Superman Triathlon - Triathlon

This swim did a lot to build my confidence in the water.

nothing

I was a little disoriented coming out of the water, so it took a minute to get my balance. I took my time and changed my swim bottoms for the extra padded bike short, which I had pre-lubed with chamois cream. My body was still very wet, so I am sure it negated some of the cream, as I did still have a bit of a rash at the end of the bike leg.

Not pack my IPOD, as even though I found I was bored on the bike, I didn't want to put in earphones for safety sake.

Wow, the bike was boring. The aid stations were at the turn around points, so it took me 36 minutes to reach each aid station. I had trouble with nutrition, as I could not stomach gels. I could eat gummie bears, fruit snacks, Clif shot bloks, bananas, and peanut butter crackers. I drank accelerade, gatorade and a korean brand of powerade and water on the course.

Stay with one liquid. There was only water on the course, so we had a friend toss us replacement liquid each lap, but I did not prepare well and did not bring enough accelerade to cover the race, thereby causing me to mix liquids, which did not set well in the stomach. I had cramps and burping.

I was one of the last bikes in, so I figured I wouldn't gain much from a hasty transition, so I took my time changing out to the run. I had to change from bike shorts to running shorts, and I mooned the volunteers at the transition area.

unroll my socks and make sure they are turned right side out. Also use two race belts, one for the bike, one for the run, stocked with different things if possible.

It was very hard to run past the transition area, knowing you were finishing in a politically motivated spot, not one that was remotely best for the participants. No transportation was provided back to the T area, and the aid stations along the run ran out of food and low on drinks and volunteers late in the day. There was no food or massage at the finish line. Only water.

Since I stopped my run to assist another athlete in finishing, I cannot know what I would have needed to do differently. Perhaps running more in the heat of the day would have been beneficial, since I began the run at 2:25 in the afternoon.

walk around, then caught a ride to the T area, then biked back to the hotel.


Not enough bike prep. I should not have neglected so many training rides.


The race is not bad. With a bit of professional development, it could be a good destination race. The expo was two guys selling necessities out of the back of their vans in the parking lot of the hotel. Hotels were plentiful and clean, but no elevators, so we lugged bikes up and down stairs all weekend. Bring food for breakfast and snacks, perhaps even lunch. Only Korean food restaurants available in this village. Bad for those of us that eat only limited parts of the Korean menu.