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 Swim
Comments: About the halfway point, I realized I was swimming diagonally away from the shore. I blame this on being a rookie, not looking up where I was directed. I then had to waste a lot of energy swimming back, to get again in-line with the other swimmers. What would you do differently?: I probably could have swam harder than I did, but I didn't want to push it as the swimming was my weakest event in training. Also, I would have practiced more open water swims then only swimming in the pool. In the pool, you're faster but in the ocean you've got so many unknowns.  Transition 1
Comments: Having been my first triathlon, I used the same shoes for the bike as I did for the run. I bought some elastic shoe laces, which made my shoes essentially slippers. However, I didn't wear socks, and as a result the back of my heels became bloody from rubbing against grains of sand from the beach on the back of my shoe. I had trouble getting my strap on my helmet, and was almost penalized by an official who made me stop and put my strap on properly. I also debated many times whether to put a form fitting athletic shirt on for the bike or ride bareback like some, I chose the later and had a little hard time getting my under armour sleeveless shirt on my semi-wet body. What would you do differently?: Consider buying clips for my bike and shoes to use on clips, and already have them on my pedals. Or, if I still wear the same shoes for bike and run use some socks. Also, I felt I rushed a bit, that's why my helmet strap didn't go on the first time. Slow down, and get it right the first time instead of wasting time a second time.  Bike
Comments: Simply put, I held a 17.5 mph pace. However, the field was much quicker. Probably upper teens. The elite competitors and pros were amazing to watch, blowing past my left at lightning quick speeds on $6000+ tri-bikes. Instantly I wanted one, even though I love my Trek 1.2. I was in the aero position most of the race, and held my own on the straight aways, but the hills/bridges worked my legs over. After the turn around, I got a huge slice of humble pie. I was climbing the large bridge when I get passed like I'm standing still by a 49 year old woman on a mountain bike! She must have weighed 200 - 250 + lbs. easily, but she was in the right gear and flew past me. I'll never forget that teachable moment about judging a book by its cover, as long as I live. I never caught back up with her either, good for her. What would you do differently?: I made a HUGE rookie mistake. I preparation for the bike, I would ride with my little brother 20 - 35 miles early Saturday mornings. However, the route we used was very flat, only 1 bridge. The bike course had 4 bridges, of which 2 were brutally tall. Because it was an out and back course, you had to go over them twice which means I climbed 8 bridges. Next time, I will read more about the course I'm competing in and train for that course's unique features. I would also put in more time at the gym focusing on my lower body, most doing squats and other strength building exercises. With better training, I could do much better. Transition 2
Comments: After I entered the dismount area, I began running with my bike. That is when I felt the lead weights that were my legs. Like they tell you in all the newbie tri websites, INCLUDE BRICKS into your training!!!! Unfortunately, the training program I used didn't have true bricks. For example, one day I would run for 50 minutes, then with no break swim 1500 yards. That's not even in the correct order! Anyway, my bike rack was extremely close to the dismount area so I was quick off my bike and had no issues in T2. I decided to take off my under armour shirt as it was now soaked with sweat. Even though it was made of that stretchy skin tight material, I felt much more comfortable running with no shirt on. What would you do differently?: Probably have another energy shot/gel ready to go to prep for the run. And for the love of god, definitely practice true bricks. (i.e. bike 19 miles fast, then run 4 miles immediately afterwords.)  Run
Comments: I did a good job for the most part drinking water on my bike, I only had one bottle. During the run, it was hard to run and swallow when entering water zones. Because of the water spilling, I was also concerned with slipping. The feeling of "lead legs" never went away for the entire run, however I managed to set a decent pace for how I felt. Also, my fastest 4 mile run to date was 34:33, so I was happy with my time. I didn't get strung into trying to "keep up" with stronger runners, as I reminded myself there was a lot of "fresh legs" running with us tired souls due to the "relay option". The last two miles I was running with God, as my energy and legs were completely shot. In training, I had trained to let the wheels fly off the last mile of the race. Sadly, due to the heat and exhaustion of my legs I was just trying to finish with a consistant pace. I didn't care who I passed or who passed me. That was probably smart. The race ended by a short but painful sand/beach run to the finish line. I'll never forget seeing my wife and baby bro rooting me on as a I crossed the finish. What would you do differently?: Bricks, bricks and then more bricks. Separately, I need to challenge myself about improving my speed. Running a 8:53 - 8:00 minute mile is not really too impressive. I want to do more squats at the gym, and other exercising to improve my speed and endurance. Post race
Warm down: After the race I was met at the finish line by my smiling wife and brother. There is no better reward than that. It meant so much to me for them to come cheer me on. Nautica had a large tent in the middle of the finish village, giving out free Cliffs bars, Zico was giving out free coconut water, bananas, etc. It was a great way to finish. Then, they presented the trophies with a very funny celebrity guest announcer, Bob Saget. What limited your ability to perform faster: Rookie mistakes: 1) Didn't train for actual course conditions (i.e. 8 bridges) 2) Needed to put more time in gym for strength training 3) Need to improve speed in water, and focus on staying on-line 4) Need to improve breathing while swimming 5) Need to improve cornering on bike Event comments: I was so happy my first Triathlon was the Nautica South Beach Triathlon. The event was top notch, with all the sponsors, celebrities and racing side by side with the pros. I will definitely come back next year. Last updated: 2012-04-02 12:00 AM
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United States
Michael Epstein Sports Productions
75F / 24C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 591/1262
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 72/127
Woke up at 4:30 a.m. on day of race due to nerves from competing in my first triathlon. Jumped in and took a 10 minute steamy shower to loosen up. At 5:30 I devoured 1 1/2 of a wheat bagel with Jiff's extra crunchy peanut butter and bananas. I drank only a little bit of Gatorade for electrolytes, but mainly water to stay hydrated. Made my way to the Transition area around 5:30 - 6:00 a.m. I was surprised to see so many people still on the streets drinking, and walking around South Beach after the clubs. South Beach I guess? We stayed at the Chesterfield Hotel, only a couple of blocks from the action. Hotel was mostly art deco, and older, but reasonable and had very comfortable beds.
To warm up, I most walked the transition areas. Spoke with some event coordinators to know where I run into and out of transitions. The sun started to show it's face over Miami Beach around 7:05 a.m. The race director asked for all Classic (Sprint) distance participants to gather near the main stage for some last minute reminders on the rules, and warnings about "over taking". We were lucky to hear JoJo (teen pop-star) sing an awesome version of our national anthem. Then, we walked on-to the beach, and I finally saw the large buoys marked out in the ocean for our swim. They were about 300 feet off-shore on average, and I became very nervous. After mostly swimming in a pool, I have no measure of a 1/2 mile in the ocean. To say the least, I was intimidated. Big time, however I was also excited because the water was smooth as glass, no waves, no strong current or wind. You couldn't have imagined a more beautiful sunrise for a 1st time triathlete if you tried! While walking from the main stage down to the Classic distance swim start, I sucked down a Energy Gel with caffeine. Other than loose static stretches, I didn't have any unusual warm-up. While we were walking down the beach, we saw the professional triathletes swimming like animals from the international distance, which was nearly double our 1/2 mile swim. I was in awe of their speed in the water.