When Saturday, June 22 rolled around, I was already onto my third triathlon of the month. This time it was Epic Races’ Tri Goddess Tri, a women’s race that took place at Big Portage Lake State Park at the Waterloo Recreation Area in Grass Lake, MI. I really enjoyed the race in 2021 when I did the sprint distance and this time I signed up for the Olympic distance. In the days leading up to to the race I wasn’t even sure if I’d show up though.

I’d been chatting with a few people about this race, trying to ease their various worries and tell them that they would be just fine and to go for it. Yet I was in a funk about actually doing it myself. It was mostly because I was worried that my body wouldn’t cooperate. I didn’t feel great a day or two beforehand and after suffering through stomach pain at the Bayshore half marathon last month, I was really wary about feeling miserable during another race. As usual, I should have reminded myself of my favorite Tom Petty lyric, “Most things I worry about never happen anyway.” Of course I was fine and built up a bunch of unnecessary stress. It didn’t help that a big storm knocked my power out for 24 hours from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon while we were in the middle of a gross heatwave. I didn’t get a planned run in because I was dealing with cleaning up some of the mess, helping a neighbor, and shuttling all of my food to my mom’s fridge so it wouldn’t go bad. It felt like I barely slept Thursday night and I got to waste more time playing the food shuffling game again on Friday afternoon after my power came back. I was all thrown off, wasn’t excited about the hour and a half drive in the morning, and didn’t feel much like racing. Surprisingly, racing in the heatwave wasn’t even one of my bigger concerns. I knew I would feel guilty if I had encouraged others to do the race but didn’t show up myself. I debated switching down to the sprint distance. In the end, I stuck with Olympic knowing that I always like to push myself and I need to work toward a half Ironman next month. I also knew that I’d need to get a workout in anyway so I should just go do the race.

Leaving the house before 5am on Saturday was a little rough but the long drive was just fine once I got some of my favorite music going. I got to the park around 6:15 which gave me an hour before the transition area would close. That was more than enough time and I felt better about things once I was finally there.

Since I’ve done a triathlon every other weekend this month, things felt pretty routine as I set my stuff up in transition. I was surprised to find that the Olympic athletes only had one row of racks and everyone else was signed up for the sprint or mini-sprint. The woman next to me had forgotten a race belt to hold her bib during the run so I was glad that packing more than I need finally came in handy and I had an extra one in the car that I could lend her. 

I had a little more time to spare than usual since I didn’t have to deal with my wetsuit. The water was 83 degrees! Wetsuits aren’t allowed over 78 degrees if you’d like to be eligible for awards. Once it hits 84 degrees, they’re not allowed at all. The water was warm enough that we were on the verge of that. I got down to the beach five minutes before transition closed to do a warm up swim. The water definitely felt comfortable and there was no shock to the system when it was that warm! My friends Jeff and Jenni were there so it was fun to see them. Jenni and I found each other in the lake and hung out on the beach together when the pre-race meeting started. It had been 17 years since Jenni’s last triathlon so it was pretty exciting that she was jumping back into it. We parted ways when it was time for the Olympic athletes to start since Jenni was doing the mini-sprint.

Just over 20 of us were doing the Olympic race and we tried to line up based on pace. A woman said she was around 1:50/100 yards and no one lined up in front of her. I guessed that I could be around 1:51-ish and was up near the front which didn’t feel right to me. I’m not exactly one of the leaders in any swim event I do! No one seemed to want to move up though. We started in pairs every few seconds and I started just behind the leaders.

Pretty quickly it felt like everyone was passing me which reinforced that more people could have moved up to the front. Oh well, at least they didn’t swim on top of me. I felt like I was at the back of the pack after so many people went by!

The wetsuit always helps my speed thanks to its buoyancy so I missed it during this swim. The water was definitely warm enough that I wouldn’t actually want to wear it though. Olympic athletes did two loops of the swim course and I noticed that I felt a bit warm by the time I got back near the beach to start my second loop. Sometimes it’s not so bad when the water is cool and refreshing. It was pretty calm near the beach when I warmed up but it got a little wavier farther out. It was still totally manageable though.

It was helpful that swimmers in the other races waited to start until after the last Olympic athlete finished the first loop. That helped me avoid any congestion other than when I got pretty close to a couple of women as we approached the end of the swim.

Then we had a bit of a jog up a grassy hill to get back to the transition area.

The official results messed up my swim time but my Garmin shows that it took me 36:33 to cover somewhere around 1500 meters of swimming plus the run to transition. There were plenty of bikes still on the racks, so as much as I felt like everyone passed me at the beginning, a bunch of people were still behind me. I got through the first transition in 1:34 – much faster than if I had a wetsuit to get out of! Then I started my ride of just over 24 miles.

Like the swim, the bike ride was basically two loops of the course for the Olympic athletes. We went out a couple miles longer on our first loop then turned around at the same spot as the sprint and mini-sprint athletes during the second loop. I was relieved that we only did the extra stretch the first time around because that’s where the road got a bit rough in spots. There wasn’t much traffic and few people riding around me so I could go a bit wide to avoid some of the bumps. After doing a number of races from the same park I knew from experience that some of the roads in the area could use some work. We had a pretty smooth ride for a majority of the course though. Rolling hills slowed me down in spots but considering my lackluster bike skills, I still did just fine.

A couple of women passed me on my way out during the first loop and one commented that she had started to wonder if anyone else was out there. We were spread out pretty good at first and I started to see more people after coming back past the turn around point for the other races. It made me feel more secure being out on the roads after that. There were so many of us that any vehicles coming through were certainly extra aware. A few men participated in the race too, but it was fun to think about how all of us strong women had taken over the roads that morning. The women’s races feel extra supportive to me with people rooting for each other. I told people they were doing a great job most of the time when I passed on the bike, and sometimes people on the opposite side of the road would shout out cheers for others. There’s some of that at other races too, but it feels like an extra welcoming environment at these “Goddess series” races.

I didn’t think about the temperature much while I was out on the bike. I think it was in the mid-70s to start the ride around 8:00 and I drank a decent amount from my two water bottles. I ate a Picky Bar after starting my second loop and my energy seemed fine other than the moments when I climbed any hills! My Garmin tracked 24.4 miles and my official time for that segment was 1:29:35, good for an average of around 16.3 mph.

I got through the second transition in 40 seconds and groaned a little bit as I headed out to run. We started on the grass then went on a short stretch of a trail through the woods. That lead us to a slight climb on one of the park’s main roads.

Like the bike ride, we had a little extra distance to add on for the first loop of our Olympic run. We went out and back on a stretch of a dirt road that had another slight climb. Of course any kind of climb felt major to my legs that had just ridden 24 miles. We ran along a main road briefly before taking on a single track trail segment that was just under a mile and a half long. 

The trail wasn’t super technical but I still needed to watch my footing to avoid any roots. There was one quick downhill stretch where I probably allowed momentum to carry me faster than I should have the first time so I made a point of slowing down the second time around. I didn’t wipe out at all but that hill was the one spot where I worried myself for a moment! Some people were out there walking and some were running, and aside from one steep uphill climb, I was able to get around people easily enough just by communicating that I was coming from behind.

The temps were climbing into the 80s by 9:30 when I started the run so I was thankful that the majority of the run took place in the shade. Still, it was a little humid and warm enough that it kept things challenging. I feel like I haven’t had much running speed lately and that I ought to be working harder to “race” the run segments of triathlons. As that thought crossed my mind I reminded myself that it was a really warm day so I was doing pretty good for the conditions. Training through the heat in the week or two leading up to the race certainly helped me get acclimated. It still didn’t exactly feel easy though. When I got through one loop of the run I really wished that I didn’t still have a second loop to go!

I was strong enough to pass some people during the run which helped me feel good about how I was doing. Whenever I got a bit of a flat or downhill straightaway it felt especially good to pick up my pace. When I knew I just had a mile or so to go I was determined finish strong.

It was roughly a 10K run and I ended up with 6.37 miles in 56:33 according to my Garmin. My official finishing time was 3:04:50. I was a little surprised by that considering how I tend to be in the neighborhood of 2:45:00 for most Olympic races, but the courses, distances, and conditions can vary so much that it is hard to compare one race to another. Racing on a warm day seemed a little daunting, so getting through it successfully regardless of time was an accomplishment.

I was warm by the end of the run but seemed to notice it even more when I came to a complete stop after crossing the finish line. It was only after the race when I had to deal with sweat dripping into and burning my eyes. I was pretty wiped out and one of the volunteers offered to pour water down my back. I took her up on her offer and that cold bottle of water definitely felt good.

It was great to be greeted by Jeff and Jenni at the end of the race. Jenni had finished at least an hour before me so I really appreciated that they had stuck around. I was glad to hear that her race had gone well and that she’s already thinking about doing more! 

My stomach held up during the race but didn’t feel great when I was done. I took my time recovering and eating some treats and eventually I felt better. It was especially helpful when someone brought a cold can of Waterloo Sparkling Water to me. That was especially refreshing!

I’m usually slow to get going home after these races and took some time to chat with people. I had talked with Mary, one of the other Epic Races ambassadors, online a bit and we finally met in person. I talked to some of the other Epic people too and had someone check my results since I barely got any phone reception at the park. That’s when I learned that I had won my age group – I was number one out of two. At least there was one other person in my age group this time, unlike Island Lake Triathlon where I won by default because I was the only one! After collecting awards at both that race and the Mother’s Day race, I didn’t even bother to see what I could have taken home for an age group prize this time. By then it was late enough that they were pretty much ready to tear down anyway and it was time for me to start my hour and a half drive home.

For as much as I dragged my feet a day or two before this race, of course I was glad I followed through and showed up. I ended up having a pretty solid race and aside from the temps being a little warm, it really was a good day for it. Like I said earlier, I’d be training in these conditions anyway so I may as well show up for the race. Epic always makes it a great experience.

After racing three times in June, I think I will actually take a break for the next month. A “break” is relative though – I don’t think I’ll be racing but of course I will train hard to prepare for a half Ironman in Ohio later in July. Right now it seems like that’s what comes next!

– Janet

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