login
 Swim
Comments: As a newbie, I had the butterflies when I entered the chute. I lined up towards the back of pack. It was at this point I questioned my decision to do the race, especially being under prepared. However, when the starting gun fired, I ran into the water and began stroking. Did a fairly straight line to the buoy. Somewhere around the last hundred yards I lost the feet that I was drafting and got a bit off course. One of the guys on the paddle boards yelled at me to let me know. Got out of the water to run to T1 and I could feel my HR spiking. WHAT A NEWB!!! Anyway, I figured 20 minutes for my current ability and beat it by a few seconds. What would you do differently?: It is obvious that I need more time in the water. With only 4 weeks into our "Beginners Triathlon Group Training", I, however, feel that I did the best I could. I just need more experience.  Transition 1
Comments: I dunked my feet in my pan of water, wiped off my feet and put on my socks and shoes. I gotta learn to get my shoes on faster. I actually sat on my butt to put them on... so lame!!! I took a swig of water and gatorade. Grabbed my bike and ran to the bike exit. It was a pretty long run with those cleats!!! What would you do differently?: I have to learn how to get on my bike with my shoes already attached to the pedals. I can't get my feet out, but I can get them in! I will have to practice the techniques.  Bike
Comments: Since I am not a very good runner (and swimmer for that matter), I had to try to make up time on the bike. While I am not a cyclist by any means, I managed to place first in my age group (55-59 Geezers!). I get no style points, however, because I just pounded the pedals! In fact, I am just now learning about cadences and all that stuff. What would you do differently?: Need to increase my training volume on the bike and practice cadence. Most cyclists tell me 90, but I have read articles by triathletes that say otherwise. More newbie confusion for me! Transition 2
Comments: I find that running to the bike rack with cycling shoes awkward. Got my shoes changed, hooked up my race belt, put on my visor, took a swig of gatorade and water and off I went. What would you do differently?: I need to practice dismounting by taking my feet out of my cycling shoes while they are still attached to the pedals. Since I wear socks, though, I am not sure how that will affect stuff sticking to my socks as I run to the bike rack. I guess I will have to experiment.  Run
Comments: Running is the most difficult for me as I have no real background with this sport. I took Brian Clarke's advice (he is our coach for our Beginning Triathlon Training Group) and do an easy start. He prefers that we run negative splits which I managed to do. It took me about .75 miles to get my legs off the bike. I am glad that I practiced a couple bricks these past 2 weeks. What would you do differently?: Increase running volume. Continue to build my base. I have seen improvement since working with Brian Clarke so I will continue with his plan. He is also changing me from being a heel striker to a forefoot runner. Post race
Warm down: Just walked around, got re-hydrated and ate a banana. Did a bit of stretching while I was still warm. What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of training volume... after all, I am just a NEWBIE! Event comments: What can I say? Although I was an ill-prepared NEWBIE I still had fun. I can't wait to do another. I am a little apprehensive about the Tin Man coming up in July, but I will just continue training and see what happens. I thought the race was very well organized. The volunteers were great. The swim course was as close as an open water swim can get to a pool. The entire bike and run course was flat. It was a great introduction for a NEWBIE like me. Last updated: 2011-05-16 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
Honolulu Triathlon
82F / 28C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 90/196
Age Group = 55-59
Age Group Rank = 4/7
As a NEWBIE I don't really have a "routine" yet. However, I did use a checklist to pack my stuff the day before.
Interestingly enough, this event is actually scheduled as a practice race as part of my "Beginners Triathlon Training" group. It is only 4 weeks into our training and, quite frankly, we have not really run 5k, swam 750 meters or biked 20k in any one of our training sessions up to this point. We are being trained to race the Tin Man triathlon in July. Only about 7 or 8 of us from our group decided to go ahead and do the race. The rest of our group opted to do alternate training.
We had to pick up our packets and check our bikes in on Saturday, the day before the event. I got up at 3am on Sunday which was tough because I had to attend a fund raiser at my son's school Saturday evening (a food festival).
Anyway, I got to the transition area shortly after 4am. I set up my transition (thank God for YouTube videos) and talked to some friends from my "Beginners Triathlon Training" group.
They closed the transition area at 5:30am. The sprint event was not scheduled to hit the water until 7:30am so the folks from my group hung out an chatted until start time.
I had a fig newton and some water.
Jacked my jaws with some friends.