Whaletown Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Very poor swim performance. The race was a beach/tread start (your pick), as the course ran parallel to the shore. I chose to swim out towards the start buoy and tread before the start. When the cannon went off, things got crowded -- fast. As always, I started in back, but was immediately swarmed by all the beach starters (mass start fun!). This was made worse by the fact that, about 100yds in, the course got very narrow, shallow, and weedy. Yuck. I was all out of sorts, went anaerobic, and never found a steady tempo. 25 minutes of crap.

Get faster, get stronger!

11th fastest T1, I'll take it. Especially since I came out of the water breathing like I'd held my breath for 30 minutes. Got on the bike and on my way quickly, but panting heavily.

Well, I thought I did very well here...until I saw the results. Holy crap! There were a lot of very fast people at this race -- the top 42 males were all over 20mph! That seems disproportionally high to me, but I guess it speaks to the high quality of this event and the participating athletes.

I started on the bike very winded from the swim, so my first few climbs were very slow, but I picked it up as I got my breathing and HR down. I passed a lot of people on the bike, which was a good boost. Because I am a bigger competitor, I get to zoom on the downhills and fight the climbs. I kept passing this guy on the downs, and then on the next climb he'd scoot right past me. We started chatting and exchanging pleasantries -- he was nice, and it made the run fun. On the last long downhill, I finally shook him for good.

Indoor training this winter will boost my speed -- I just haven't been riding seriously for very long -- 20mph is my goal average speed for the year, and I was right on target.

Large climb right into T2, no room to remove shoes and get my feet on top before the dismount line. Just about biffed in front of a large crowd. Great.

Made it into transition, swallowed an Endurolyte, threw on my socks and running shoes, grabbed my Hammer gel flask, banana, and race number. Tore the number trying to put it on and had to poke a new hole in it. Had my hands full but didn't slow down.

Should have thought about the dismount area situation beforehand. Considering how short of a distance I had to go to my rack, I could have been much faster if I had just left my shoes on and ran with them. My usual plan for speed (feet on top of shoes) backfired. Lesson learned.

Need more fluids in the T-area. I was running short. People were handing out water coming out of T2 though, so no great loss.

Shell out for a real race belt! My ghetto elastic strap/safety pin setup works, but tearing the number made for a tricky start to the run.

Really, I thought I did very well on this part. Not too fast, but I really wasn't burned out either. Didn't push to hard until the last 1.5 miles or so and had a strong negative split. Hills were very tough, but I put my head down and passed about 6 people.

Probably could have run harder. Really surprised myself with the amount of energy I had here, a definite improvement over previous race bonks/fizzles. I think the banana (only ate half), Endurolyes, and Hammer gel made a difference in keeping me fueled.

Again, I was really surprised by the fast times people put in at the end of a very tough tri! I need to reconsider my approach to tri running -- people don't get much slower after the swim and bike, as I always kind of figured they would. Another lesson learned.

Definitely felt better at the end of this one than any other tri I've done yet. I was tired but not exhausted and wobbly -- which is good, since I'm going to my first half IM in two weeks!

Grabbed plenty of fluids, stuck some ice down my jersy (probably not necessary but it felt good!), hung out in the shade and cheered in the rest of the racers.

I was so disappointed by the swim that I went to the pool later that day and swam again.


The swim killed me again. I'm still learning, but that doesn't make it any easier. It's tough to give everyone a 5-8-10 minute advantage and do well.

Performance wise, I was very satisfied with my bike and run performance. Place-wise, I was not at all happy though -- bottom of my age group for all three sports. The cailber of athlete here was very high though, so I guess for me to be racing there at all is saying something. Still, I've a long way to go.


My first LAST in an age group -- ouch! That's a swift kick to the ego, if ever there was one. But to me that's fuel for my fire. I know I can do better, and this event will give me plenty of motivation for the future.

Also, I feel good for my upcoming half IM (Pigman in Palo, IA) -- the Whaletown course lived up to its reputation as an extremely tough and challenging course, and I came through it in good shape. This was just my 6th tri ever, and my 2nd mid-distance race, so I guess I can't ask for too much too soon. Heck, a year ago I could barely swim 400yds! I feel that if I keep putting in the hard work, the results will come. So, back to the pool...