SOMA Quarterman Triathlon - TriathlonOther

So, this was my first open water, wetsuit, mass start swim...ever. The two tri's I've done before and all of my training were in a pool. I knew that there would be significant differences between them, but knowing and experiencing are two different things.

I was in the first wave, as was all male and Clydesdale Quarterman racers, so I did not have the benefit of watching others first.

After the national anthem (with some of the lyrics messed up) the announcer then encourages the first wave to get in the water followed by the next and the next, etc. So, there we are wading and waiting for the start. I look at my watch and see we have 10 mins to the start! Holy crap, I'm not that good of a swimmer and I don't want to waste energy tredding water. So I paddle over to a dock and hang on with about 8 other guys.

With 30 secs to go to the start I get in place and...off we go. I get kicked in the shoulder then hit on my leg. I stop, gather myself, and go. I get kicked some more. I stop, gather myself and decide to go off to the outside and avoid the spin cycle. I struggle for about 100 yds and then the strangest urge came over me and I just simply panicked! I stopped and said I can't do this and actually considered quitting. I think I was overwhelmed with nervous anxiety, and the mass start and the enormity of the lake. So, after about 5 secs of considering this option I said "okay jackass, calm the hell down, lay on your back for a second then swim". So I did, put my head down and just concentrated on my stroke.

Sighting was harder than I thought it would be and I kept veering off to the left and had to correct and come back toward the buoys. I came to the first of the 3 turns way off to the left and then overshot the 2nd turn and only noticed because I saw one of the lifeguards paddle their kayak in my direction.

The back stretch I was much closer to the buoys and ran into, and was run into by other swimmers but I was over that and just kept going. Funny thing, I looked up at one point and saw a kayak going like hell across me to the open water to the left. So I look to the left and saw a silver cap which was the pro wave's cap only to see him going off to the left perpendicular to us. The lifeguard was screaming at him to stop. Not only did he cut off half the course but he was going into absolute no man's land. Whatever.

I managed to get to the steps and the wetsuit strippers (very cool btw) and to the transition in only about 4 mins. slower than I planned. That's with constantly going off course and stopping a couple of times.

Well...how about swimming in open water. That would seem wise.

The wetsuit strippers got my suit off me in 10 secs. No joke! I was able to run and get out of T1 in no problem. I took a moment to eat a gel, take a drink and thank God I didn't drown.

Not much, just not doddle.

So you'll see that I've rated a lot of "Good's" on this portion of the race, but actually I'm veeerrrry disappointed with my ride. Fact is I'm too passive on the road. I'm a good cyclist...alone. I've ridden in crits but this is different. I'm worried about drafting, and as a result people who don't know how to ride can really screw me up. I would pass somebody doing 20 mph and then look up 4 mins later and I'm being passed by the same person again even though I'm doing 20 still. So, I figure it's my fault (and it may be), back off so I'm not drafting then look down to see I'm doing 17!

Also, since the Quarterman only did half the course as the Half Ironman, I became concerned as a peddle away from the transition area at about mile 25. I figured I missed a turn and was doing the Half Ironman course, so I sat up and looked for an official which I didn't see until about mile 27.5.

And as far as drafting goes, I seemed to be the only one concerned about it. I saw what amounted to 10 man pacelines go by me! Anyways, I could have and should have taken another 10 mins off this ride easy.

Cool thing, though. So I'm riding and hear this guy go by me like I'm standing still and see it's Bib 1, Chris Legh. I look down and I'm doing 23 mph. Fast dude.

Be more assertive and claim my ground, but in a good way.

This was nothing short of comical. I get into the transition area full of piss and vinegar, run to the other end only to hear my wife, Courtney, scream "it's back there, where you came from!". Ah, the other way. So, I go to the other end and can't find the rack. When I get to my rack, bikes are everywhere. The benefit of getting to transtion first is that you can put your bike wherever the hell you want. I got it worked out.

Um, know where my stuff is.

I get out of transition with a gel in my mouth ready to roll and I start off feeling pretty good. I'm aware I've got 6.5 miles so I don't over do it. I get to the first mile check and am running 8:05 pace...second mile 8:10...third mile same. Not bad. I get to mile 4 and I've backed off a bit but I'm still sub 9:00. Then for some reason my right knee decided it didn't want to play any more and really began to hurt. As you can see by my time, the pace slow considerably. I felt good energy wise, but the knee just didn't want to cooperate.

On a positive note, I passed so many people I have no way to judge how many. I was only passed by 2 and one was within the last 50 meters...show off. :)

Not much. I'm figuring a visit to the doctor may be in order since my knee still hurts. I don't know if it's cartilage damage or just being 36.

Water.


1. Panicking in the water
2. Sighting in the water
3. Passivity on the bike
4. Not knowing where to rack my bike
5. Knee


Except for the event check in the day before (which was an eternity of lines in the sun on concrete), this was a blast for me. I wasn't expecting coming down the chute with fans cheering and my time ticking away. It was like a real race. I told someone it's like I was in a poor man's Ironman.

I know that it reads like I was disappointed with myself and my time, but in the end, I need to cut myself some slack. Less than a year ago I decided to give this tri thing a try. I couldn't swim 50 consecutive meters and had only raced in a couple of bike road races and crits. The last time I ran before this was in High School in track...and I was a sprinter! I completed 2 sprint triathlons and this Quarterman. Not a bad year for my money. And a lot of the credit goes to this site and the people who post their experiences. So, for year 1, I thank you and look forward to year 2.