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 Swim
Comments: I was seeded with the 11th fastest time so I was in the front of the pack -which was nice and nervewracking at the same time. It's been 11 years since my last big college swim meet...I used to swim a 200 free in 1:47 and some change. Now I can only hold a 1:20/100 yd or so pace - that's what 11 years and 20 extra pounds will do. Was hoping that adrenalin would kick in and boost my times a bit. I felt good off the bat -breathing every 8 strokes or so for my first 100. I did have a SNAFU with the first few flip turns/push offs under the next lane - I ended up still in the same lane -so I had to dip under. Luckily the person behind me was well off in the distance and I had time to get under before a collision. This happened with a few of the other turns and I definitely lost some time here. Finished up climbed out of the pool and ran out to the bike. What would you do differently?: Practice flipping and pushing off into the next lane. We used to screw around in college and do this during practice all the time...so I didn't think I needed to work on it that much. WRONG! I definitely lost some valuable momentum here. I don't know how many more pool tri's I will do - but if I do, I'll make sure I practice this.  Transition 1
Comments: FIRM lumps the T1 transition in with the bike - so this is an estimation. The run from the pool to the bike was alright. It was crowded when I got there - the person in front of me in the swim was there as well getting her helmet on and such. So I had to work around them. I got my glasses, headband (I sweat a TON), and helmet on no problem and started running with the bike to the mount line. My heart rate must have been through the roof at this point - but I didn't have any clear data to prove it (as my Polar HRM broke the week before and is currently being serviced). As I was running to the mount line I looked down at the ground at my shadow...I noticed my head looked mighty pointy. Turns out - I put my helmet on backwards!!! UGH!!! I pulled over to the side and flipped it around while a race official held my bike. What would you do differently?: Well...put my helmet on the right way ;) That cost me about a minute as I needed to stop take it off, put it back on, and then get back up to speed.  Bike
Comments: I settled in on the big ring early on - wanted to spend most of my time here. I didn't pass anyone - I had my sights on the woman in front of me for a while and got within 20 feet of her when two cars settled in between us...and I never got the chance. Once they turned off - she was long gone. I had some trouble with gearing - making smooth transitions between big ring and little ring on some of the larger hills which killed my speed. This bike is still 2 weeks new to me - and I still need to get the feel of actually riding on real road as opposed to the bike at the gym. There were some big downhills where I cranked it in the aeroposition and on the big ring and I felt like I was flying. What would you do differently?: Improve the engine! I need to log a lot more miles out on the road. Also - hoping to lose at least 10 more pounds, so hope that will help. I want to be able to shift gears more smoothly as well - so that the transitions between flat and uphill aren't as noticeable. Also - I would have drank more - I had some HEED in my aerobottle - but I am finding that it's not positioned correctly and trying to draw a sip is difficult - I have to take my eyes off the road and bend my head at an akward angle. Need to move the bottle up - so it's not so much of a reach. Also - I neglected my nutrition on the bike - I had a Hammer Gel in my tri shirt pocket - but was too focused on the road to think about it...this might have come back to haunt me in the run. Transition 2
Comments: Estimating my transition time - felt like it took forever. This is where I got VERY annoyed. The woman who I was racked next to and was trying to chase down on the bike, racked her bike on top of all my stuff - there was no room for me to rack my bike and get to my sneakers and number belt. I was totally annoyed here. I had to take her bike off the rack, while holding my bike and push her down to her spot. Then put my bike back up. I couldn't believe she did that!!! It was very annoying. After I cleared my area, I was able to put on my socks, my sneakers, visor and race number and off I went. Aware of the fact that I didnt take any nutrition on the bike, I took a water bottle filled with HEED with me on the run. What would you do differently?: Not rack next to this person? Look - I am new at this game and I don't know if that is an acceptable practice - or if I am just supposed to find another open spot or what. But I didn't appreciate that. I also appreciate the fact that everyone's gear in the game is ultra expensive so when moving her bike I treated it with kid gloves and moved it slowly as to not cause any damage - but this slowed me down even more. The space above her transition towel was wide open - so I don't know why she didn't rack her bike there...  Run
Comments: UGH. My legs felt like they were made of lead...lead coated in bricks. I practiced some bike/run bricks during training to make sure I wouldn't fall over in a heap of calf cramps - but I think the racing pace on the bike, the adrenalin wearing off, the lack of breakfast and nutrition on the bike, and knowing this was the last stretch all contributed to me running like Frankenstein. Again - FIRM lumps the T2 time in with the run time - but I was slow, slow, slow any way you cut it. I knew coming into this that running was my weakest link - being a swimmer, I always avoided it. I was hoping to run 9 minute miles...but was definitely running 10 minute plus. It took nearly 2 miles before my legs started feeling like they had any life to them. I was consistent with my pace though - even on the all of the uphills I didn't go slower - I don't know that I could have gone any slower...I would have rolled down those hills. I drank the HEED I had with me - and think it kicked in about the 2 mile mark. With running I need some kind of visual motivation - a mile marker or something like that to let me know how far I have come and how far I have left. There was nothing like that on the course. I was passed a ton of super speedy people. My goal became just to finish without walking -I told myself to HTFU and finish. What would you do differently?: Nutrition on bike - to help me prep for run. And RUN more!!! This was definitely an issue with preparedness - I couldn't run any harder if I had wanted to. I think just running more times per week will get me into it. Since starting training in February - I couldn't run 0.5 miles without having to stop and walk...and now I am running 3.2...I'm getting there. Post race
Warm down: After the race, I went back to my TA and talked with some of the triathletes. I did some stretching and had some refreshments - some fruit, a granola bar, a rice krispie treat. I watched several more finishes. I wanted to see my family so badly at this point that I packed up and went home - but I picked up some McD's cheeseburgers on the way home. My wife and son greeted me with big hugs and that's everything I could have asked for. What limited your ability to perform faster: I'm new. There's an aspect of that that limited my ability - alot of my transition moves were slow and thought out, making sure I didn't forget anything - even though I did put my helmet on backwards! Thank GOD I noticed that before I headed out on the bike course - those pics would have been embarrassing. Being new to biking and shifting gears slowed me a little bit - I want to really work on making those changes seemless so there isnt such a big hit in my cadence. Making my legs stronger will also help this - and this will come with time out on the road. And running of course...I really need to put the time in and get my body used to running. Also - I need to make sure I eat breakfast and take nutrition when I planned to. I think I am finding that I will probably be best served maintaining my current swim times and putting in a lot of training on the bike and run. Run especially. Event comments: This was my first triathlon. I was very nervous. But I had a great experience. The few triathletes that I spoke with were very kind and helpful. Last updated: 2010-05-03 12:00 AM
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United States
F.I.R.M. Racing
70F / 21C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 118/193
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 9/12
Packed everything up the night before - my first triathlon so wanted to make sure everything was all set. Woke up at 5AM to put the bike ontop of car, get dressed, make a few last minutes checks and head out. Didn't sleep as well as I wanted - my 2 year old son woke up several times during the night and my wife and I took turns getting him to go back to sleep. I brought a cup of coffee and some peanut butter toast - but I was way too nervous to eat or drink much. Arrived on site @ 6:20AM - they made us park down the street a bit and walk to the transition/start area.
I picked up my registration packet - it was a pool swim so numbers were based off of swim time. I was number 11. I found the rack area that I would be using, and realized I found myself not fitting in with this group. These guys and gals all looked like professional triathletes with rocketship triathlon bikes. I set my bike and transition area up right away. I wasn't too sure how to hang my bike on the rack, as every tutorial video I have see shows them hooking them on by handle bars or by the back of the seat - but my Superwing and Aerobottle were both getting in the way. I asked one of guys one my rack how to do it and he showed me how to hook it up by the front of the bike seat instead. That works! I can't believe how tight the transition area was. I did some light stretching but I didnt run or ride my bike as I was too nervous. Realizing I didn't eat breakfast - I took a Hammer Gel with caffeine at about 7:30. Being a swimmer all my life I decided to go jump in the pool to warm up - did an easy 600 yards to stretch out. I definitely felt like the pool was my comfort zone and got to chatting to a few of the triathletes about swimming.