Buckheads Border Challenge Olympic Tri

Well, another tri down, another Sunday spent relaxing after a hot shower and glowing over my finish. The tri started on the banks of the Ohio River on the Kentucky side, and took us to the Indiana side where we finished the full .9 miles. It was a somewhat tough course, as I had a hard time keeping track of the direction I was going, and spent lots of time near the end trying to keep away from the bank where lots of rocks, logs and weeds loomed. Almost as tough as the swim, though, was trying to walk my way out of the water in knee-deep mud for 50-feet or so. I looked at my watch upon getting out, and saw that it took me 47 minutes to finish - about 8 minutes slower than Knoxville, and 5 minutes faster than Taylorsville, both of which took place last year.

I hopped on the bike after spraying myself wish some SPF, donning my helment and sunglasses, and slipping on my shoes. I believe I was in transition for approximately 2 1/2 minutes, then pedaled away. This was a two-loop out-and-back course which was nearly completely flat! I don't mind courses set up this way, as it gives me a chance to see what's coming the next time around so I know what to expect. Plus, I like to break the race up a little bit, and thinking, "Okay, just three (or two, or one) more of what I just did and I'm done." It was hard to tell who was on their first or second loop, so I wasn't sure exactly how far behind I was. (I say "far behind" b/c I'm pretty sure I was one of the last people out of the water). When I got to the last turnaround I noticed approximately 4-5 bikes behind me, so I felt assured that I wasn't the LAST person on the course.

Finishing up the bike course (in approximately 1:36), I traded my helmet for a hat, sprayed more SPF, and put on some socks and shoes before heading out on jello-like legs. I walked a large part of the first mile, and was concerned that I may have to walk all of it. At this point, the water I consumed on the bike was catching up with me, and I had to pee like a race horse! I asked a few volunteers if there were any porta-pots ahead, and was more than a little discouraged to hear that there weren't any, but instead there was a nice lot of woods near the turn around point. Jeez buddy, thanks a lot. That doesn't quite help a female wearing a one-piece trisuit. Needless to say, I got to the half-way point just fine, turned around, and just couldn't hold it any longer. I commenced to squatting behind a large piece of concrete and let it rip - through my trisuit. I had heard of triathletes "going" in their gear before, mostly during half and full Ironman competitions, and always thought that was more than a little gross. However, with more than 3 miles left to go, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. Luckily, there was a water stop ahead and I was able to douse my contaminated suit with water to keep from any additional stinkiness.

Coming around the corner to make my way back across the Second Street Bridge and towards the finish line, a volunteer asked if I had passsed anyone. "No, I think I'm the last one," I replied. This statement doesn't bother me much, since I also finished dead-last in the Taylorsville Olympic Tri this time last year. Hey, at least I'm out here doing it, right? The only thing that concerned me at this point was that I had heard that they close the race down at the four hour point. I wasn't sure at what point they started timing this four hours, but I didn't want to take any chances. I walked the up-hill of the bridge, and ran as much of the decent into Indiana as possible. For the remainder of the half-mile or so, I ran/walked until I saw the "Finish" sign up ahead. Surely I can run to the finish line, right? All of these people still standing around, waiting for the last person to cross - I can't let the public down! I pulled it out of me and ran the last .3 miles or so until coming to a stop after crossing under the Finish sign, and that lovely medal was hung around my neck.

All in all, it was a pretty good race. I can now say I swam across the river from Kentucky to Indiana - not many people can. The bike courses flat surface was a nice break from the hills I'm so used to in these races, and even the run was mostly flat which helped keep me sane. Oddly enough, even though it took me 3:55 to finish, it didn't seem that long. The bike seemed to fly by, and even the run wasn't so brutal.

A few things that I would change about this race - make sure there are places to use the potty along the course - this would be my #1 complaint. If I had to go #2, it would have been bad news bears. Also, they advertised that there would be clocks along the course, and there were not. I don't mind this so much b/c I wear a watch, which is what I always go by since it's accurate to MY personal time. But beyond clocks, mile markers would have been nice. Thirdly, they also advertised that there would be a Kids Fun Zone with inflatables and whatnot to keep kids busy during the race. There was nothing that resembled this at all. Again, if you're going to advertise something, make sure you have it. And lastly, and probably the most important for some people (those who compete to win or look forward to winning some prize money, or just want their finishing time set in stone), I heard that the timing for the race was not working (either correctly or at all), so there are no official finishing times, meaning no awards for those who really work hard to kick ass at these races. I understand that accidents happen, but for some people their finishing time is a really big deal!

For an inaugural race though, I thought it was mostly excellent, and I give it one-and-a-half thumbs up! And, for me personally, I now know what to work on over the next few months as I prepare for the HalfRev in Ohio in September. Definitey looking forward to it!