Wall Lake Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

the lake was surpisingly warm and i never thought about water temp. it was calm with a time trial start. i let most of the others go and then started near the end of the men's start. i swam about 25 or 30 meters and was struggling to get my breathing and stroke in sync which is normal for me. the first lap is always the hardest. i sort of freaked though and did a back stroke for a couple of strokes and was worried about being out too far to put my feet down and recenter myself. one of the lifeguards in a kayak came over to me to see if i was alright. i told her i was and asked if i could hang on to her kayak for a few seconds. she said yes. as i held on i was a bit panicky and ready to quit. i thought of daw and her commitment to never stop, even if she is in last place. i also thought of the $50 i had spent for regestration and a number of other thoughts went through my mind. then i felt confident and took off for the turn around flag. when i got about 3/4 of the way there, the women competitors caught up and passed me. i thought i was in heaven for a second as i looked around and was surrounded the the naked thighs of heavenly hosts:) by the turnaround the majority of women passed me. i was doing alright staying on course on the way out with an occassional look and then having the other female swimmers around me. on the way back to the shore when most of the women had passed me i struggled to stay on course and another lifeguard in a kayak came up to me and told me that i was straying to the right, back into the lane we came out on. i would swim a few strokes and check back in with him to see if i was on course because i couldn't see very well since my goggles that i bought second hand were scratched and i couldn't see very far with them. it didn't bother me in the pool when i was only looking about 4 feet down at the blue stripe on the bottom of the pool. i kept having to check in with this lifeguard every few strokes and then straighten myself up. after doing this several times, another life guard who was closer to the shore and on the other side of me (left) started yelling to me and telling me to follow his voice. that was helpful as the other lifeguard was right next to me on the right so i couldn't tell what i was swimming towards. i followed the voice and still had to check after every several strokes to make sure that i was on course. finally, my foot touched ground and i ripped off my goggles and could clearly see the shore just in front of me. i got a huge ovation as the last swimmer to exit the water even thought the women started 5 minutes after me. the fastest swimmers finished in 4 or 5 minutes compared to my 20. what is funny is that i received a special award at the award ceremony and was the only one to get a special award. my certificate was the "diehard award". i think that people may have thought that i was in distress in the water (which was true at the very beginning, but not at all during the last 3/4 of the race. i was just struggling to orient myself correctly. in fact, my time was one of my best times ever for 400 meters. i guess i'll take what i can get:) so in the end, my swim was both good in terms of time, and not so good in terms of freaking out and loosing my direction

prepare for the race differently

1. get more sleep

either sleep at the race sight or get to bed early or have all of my stuff ready the day before. if i would have got to bed between 9 and 10 and then gotten up at 5:00 i would have gotten 7-8 hours of sleep instead of 11 pm to 4 am or 5 hours of sleept.

2. Fuel up before and during with and energy bar and 2 energy gels.

i only at my cereal 2.5 hours before and i quarter of an energy bar on my bike.

3. Get new quality googles with a tint for the sun.

4. see if i can swim faster with a sidestroke

(another athlete recommended that to me) or a backstroke. the side stroke doesn't seemed disadvantaged by my paralyzed left shoulder.

5

ranked 72 of 159. the bucket with the towel on it worked well. had bike shoes ready to go and tshirt w/bib and turtle necklace and sweatband and helmet. no gloves worked fine.

get trisuit and bib belt

it was a hilly course with moderate winds. not huge climbs, but not flats. just up and down. i came out last in the water and passed six or seven on the bike. i was far from by best on the bike. had a hard time racing on the top edge of my abilities due to being worn out by the swim and the hills and wind. my new aerowaterjug didn't work so well since i didn't have it set up correctly.

i needed to fuel myself better for the whole race. maybe 2-4 gels.

i was tired, but am pleased with my time. i seem to have cut down my transition times. i placed 153

get a gel for the run

i was completely dead by the run. i wanted to stop or walk so bad, but kept thinking of daw and determined i would not stop until i crossed the finish line. most of those that i passed on the bike passed me early in the run. i think one or two women finished after me on the run, but started 5 minutes behind me. it was hot, humid, and miserable.

get in better shape

big drink of gatorade


needed to plan my water and fuel better.


i was they only participant to win a special certifcate--the "Diehard Award--Dedicated to the end.