Big Creek LogoA “bitter sweet” day is the simplest way to sum it all up! Despite finding myself reluctant to race Big Creek a week ago, it was well worth it in hindsight. Plus, this is one of Iowa’s oldest and most coveted triathlons so I simply needed to shake of my funk and get after it. Before I dive into what went down, I need to set it up a bit starting last Wednesday.
The Set-Up:
Under most “pre-race” circumstances, one would/should properly taper(lower the training intesity & frequency) in order to allow their body to heal so they can be as close to 100% as possible come race day. Hy-Vee Tri was the Oly distance that I considered my “A” race and after the Triple ByPass, wanted to shift focus to the 1/2 IM in Lake Geneva. That said, I did not want to lose a weekend of needed training so I could taper for Big Creek. No taper = Not 100% = Slower times all around (in theory)! I ended up banking workouts every day starting last Wednesday, including a pretty decent one the day before Big Creek. All of this was to ensure I was logging the workouts I needed to continue progressing through my 1/2 IM training. Saturday I ended up logging a 1 mile swim, 56 mile ride and a 10K, which was only 7.1 miles short of 1/2 IM distance(0.2mi. short in the water & 6.9mi. on the run)! I was definitely heading into Big Creek fatigued. My mantra for Big Creek was “I’m tired and not 100%, but I will still leave everything I can on the course. Whatever happens, I’ll will have had a great weekend of training!
Pre-Race:
Waking up I up felt suprisingly decent considering the previous days workout. As I was scooting out the door, I thought to myself “Maybe I should grab my wetsuit, just in case!” All week long water temps were hovering around 81 and even the race director told us not to count on it being wetsuit legal. By the time I had parked, the venue was bustling. There was a very cool calmness in the air unlike at Hy-Vee were there seemed to be more nerves and pre-race jitters. I liked it. The loudspeaker came on suddenly and announced that the water temp was 75 degrees and that wetsuits were allow. Even cooler, because I need all the help I can get in the water. Once I was set up in transition, I headed down to the beach for a warm-up swim.
Swim:
I was an orange cap (2nd wave) behind the Elite & Teams. The swim was a clockwise irregular brick, which made for 2 turns and the rest was simply marking bouys. It was a pretty typical swim start for the male 30-34 with a lot of thrashing and trying to find room. I went out pretty hard and was breathing every stroke to keep as much O2 coming in as possible. Within 400m or so, the field was pretty broken up yet I couldn’t gauge where I thought I was relative to everyone else. I found a few feet in front of me and spent some time working on drafting, but couldn’t hold the line for longer than a minute or so. After the first turn I felt someone to my right and before I knew it, POP, knuckles coming up out of the water for his next stroke, he nailed me right in the middle of my top lip. Wasn’t his fault, just part of the game. I was convinced I was bleeding and it immediately went pretty numb, but the strokes needed to continue. All in all, I managed to settle into what felt like an acceptable pace for me. After the 2nd turn, it was a straight shot of about 700m to shore. Soon enough, I grabbed some sand, dug in my toes and wash thrashing up out of the water. A quick look down at my watch revealed 26:45! “That’s what I’m talking about!” A PR Oly swim for me! I can do 1500m in the pool in just under 24:00, but open water is a different story. Time: 26:53 (PR Oly Swim)
T1:
Note to self: must practice taking off wetsuit. It was probably a good laugh for the few people watching me in the T zone. I was hopping around trying to get my feet out of the legs of my wetsuit! Oh well, that’s how I roll. Helmet, shades, shoes, race bib belt…. let’s roll! Time: 1:39
Bike:
Heading out on the bike at Big Creek for me was like entering the unknown. Did I have anything left in the legs for a decent bike? There were a few turns that took us out of BC Park and soon enough we were riding Iowa’s rural highways. One thing I had going for me is that several of the roads we were on, are roads that I train on all of the time. Knowing the course can definitely help you know when you can recover a little and when you can turn it on. I wasn’t even to Polk City yet when there were a couple of hammerheads who, in my opinion, were coming out of the gate to fast. It’s not that I lollygag for a few miles, it’s just that I don’t come out and try to rip 25+mph right away, but hey, to each there own. After a left turn out of Polk City, there was a decent Iowa climb that had a lot of folks spinning it out. Fortunately I’ve somehow learned to enjoy them and ripped right up it. Once out and exposed on the rural roads, a decent wind out of the south was letting itself be felt. Probably 8-12mph, yet gusty. The route was an out and back and pretty much the entire distance out, my computer was reading anywhere from 24mph to at one point 30mph. Sure enough, I soon caught up to the hammerheads who obviously had settled down and found their normal pace. Later! Considering the numbers I was seeing on my computer I seemed to be riding far above my normal level, but there is usually a catch. The catch on this day was the way back. WIND! Depending on what leg of the way home you were on, there was either a headwind or a pretty solid crosswind. I managed to charge through the headwind pretty good, but the crosswind had me moving all over the lane. The wind wasn’t anything bad, just enough that you had to deal with it. Around mile 15, I was very excited because I seemed to be pulling of a pretty aggressive bike thus far. The legs were aching, but were still able to mash. It was pretty sparse at this point as I was hoping for a mark to chase, but instead just tried to focus on landmarks ahead instead. Before too long, I was re-entering the park and following the orange cones back to transition. I had a vague sense of what my bike split was which I had guessed around 1:05 or so. Time: 1:02:52 (sweet… PR Oly bike!)
T2:
By transition, I still felt pretty good, but was questioning some of my judgement as I had only drank 30% of my Cytomax and literally only had a bite of my Powerbar. I was thinking that was probably going to bite me in the arse. But hey, I felt fine so let’s keep this train rolling. I did lose a bit in T2, because I wanted to put a pair of socks on for the run. I’m a sucker for a little comfort. Time: 1:19
Run:
Leaving T2 was pretty exciting as there were a ton of spectators lining the run course. It’s awesome for folks to come out and support us triathletes kicking the crap out of ourselves. It helps keep us going too! The run was 2 laps of a 5K course through the park. The first half of the run was on the main road that headed south. I had immediately overtaken 3-4 guys and was feeling good. Miles 1 & 2 had to be around 6:45min./mile pace which is in the ball park for me. The second half of the 5K course headed back on the trail system that ran adjacent to the lake. It was winding and undulating which keep things coming at you. It was also exposed to a sun that was creeping up overhead. I can usually sense a bonk coming on, by what I’m telling myself in my head. I become mentally fatigued and make excuses for why I shouldn’t try harder. Between mile 2-3 (7 minutes of elapsed time), my race began to unravel rather quickly. In fact, just before the first 5K completed, we ran through a corridor of brush on both sides of the trail where I thought it would be a great place to relieve myself. Yup, I pulled over, stepped into the bushes and took a pee. I kept telling myself, “who cares.” Great attitude, right? Shortly after my urination break, I was back to transition where athletes were directed back out on the run course for the second loop, providing you’d just completed your first. If you ask me, I think multiple loop courses are torture. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s totally a teaser. Your beat, tired, hot, exhausted… you see the end and then it tells you “no, you can’t have any, in fact, go beat the crap out of yourself some more!” Might as well punch me in the face too before I head back out! (Enough of my sarcasm) Maybe it’s just me, but I’d rather get away from it all and not see the finish until I know I can stop. As bad as I wanted to quit, I knew I couldn’t. Secondly, as I was heading out on the second 5K, my watch read 1:54. I was in the most favorable position for an Oly that I’ve ever been in! That said, I had another 3.1 miles to go and I was heading downhill(mentally). I’ll spare any elaborate detail, but let’s just say that the second loop was pure misery for me. My pace had completely disintegrated, I was getting the chills under a hot sun and was hanging on by a thread. Everwhere I looked seemed like a wonderful place to curl up and go to sleep. Not nearly soon enough did I see the begining of the end. People were lining the run course and then there was “the fork in the road”. Fortunately for me, this time I got to take a left and progress toward the final chute. I barely heard my wife’s voice say “Hi Dad!” which meant she and Elizabeth were there to support me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly emulating a model husband at this point, but a beat up triathlete on his last leg. Done!!! Time: 45:00
Post-Race:
I had just crossed the mat and felt very unstable. I grabbed the blue fence adjacent to the finisher chute, started to sit down, but somewhat collapsed instead. I was actually doing okay, I just needed some water and time to just lay on my back with my eyes closed. The paramedics didn’t like what they saw so I was taken over to their little area I will call “The Bonkers Corrall!” I must say, they did a good job because I had bags of ice and cold wet towels all over me. I ended up drinking 2 liters of water within 5 minutes of being there. Jennifer and Lizzy showed up at the “Bonkers Corrall” and as I came back to life, all seemed good with the world! Except that I never saw my time crossing the finish line! The reports were posted very quickly and sure enough I was able to set a PR.
Total Time: 2:17:39 (Oly PR!)
Final Results Here

2009 Big Creek Triathlon Summary
As I mentioned, the day was truly bitter sweet! The reasons it was sweet were that I logged a great weekend of workouts, set an Oly PR, had a good swim & bike! I’m also very thankful just to be able to show up and do this stuff! It’s a great hobby & lifestyle that has such an impact on me personally! The “bitter” is that I could’ve gone sub-2:15 had I tapered and raced smarter. I bonked which is pretty painful, but it’s good to taste dirt every once in a while to remind us why we should keep our face out of the mud. I walk away with a solid net gain from Big Creek and the weekend!
Big Creek Traithlon should be proud of itself because it is a very well organized and well run race. Another race put on by the same organizers is the Copper Creek Triathlon. They do it right and don’t cut any corners. The course is not too challenging, but definitely a quality course that can definitely be enjoyed. Plenty of pre-race communication via emails and announcements so you athletes aren’t left guessing. The only gripe I have is with the T-Shirts. The logo is great, the t-shirt material is dri-fit, but…. black? Really? I don’t want to go for a run in a black shirt. Black shirts are for Skid Row concerts and NASCAR events, not triathlon gear. But again, that’s just me and my opinion so if you enjoy black workout clothes, rock it out! Overall, the Big Creek Triathlon is the mid-season triathlon to test your mettle on. If you’re competitive, so is the competition to bring it on. Next year is the 30th Anniversary so it will definitely be one of the best 2010 triathlons around the midwest! Get after it if you can!

PS: I’ll get whatever pictures that surface up as soon as I can!