Bonelli Olympic Distance Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Again, one of first in (in wave) and one of first out. Tried drafting off a fast swimmer in front of me, but she zigzagged. I finally swam over her. I don't get superfast swimmers who can't sight. Somebody, explain! I mean, it's sad. What a waste. Another lady was "pacing" me to the right, but kept crashing into me, so I finally elbowed her. She kept way to the right after that, which is good 'cause I saved her from drifting off course.

I'm mean. I know. But whatever. If you want to play FOP on a swim start, you better be prepared for scrum.

Also, I wasted a lot of time and kept breaking up my rhythm by doing head-up free to sight. Doesn't matter. I never drift off course. I need to just keep my head down and go for it. It was good to practice drafting in a race situation, but I'm probably better off just aggressively maintaining a front position.

I know all of this makes me sound like a slowtwitch barsted--compared to whom my swimming is laughable--but in an age group setting, especially a female wave, my swim times are good enough to keep me up front.

The Oly swim length was great fun. Yeah, I could have shaved some minutes here, there ... my pacing and rhythm weren't great ... and given that I felt fine on the bike and run I really should have slammed the swim more--but so what? It was a perfect swim for a first Oly. I loved it!

-TRUST MY SIGHTING
-not draft. Just go for it.
-be even more aggressive about losing people who crash into me

T1 was fine, a little slow. I get very confused in transition--I am a true ADD child, and add swim dizziness and triathlon excitement to it and you can see why I need a Mickey Mouse balloon to find my transition spot. I have printed T1 instrux taped to the rack, but I waste a lot of time reading the list and doing each item one by one. My layout is excellent, but T1 tasks need to become second nature.

Practice running and pulling off a wetsuit more. Practice transitions more, generally.

I BROKE 43 MPH ON THIS COURSE. :) I called it before I rode it, but I didn't believe it when I did it!!! Yay!!!

That said ... I *suck* at cycling--mainly a TITS issue (I'm so juvenile--I had to put those two in the same sentence), and partially, an equipment issue (I am still using cruiser bars--embarrassing, I know). I'm afraid to transition to drop bars, then aerobars (or should I just get a complete aerobar setup?).

That said, it was a great ride and about as long as I expected. Nothing about it was bad and I didn't feel like I was dying--I probably held back too much (not sore today), but I was just feeling this distance out and didn't want to blow my legs for the run. My loop splits were nearly dead even on :39.

Given that I have downtube shifters, I didn't want to have to lean down a lot to be grabbing slippery water bottles, too, so I used a Camelbak. BEST DECISION OF THE RACE! I can't say how great it is. I had underplanned a little for hydration considering the weather, but I think no-one was prepared for that. Just in case--next Oly, need a Camelbak plus TWO bottles. Nutrition was pretty good--1 1/2 bags of Bloks, excellent decision to go with Margarita, as I would desperately need the salt on the run.

TITS + more hill repeats in training. Get used to real bars and use them. Downtube shifting is a b!+ch no matter what, but keep practicing until I get a tri bike (possibly never--this bike is an absolute dream, light as a feather, smooth as butter even at 43 mph, and it keeps the sweet piglets at the bike store interested ...).

T2 was fine, actually, I just need to practice trans. more. We weren't allowed to run with the bikes in the transition area, but I'm pretty good at that when I do it.

I was slow. Try and keep a handle on the orientation so I know which way to go (as I said in T1--I get confused).

Considering the pretty extreme conditions, I did great on the run. Thank God for all the bricks and running off the bike, 'cause my legs felt just fine, even turning over fast, as I headed out of transition.

I passed a lot of people, both runners and walkers. All I wanted was to run my usual LSD training pace (13:00/mi, 3:1 run/walk) and I bettered that. About halfway through I knew I was bordering on heat exhaustion--it wasn't that my sweat was evaporating, I wasn't sweating anymore and felt clammy and dizzy. I knew I would be walking a very fine line if I sped up any more, and I just wanted to finish the race, so I kept the pace, drank at each water stop AND poured water on myself, and licked my arms for salt. However, I ran the last mile straight through after the guy at the water stop said it was only another mile.

Pick up the pace from the beginning (not on this course, but any other). Actually sprint the last couple hundred yards. Carry a bottle of Gatorade. Sunblock every inch of my body with zinc?

I did wind up having heat fatigue--had waves of overwhelming nausea and a horrid-hangover-type headache all the way home. It got better with immersion in the ocean for a half hour.

Walked straight into the shade, poured a bunch of water on me, snorked a banana, oranges, and PB & J, walked around for half an hour taking my stuff out of transition, buying a Pepsi, piddling around. Oh--I peed fairly well after the race, not the usual toxic concentrated mini-squirts (dontcha love graphic race reports?), so hydration must have been okay. Fingers were not snausages, either.

As I walked back out on to the course to find DoloresM2, I vaguely noticed some awards being handed out for the Olympic distance, but it didn't even register mentally ... I didn't even think "how nice" or to stop*. Anyhow, I went back out on that bloody stinkin' hot course ... when I saw a steep uphill covered in gravel, I figured I'd just wait for her there instead of going any further. I found a nice shady tree and wound up falling asleep under it. I woke up burning hot, so figured I'd better get back to the finish area where I could drink some water and pour it on me, and I was very worried about Dolores, so I wanted to see if maybe a sweep vehicle had picked her up.

Hadn't gone thirty seconds when who should come up behind me but Dolores--what an amazing lady. You MUST read her race report, which is both humble and understated. That course was tough. She was tougher--did far more for the swim for getting lost, crashed TWICE on the bike (nasty, nasty gouges and bruises), survived that horrifying run--and kept going.

I walked her in, ran a ways with her, and then she ran over the finish line.

*That is some serious athleticoma. Unbeknownst to me I'd won my division and if I'd waited two minutes I would have figured it out and gotten a medal.


Unfamiliarity with distances (pacing too slow on all legs, but perfect for a first Oly), weather.

In conclusion: I am in love with the Oly distance. I expressed frustration after my sprint races, feeling like I could never really stretch out and go for it; I got cut off, so to speak. I thought maybe I was just making excuses for myself, but no ... the distances in an Oly were perfect. I am quite loth to move on to the half-Iron, but there aren't any good Olys nearby early in the new year, either ... and I sure could improve my bike and run. The training for it is worth it, which is the important thing, 'cause a race is just one day.


The race was phenomenally organized. Everything ran perfectly. Race staff and volunteers were plentiful, supportive, and super friendly. Cops were awesome and bike course was very secure. Lots of cheerers with cowbells! I'd never heard them on a course before! Tons of water stops on the run (badly needed), which was very well marked out (I frequently get lost on run courses). The schwag was good, and the sweetest woman saved a bunch of freebies to hand out to last-place finishers.

My only thoughts for improvement: if possible, a swim exit without mud, and a water station on the bike course; mile markers on the run (there were lots of signs, so it would have been easy to Sharpie a number on five or six of them); Gatorade on the run course (expensive, but the heat was really bad and ppl. were cramping--just plain salt packets OK, too).