The Venue
For the 3rd year the races were organized by Tacoma Rowing and for the 2nd year the race was held in downtown Tacoma at the University YMCA Student Center. Well, I think it’s downtown. Big open space and lot’s of warm-up ergs. My first race was at 9:10am. Arlene’s was at 11:54am. Both started on time. The total number of competitors was more than 300.
I’ve been looking around online for somewhere to give Tacoma Rowing a positive comment about the race organization.
The Selfie (well, we’re usually posting Usies)
Damn it! We didn’t get one. But here is a picture of where you might have seen us earlier:
The Schedule
Last year hotels just a few blocks from the venue were inexpensive. This year they were 3x the price so we stayed in a hotel near both the Tacoma Mall and the freeway. Arlene said that she slept well. I slept better than I have in recent memory. In the morning:
I had other paper but there was a good reason that I wrote the schedule on the back of a receipt.
The Races
My 5K (9:10 start): I felt my training had gone well, but I couldn’t string it all into a descent 5K. I went off at 1:54 and settled into… last place (5th). With 1800 to go I was in last by 20 meters but I could see the guy on my right was pulling 1:57s. I pushed my pace to 1:52 but on my monitor wasn’t making up any ground. It took me a while to realize that the guy on my right was the guy who was above me on the monitor. I pushed my pace down to 1:51 and started making up ground on 4th. I passed with with about 900 meters to go, then moved into 3rd about 500 out. Now I had a few meters on 4th and was far, far behind 2nd, so I watched the big screen (with the whole heat and current paces for everyone) for any change in the pace of 4th. I was ready to put the hammer down, but didn’t have to.
My 2K (10:22 start): With the 5K already in I only warmed up for about 1500 meters. I had wanted to push for a 7 minute 2K (1:45s) but my warm-up said it wasn’t there. When my race started I tried to settle on 1:45-1:46 just to keep the possibility of the good time in case I read my warm-up wrong. My pace faded and then faded again. For the US Championship there was only one other person in Tacoma and he had failed to weigh-in before the race. The other were in Chicago and I had seen the results beforehand and knew that I could beat them. So I was the only one rowing in my category in my heat and knew that I had the National Championship locked up. The rest of my heat was made up of lightweights as young as 40 and one who was older than I was. Although I rowed the slowest 2K I’ve ever rowed in public, 7:07.4, I was second in the heat. (Second behind a 41-year old who I had talked to before the race… he’s been chasing my 40’s lightweight American record in the 5K.) Not what I hoped for, but I can’t complain.
Arlene’s 2K (11:54 start): Arlene warmed up and was about to enter the racing area when she realized she didn’t have her phone. We checked her warm-up erg with no luck. She went to her assigned race-erg and I checked the main desk for the venue and the check-in table for Ergomania. No phone. I got back in time to see Arlene start her race. I was sitting immediately behind her near people who were cheering for her two direct competitors. Arlene moved to the front quickly while the other two battled for 2nd and 3rd. Arlene looked solid for the whole race. Her training had seemed to indicate a 7:54-7:56 but she wasn’t feeling it and finished with 7:58.3.
Shortly after the race we had rechecked the bag for her phone and we heard from the Ergomania announcer, “Is Arlene Marie Wade here or does anyone know her.” Phone. The announcer congratulated Arlene on her race as sub 8 for a 61 year-old lightweight is extraordinary. The announcer said I looked ok, too.
Lunch
Enough said.