I always thought Bumpass Virginia had an unfortunate name, but it makes for a cool event name. It's right up there with the Horse Butte Wind Project in Idaho. (You clicked on the link, didn't you!) If they ever hold a triathlon at Horse Butte, please sign me up! Normally triathlons in Virginia don't begin until later in the year when the water temperature is higher, but thanks to the cooling needs of the two Lake Anna Nuclear Reactors nearby, the water is always "a little bit warmer" than usual. Don't worry Mom. I wear an aluminum foil hat underneath my swim cap.
That said, "a little bit warmer" can still be in the 52-60 degree range. This is not bad for the wetsuit-covered portion of your body, but there's very little you can do to prepare your face for that sort of shock. Here's the only training exercise I have found that helps prepare you, and it's one you can do in your own home:
1. Fill up a large mixing bowl halfway with ice, then fill it the rest of the way with cold tap water.
2. Walk away for 15 minutes.
3. Return to aforementioned bowl, then quickly plunge your face in and out of the water about 3,000 times. Feel free to sob in between the first 20 or 30 plunges. It has a soothing effect.
On this particular morning in 2011, I took advantage of the 10am start time, and drove to Bumpass the morning of the race. It's a nice luxury to sleep in your own warm bed the night before the race. However, the whole trip down, it rained. and rained. and rained. And the temperature gauge on the Prius dropped. and dropped. and dropped. An hour before the start, I was curled up in my car with the heater on full blast, looking out the windows at the other hardcore triathletes who were also neatly tucked into their running cars. It was pouring, and it was still below 40 degrees. About 10 minutes before race time, there was literally a mass start that began in the parking lot and simply continued into the water. I've never seen anything like it.
Some days are made for personal records. This was not one of those days. I decided shortly before the start that I would chalk up this triathlon to a training experience, and not worry so much about the speed or the transitions.
The first three photos should be labeled, "The Three Phases Of Misery."
Yep, the swim was just as miserable as I expected. Because I wasn't aiming for a PR, I took my time in the transition area. Arm-warmers? gloves? coat? hat? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Transition 1 took about 4 minutes, which is an eternity in olympic-distance races.
And the bike? Even more miserable. If only I could have worn that wetsuit, I might have enjoyed the rainy ride more. That said, I have a good deal of experience in riding in adverse conditions, and I had the presence of mind to lower my tire air pressure to 90psi just before the race. That probably slowed me a few seconds, but it helped me avoid a nasty wipeout. I had to resist the urge to holler "90psi!!" to the carnage I saw at every corner.
On the run, I gave up on staving off hypothermia and faced it head-on. No more arm warmers or coat. Besides, how would I get a flex photo if I'm wearing a coat?
Because I had not been pushing myself 100%, the run was relatively pleasant. My legs were fresh, I had plenty of energy, and in a momentary break in the clouds, I really enjoyed myself. The only challenge was the "trail run" section -- usually a highlight of this triathlon, but on this day a soupy mess that devoured a small army of triathletes.
In the end, I didn't set any new records, but the experience was exactly what I had expected -- a training opportunity under adverse conditions. I will just pray for moderately warmer temperatures in 2012!
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