Diamond in the Rough Triathlon - TriathlonOther

Really a fantastic swim for me. I can sustain 2:00/100y in the pool, but have little OWS experience. Water was fairly murky, and I had trouble sighting because the 100 orange swim caps in my wave looked exactly like the orange buoy for the first half of each leg of the swim (until we got close enough to notice a size difference). I ended up having to stop periodically to really look for the buoy, and found myself slightly off course many times. I just went with the pack, but they weren't swimming very straight at all. I also got frog kicked in the face really hard about half way through... I swear my goggle was practically inside my eye socket! Had to shake the cobwebs out and just keep going.

Breathing was also way off... I breath every 4 strokes in the pool, and this was my race plan. Almost immediately I was breathing every 2 strokes, and I did it for the whole race. It ended up being the fastest swim of my life, pool or otherwise... so I'm very happy! I beat Jesse by 3 minutes (it should have been the other way around).

I just need more time in the water - pool or OWS. My stroke when I take my breath is very poor (diagonal and crossing body). This is even more of a problem when I'm breathing every 2 strokes instead of 4. I got lucky being unable to bilateral breath because the conditions were ideal, and there was little chop other than that created by the swimmers.

I took a few extra seconds here, intentionally, to rinse my feet and dry them, and to put on socks. I need socks, and I knew I'd be wearing them the rest of the race so I didn't want any gravel or sand to be in there.

Suck in my gut when my wife takes the picture!

This was the frustrating part for me. I have trained really hard on the bike this year. My bike was just tuned up and I was really ready to perform. Especially after my great swim, I was feeling great and ready to just smash my goal time of 1:30 for this leg.

At mm 2 I was just starting to feel like I was getting my bike legs, and I looked at my rear cassette to verify which gear I was in. Out of nowhere, I slammed into a nasty pothole and I heard my rear tube pinch/explode.

This is where I regretted not getting CO2 and having only a small hand pump. That's all fine and dandy for training rides, but I spent about 10 minutes on the side of the road while 48 bikes, including Jesse's, flew past me. Jesse confessed that he saw this as his golden opportunity, and really pushed it on the bike after this. I was able to get my tire to ~70-80 psi, and couldn't get anymore out of the pump. I rode 25 more miles on the underinflated tire as there was no bike support in this race. I was so disappointed looking back at my tire for the rest of the race and seeing it bulging out to the sides, knowing that I had a TON of unnecessary friction going on.

I also had trouble shifting after getting the tire back on. I wasn't able to get in my big front ring without a lot of noise, and sometimes not at all when I needed it. I also dropped my chain once on a small hill, which I never do. I have a feeling that even though I checked before removing the wheel which cog to put the chain back on, I missed it by one when I replaced the wheel.

There was nothing I could do at this point so I just rode at my cadence and planned perceived effort for the rest of the race. I ended up WELL below my goal pace of 20mph (15.8 instead), but with 10 minutes @ 0 mph and then 93% of the race with 66% tire pressure, I'm satisfied. It is still disappointing to see my rank on the bike (212) be so poor compared to my swim/run rankings (152/120, respectively), given how hard I worked on the bike this year (I did the bike focused BT olympic plan).

On a positive note, I was not passed for the rest of the race. One after another I was picking the next rabbit off, for the bike and the run. Unfortunately, at least during the bike, none of those rabbits proved to be Jesse.

I think in races I will use a foam "fix-a-flat" type product from now on. It would have been a 1 minute stop instead of a 10 minute stop, and I would have had close to full tire pressure for the rest of the ride. At a minimum, I will invest in and learn to use CO2 for races in the future. I will also pay more attention to the road in front of me, I assure you! The flat was not just bad luck... it was my fault for not keeping my head in the race. I should have checked my cassette on a more open part of the road (the pothole was on a small bridge and just beyond the crest).

Good transition except I forgot to take my helmet off! It cost me about 30-40 seconds, since I had to run back and toss it inside the transition area as it couldn't be ditched on the course (possible penalty). Newbie mistake! The lady at the transition exit said I was not the only one, which made me feel better.

I have mountain bike shoes/cleats on my road bike, so I dismount with shoes and run into transition with shoes on (the cleat is recessed). I'm satisfied with this system so far.

I had practiced this again and again, but just had a mental lapse. I was chasing down Jesse, and my wife said he was 2:00 in front of me, and I was rushing and forgot the helmet. Stick to your race plan!

My bricks really paid off. I knew I had about 3 minutes to catch Jesse (unless my wife lied to make me push myself... but fortunately I didn't consider that in the race). I was angry about the bike, and trying not to let it get the better of me. Still, it was a STRONG motivational factor on the run... because I wasn't going to lose this one over a flat tire. I worked to hard for that... for another 8 months of "reminders" from him.

I saw Jesse at about mile 1.5... and he was shuffling. I cruised up to about 25 yards behind him, and backed off a bit and matched his pace. This let me recover a bit, and then I dropped into a lower gear and ran past him at about 3 time the pace I could have held for the rest of the race. He just grunted, and didn't even try to go with me... which is good because we're both competitive and if he had called my bluff and we had cat-and-moused it for the rest of the race, we would have been leaving in an ambulance. After I put about 200 meters on him, I slowed back to race pace. As I turned a corner, I saw him walking, obviously suffering. I knew that this half-marathon redemption was in the bag. I switched my plan back to picking off rabbits, and had a decent second half of the race.

My goal was 8:00/mile, and I came in at 8:19. Pissed at myself because I did walk once in some shade, and I'm sure that cost me my goal. Still a good run and better than I truthfully expected.

At only a 5 mile run, I didn't plan to drink much. A few swigs of gatorade at the first water station, and then a sip of water at each station afte that (mental benefit)... with the rest of the cup over the head to help cool off. This works much better in triathlon clothes as opposed to my previous distance running outfits!!!

Be just a bit more mentally tough and not walk. If Jesse had been in front of me in striking distance, I would have never walked. But after I passed him squarely, I let myself do it once. It was miserably hot and I was hurting... and I justified it at the time -- but I have post-recovery regret about the lapse in mental toughness.

Shade, coke, hoagie. Stretch a bit and rinse off with hose (thank you fire department). Water, water, water. Laugh with friends and discuss the race. Meet some super nice people. Be in awe at how in-shape some of these people are. Be in even more awe watching some people who don't look like that stand on the podium. Even though I was peeing clearly, I still felt thirsty for several hours after the race... going to look into what that might mean in terms of my nutrition/hydration/fueling during the race.


The only real disappointment in my race was the mechanical trouble, and the handicap it created for the rest of the ride. I'm taking encouragement that I didn't let it ruin my race (I still beat 3 hours which was my realistic/achievable goal).


I would have liked USAT officials present (there was no bike inspection and no officials on the course), since I paid for a one day membership. I would have also loved for there to be bike support... so that I could have been pumped up to 120 at some point.

I was very satisfied with the race... providence hindered my performance, but was largely out of my control and not something I will let get me down. The race itself really is nicely organized and well run. I will have redemption on this course next year... my foe will not be Jesse, but the race itself. And I assure you I'll be careful riding over that bridge...

Lastly, thanks to everyone reading this report, as many of you have been such an encouragement and so supportive while I worked for this. I would not have been nearly as physically or mentally prepared without BT. I know this... in the past as I have crossed the finish line at half and full marathons, I have half-way-jokingly, half-way-seriously said I would never run again. As I crossed the finish line on Saturday for my first tri, all I was thinking was how much I want to do my next one...