login
 Swim
Comments: So shame on me. I have never done an Open Water Swim. I definitely should have practiced the OWS. I have been practicing at my local LA Fitness after I get off of work and have felt pretty good. About a month ago I couldn't even swim 25 Meters Freestyle and just last week I was able to swim a mile. It wasn't a fast swim, but I felt good after a mile. I thought I would have been more prepared for the swim. As soon as I hit the water I kind of freaked out. The water was murky. There is something calming to me about seeing the bottom of the pool and swimming in crystal clear water. That is what I practiced for. In this water I couldn't see my own arm in front of me. I never got into my rhythm. At about 200 Meters I started swimming over to the lane line to take a rest, but as soon as I reached the lane line something in my head said no, I don't have to do that. So I kept on swimming alternating between backstroke and freestyle. I did breaststroke for a minute, but I felt like I wasn't even moving forward. I had trouble keeping my legs floating on top of the water. Overall I wish I could have gotten into a rhythm. I am by no means a fast swimmer, but I just kind of panicked in the open water. So many people and so many limbs flying everywhere. At about 25 yards water I joined the rest of the crowd in running out of water vs. the swimming. I was out of breath. I was proud of myself for not stopping and resting on the lane lines. It was definitely a tough swim, but I made it through. This is what I expected to be my weakest leg. What would you do differently?: I would get some practice sessions in an Open Water. I thought my consistent swim practice would prepare me, and while I am sure it helped...it sure felt like it didn't. I had the nervous jitters of a first timer, I am sure next time I can go into it with more of a level head. And there definitely will be a next time. I am determined to conquer this swim come next year.  Transition 1
Comments: Transition was quick. It included probably a 200 yard from the beach to the transition area. My bike was in a very easy to find position. The only problem is I had one of the longest runs with the bike out of transition. Could of saved a few seconds with a rack closer to the exit, but I probably needed the rest anyway after the swim. I decided to put on socks and I was riding in my running shoes. I don't own clip on's. It will be my first investment in serious triathlon gear. What would you do differently?: Nothing, I was happy with how my transition went.  Bike
Comments: Now with the swim was out of the way we were on to my bread and butter. I pushed the ENTIRE time and was very happy with my performance. I started a full time job this week and I was a little bit nervous that I was slacking on my training this week, but it turned out well. I passed a ton of people and was only passed a bit - usually by people in the aero position on tri-bikes. When we did come to slight grade increases or decreases I found myself at an advantage, that is when I found myself passing the most people. There were two triathletes in particular that I was playing leap-frog with for most of the race. I exchanged a little bit of friendly conversation with them. At one point I thought I hammered hard enough to get one of them off my tail...but a mile later he passed me from nowhere. Ended up following him in to transition 2. I was on the left a lot of the time. Way to often I saw people 2 or 3 wide not passing, luckily the lanes were big so most everyone was still passable. I was careful about my drafting and distance. At about the last 2 minutes I started to cramp and lost a few seconds trying to stretch and hydrate, but I pushed through it. I also was a little bit nauseated and I think it was from some endurance gummies I decided to try out. But also pushed through that. I also was DYING to use the restroom, but I knew I could hold it. I didn't want to waste a minute of time. I figured if I could make it to the run the cramping and vomiting feeling would maybe go away and luckily that is exactly what happened. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I thought I may have went out too hard, but I was able to keep a consistent pace. I am glad that I pushed and I needed to well on this leg after my sorry excuse for a swim. Transition 2
Comments: I knew my T2 time was going to be fast. All that I had to do was drop the bike off, helmet, and sunglasses and get going. I was already in my running shoes. I decided to lose the sunglasses because of the overcast and during training sometimes I noticed that they slip. Good choice. I ran the whole time. What would you do differently?: Nothing. This felt good.  Run
Comments: As soon as I got on the run course I felt great. I was a little bit afraid the hard push that I gave on the bike would hurt me on the run, but that didn't help at all. I ran a consistent and steady pace. I didn't stop to walk at all. I started talking to some guy during the run. Nice guy and this wasn't his first triathlon. After keeping up with him for a few minutes he out-kicked me. I tried to keep him in my sights, but I wanted to run my race and not someone elses. Kind of funny that at one point we passed a dead skunk on the road...one racer commented that he wondered what smelled worse, the skunk or his shirt. The volunteers were great. I was making it a point to say thank you whenever possible. I've done 5ks before that were understaffed and not marked appropriately, but that wasn't the case in Naperville. At about a quarter mile left the crowd started cheering and shouting how close we are. I had a little bit left in my gas tank so definitely picked up my pace for the last quarter mile. I was glad that I had something left in the tank, because I wanted to sprint and have that strong finish. I didn't have a watch and when I crossed the line the time said 1:40. I didn't know how far into the race my swim started so I wasn't sure if I had met my 1:30 goal, but I knew it was going to be close. What would you do differently?: Keep training. On a good 5k I can hold a 7:30 mile. I would love to be able to do that same pace after swimming and biking. Post race
Warm down: After sprinting to the line I took off my timing chip and received a finishers medal. The medal was awesome and I didn't want to take it off the rest of the day. I had a bottle of water, cookie, and grapes. Walked around. Spent a little bit of time with an old friend from high school and her family and then went to cheer on the finishers. I wanted to return the favor of everyone cheering me on as I ran to the finish so I was definitely loud as people sprinted for the finish line. What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of OWS practice. Event comments: This race is a MUST for anyone in the Midwest area. It is a great atmosphere and after years of experience they have this race down! Plenty of volunteers and city workers to help make sure everything is safe and in good order. I will absolutely be back next year and it will definitely be an A race. I have a bone to pick with that OWS and I will show it who is boss next year. I can not wait for my next triathlon. I have a few options, but this was awesome. I feel great and can't wait to do it all over again. Profile Album Last updated: 2010-07-30 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
Premier Event Management
80F / 27C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 372/1593
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 36/65
About two month ago I heard a friend talking about a Triathlon. Having just graduated college I had the time on my hands and it seemed like something that I might enjoy. The Naperville Sprint seemed like an obvious choice as my first triathlon and as I will later detail in this report, the execution of this race was flawless. Naperville has this down to a science. I have been training for about two months. I have run 5ks before, but nothing like this and after a lot of thorough training which included an even mix of bike, run, and swim I was ready for today. About 3 weeks ago I injured myself while training for running and since that injury I have been letting my foot heal while working on my swimming (which you will later see didn't really matter) and cycling.
For my night before dinner I made a nice hearty meal of Macaroni and Cheese. Had a few bottles of water throughout the night and went to bed feeling good. I was anxious and it was difficult to fall asleep, but I did manage to get about 5 hours of rest in. I woke up at 3:30 AM and ate two bowls of Wheaties Fuel (Yum). I was kind of hungry and I knew that I still had four hours before I would be entering the water, so 2 bowls was OK on my stomach. I embarked on my hour drive to Naperville around 4:15 AM. With over 2,000 competitors I knew that parking was going to be a mess and I wanted to be there early. I ended up arriving about 2 hours before the start and was glad that I went so early.
My goal for my first triathlon was to finish under 1:30:00.
A lot of people chose to take advantage of the swimming warm-up opportunity. But I just decided to walk and stretch and try and calm myself down. My heart was beating pretty rapidly (what can I say, I was PUMPED) so I just took the time to make conversation with those around me. The format if this event is not like the typical wave start. They send off four swimmers into the water every 4-5 seconds. The girl next to me in line was very nice, and it was also her first triathlon. So we made small talk and it calmed me down. By the time I had reached the timing mat I was ready to go...or so I thought.