Utsukushima Triathlon in Aizu - TriathlonOlympic

It was cloudy and the water was nice and calm about 30 minutes before the race. Just after we started (per my wife), the wind picked up and with that the water got a little rough (not as bad as my worst training experience, but still choppy).

I started towards the back and way off to the right. This was the right place to start. Shortly after I started swimming, I slowly started merging back in towards the buoy line. That was a mistake as it quickly got crowded. I kept popping my head up to see what/who was in front of me and the more I did that, the more my breathe rate accelerated. I tried multiple times to put my face in the water, but felt like I was getting even more winded when I tried that. As we approached the big turn buoy at 350 meters, I was really struggling and it was really crowded. By the time I got to the next big buoy (400 meter point), I realized I was in serious trouble and switched to alternating sidestroke and backstroke. I also just slowed my stroke down and made a conscious effort to relax my arms and breathing. It took me a good 10 minutes, but my breathe rate came back under control (kind of). For the last 25 meters or so near the shore, it becomes possible to walk and I took advantage of that. The 25 meters to the start buoy and the next 25 meters going back out probably saved me. For the second lap, I was able to maintain a slow stroke with my face out of the water. I was always too winded to get my face into the water (or so I felt every time I tried).

I again walked the last 25 meters and it was another 25 meters to the beach after that. I took my wet suit top off while walking in, slipped my goggles, cap into the sleeve, looped the arms around my neck and tied them. When I hit the beach, I quickly stripped off the bottom - like 5 seconds and started jogging toward T1. As I was jogging I heard my name announced and thought that was nice. Then they repeated it again and about 10 seconds later a guy (another racer) tapped me on the shoulder and handed me my race number. It had gotten yanked from the race belt when I pulled off the wetsuit bottom. I thanked the guy quickly and continued trudging towards T1.

Work a lot more on my swim. Warm-up in the water. Take the powergel earlier or just go with a drink. Stay outside and away from the crowd. Stay relaxed and swim right (face down).

Put the race belt on at T1 or pin the number to the belt.

T1 time estimated. T1 included about 300 meters of jogging from the timing station and then another 50 meters from the bike rack to the mount point. About 5 meters in front of T1, they had two small kiddie pools that you could walk/run through to get the sand off your feet. That helped. I really took my time in T1 because I was beat. I stuffed my wetsuit into the numbered bag they provided (later transported to T2) and then looked down at my racing belt. The two snap covers that held the number on were gone, but there was one spare near the buckle. I secured the race number with the single cap and then got on with transition. I washed the rest of the sand off my feet, put on my socks and shoes, helmet and sunglasses. I really took my time while doing all this. I then started playing around with the race belt, i.e., trying to tuck the other side of the number into my waist band. About that time a race marshall I met earlier (very nice woman who knew I was a first timer and very helpful during T1 set up) happened by and asked me how I was doing. I explained about the caps coming off. She immediately pulled out a safety pin and pinned the number to my shorts (I didn't realize it was my shorts until I tried to move the belt around at T2). I finally unracked my bike and walked it the 50 meters or so to the mount line.... and I was off.

Put the race belt on at T1. Move more quickly all the way through and run with my bike (I walked).

We had a nice headwind for at least the first half of the course. It was especially noticeable at the beginning when the course was mostly flat and I was still wet. I took things kind of easy for the first 30 minutes - still recovering from the swim. After that I picked things up, did some passing and was more aggressive overall. The downhills were a ball and there are places where you can't help but smile because you accelerate so quickly (even into the wind).

I took two hits of power-gel from my gel bottle and drank about half of my water. The gel hits were small and I really should have gotten more water in.

I was pretty satisfied with how I handled the bike course. Overall and considering the swim, there is not a lot I would change. I know that more riding work will bring my average speed up and that is on my to-do list already. More hill riding and more cornering will also raise my confidence levels.

Two notes:

- the thinner running socks worked out great on the bike ride
- while I was sorting out how to attach my number in T1, I completely forgot to put on my gloves. No problems and I don't think I will wear gloves for this distance in the future.

T2 time estimated. While I was coasting towards the dismount line, I reached down and opened the top strap on each shoe (my shoes are road shoes and have 3 straps). I walked my bike to the rack and racked it. A nearby marshal told me that I had it on backwards and I had to take it off and re-rack it. He also suggested that I just clip my helmet onto the handlebars which I did. I then moved to the racks where they had stored our run bags, grabbed my bag and moved to the tarp they had laid out. I slipped off my bike shoes (easy with the top strap loose) and got my running shoes on. I then took the time to put on more sunscreen. The temperature was by now up to 88 or so and the sun was sometimes peaking through the clouds. My memory says that the timing station was another 50 meters or so outside of transition.

Move more quickly. Rack the bike properly. I probably could have put the sunscreen on while I was running.

I slipped into my normal long run pace and believe that I pretty much held it for the duration (never looked at my watch to see how I was doing). The sponges were great. I tried to take in water and usually got about a mouthful at each station.

Figure out how to spend more time acclimating to heat. Drink more water even if I have to stop to do it or consider carrying a small bottle so I can sip while running.

After stopping, I felt completely wiped out and nauseous. My wife found a place in the shade where I could sit down and I rested for about 30 minutes. I had a couple glasses of water and a big piece of watermelon. We then went and got my bike and walked it to where our car was parked - at least 15 minutes. I felt okay while doing all that.

We drove the car back to the lot closer to the finish line and went in to the building where the post-race party/awards were happening. They did a great job with food and drinks, but I ate very little. There were two times where I started sweating and felt like I was going to pass out. I ended up sitting on the floor and waiting for it to pass (and it did).

I am not sure whether I bonked or overheated or a little of both. The swim certainly burned up more energy than I had planned on using and I was struggling to get water down during the run. I also felt slightly nauseous whenever I tried to take a really deep breath. That lasted for almost two days.


Need to improve a lot on swim abilities. Same goes for the bike and run. I know I will improve with more training. The other limiter is heat acclimation.


This is a great race and I will be back next year. The volunteers are literally everywhere and do a fantastic job. No negatives come to mind.