Swim
Comments: I was warned about these types of pool swims and I experienced everything! Initially when I submitted by 100/yd time I was swimming around 2:30, but I put in 2:45 just to be safe. This turned out to be costly as after the first lap , I ran into my first bottleneck. I wound up passing 1 person during lap 2, then passing 2 people (at the same time) on lap 4. After those passes I was completely winded and mustered up what energy I had left to pass a 4th person at the wall. Overall I thought I swam pretty good considering all the people I had to pass, but I wass completely exhausted when I got out! There was about a 50yd run to the transition area before the swim cut off, so essentially I swam a little faster than the clock indicated. Now I know what everyone means when they say you may be a little "disoriented" when you get out of the pool! What would you do differently?: Avoid pools swims? No....just make sure I don't underestimate my abilities in the swim and really nail down my 100/yd time before the cut off time! Transition 1
Comments: Not a bad transition considering I could barely breathe when I got to the transition area (there was about a 50 yd run from the pool). Really the only issue I had was getting my tri-top on....it got stuck over my wet skin. Other than that it was a decent transition for my first one! What would you do differently?: Body Glide so my shirt goes on a little easier. Dry my feet a little better so my socks aren't wet when I put on my shoes. Bike
Comments: I thought I would be OK on the bike, but literally 5 minutes in I was getting passed left and right! I looked back to see if I was dragging any kind of weight....did I have a flat....are my wheels square? I was pretty winded after the swim so it took me about 3 miles to get into a good rhythmn, but after that I felt much better. Ate some Gu around Mile 2 and made sure I drank water at the very beginning and every 10 minutes or so after that. What would you do differently?: I just need to get more experience on the open road. I am riding an older Schwinn Varsity road bike which is pretty heavy, but I still need to owrk on cadence and hills. The one hill on Marvin Rd. pretty much killed me, but I made it! Gear shifting was awful as I would get stuck in between gears and completely throw off my cadence. I think weith more time on the road, I will get better! Transition 2
Comments: Easier transition as I was ready to get off the bike and start running! What would you do differently?: Not much here, maybe grab some gum I had laid out, but I ran off and forgot it. Otherwise very happy with this transition. Run
Comments: After that first 1/2 mile or so my legs came back and I was ready to race. I started out picking people ahead of me and would pick them off one by one. I would up passing about 6 or 7 people on the run and really felt energized about this! Walked through the water stops and even enjoyed a shower from a local kid with a garden hose! Overall great run for me considering all I had done before it! What would you do differently?: Really push it at the end! Coming through the finish area, I slowed up a bit to really enjoy the surroundings! I heard my name over the loud speaker and was grinning from ear to ear. I probably could have shaved off another minute had I really sprinted to the finish, but hey it was my first triathlon and I wanted to take it all in! Post race
Warm down: Chocolate milk...stretching and lunch with my family (Protein Power Plate) at Zoe's Cafe in Charlotte! What limited your ability to perform faster: Probably just the fact that this was my first tri and I didn't want to go all out in the beginning and feel miserable at the end. Event comments: Good race experience for my first time! Last updated: 2010-03-05 12:00 AM
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United States
Set-UpEvents
89F / 32C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 156/205
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 25/31
Got to the race site at 5:30am (early morning for my wife and 3YO daughter), but I wanted to make sure I wasn't rushed seeing as this was my first tri. Everything went very well getting my bike racked and setting up my transition area. The race start was a 7am start but because of the pool swim and staggered start, I didn't start until 8:37:45. I had a long time to wait but it was fun watching the other contestants, seeing some old friends and chatting with some new ones from BT!
Ate a turkey sausge mcmuffin at home before we left and then ate a protein bar about 2 hours before I had to jump in the pool. I drank alot of water so I hit the bathroom mutliple times before the swim. Started stretching out real good about 30 minutes before my swim and I was ready to go!