big downhill portion and I would fall behind again. I could never quite get there. At one point as I climbed up to the top of the ridge, the sky opened up to me. I knew that whatever was to my left was spectacular, as I was at 5500ft, but the trail was so rocky and rutted that I could not take my eyes off of it. Finally, I could not ignore the temptation any longer and I guiltily took a quick peek. It was absolutely incredible, as I shouted out WOW! The LaGrande Valley, lush and green surrounded by mountain peaks. Although I only caught a glimpse of this view, the excitement fueled me for a while. When I came bouncing down the meadow and nearly bounced right off my bike, I told myself over and over to be light on my bike and hang on, advice I gleaned from pro-rider Adam Craig's write up in a magazine. Soon enough, that part was over and as I came back down to the lake Trevor was there to tell me that I was in 4th place.

The run course was equally as difficult as the bike. For some reason the course was changed from last year and sent us down this steep gravel road only to have to turn right back around and climb back up. This goes against my trail running philosophy of not ever doing out and backs, but rather loops. How boring! But, I bit my tongue, kept my legs moving and took this opportunity to eat a Hammer gel Tropical with caffeine. I remember reading once in a friends blog that she loves the caffeine gel's late in a race and I needed something to get me through this one. It was getting hot, was really dry and my legs still just did not seem to be moving so well.

Having so many people on the course I knew was a huge pick-me-up. Mat's parents were both out there, Trevor and the kids, Lizzy's friend Sarah and my in-laws. I would be feeling pretty low and tired and then I would hear one of them cheer for me and I began to feel strong again.
I worked hard to catch the women in front of me to take over the 3rd place spot. As I was on my 2nd lap around the lake,Trevor rode along side me on his mountain bike. I was so fatigued that I said nothing until I blurted out, "where is she?" He thought that I was asking about the girl in front of me, and said "not far at all." I responded, "oh shit" because I was wanting to know if I was being chased. I really did not want to get caught on the run, so I picked up my legs and pushed as hard as I could around that lake. About 2 miles from the finish I saw a women up ahead of me. Assuming that she was in 2nd, I picked up the pace to finally catch her with about 200 meters to go. I would later find out that the women I passed was actually on her first lap around the lake, and I in fact finished in 3rd place. Although I was a bit disappointed by this realization, it was good practice to push my body till the end. I think I usually would settle into my place and do just enough to hold it. Today though, was a race until the end. Although the field was small, with maybe 100 participants, those that did show up were very strong.

The kids participated in the Kids Duathlon, and we all had a blast cheering them on. Keller decided that it would be good practice to wear his clip less peddles, so had to change shoes twice. He stayed positive despite being the ONLY ONE that had to change shoes.

Alleck was the youngest participate in the long course, and finished his race in a sprint. He was so happy just to be out there, and rode sections of the trail that only the day before he swore he would not.

The best part of their race was all the support out on the course. We all spread out, and cheered them along. This was the longest race that they have done, and it was really hot!

As Alleck crossed the finish line, the rest of the kids gathered around him and cheered. One new little friend that he met picked him up while he congratulated him. It was about the cutest thing ever to watch these red-faced kids debrief with each other about their race.

kids "long course" podium.

The Adventure Continues.......

We drove to Baker City that evening and enjoyed dinner at the Barley Brown Brewery with my Aunt Arlene. She graciously hosted our large crew in her Farm House, and she and I stayed up way to late catching up.

Then next morning my cousin Marty and his kids taught us how to fish. They came with poles galore and we all worked together to catch grasshoppers to use as bait, just like we did when we were kids! We fished the pond for Bass and caught 5! The kids were ecstatic and insisted that we eat them. I was a bit unsure since this "pond" is really the watering hole for cattle, but a local neighbor assured us that as long as we cooked them through, it would be just fine. I brought our stove out of the van, and before long the fish were gutted and cleaned, fried and eaten.