Tugaloo Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Started out the swim pretty well. Had a nice pace going for the first leg to the buoy. Once I rounded the first buoy, I tried a little drafting but couldn't really find anyone going the right pace. When I would actually swim, I would overtake them, but then I would need to switch to breaststroke for a bit due to lack of fitness, so I would see-saw, so I just went on my own instead. My sighting was going okay until I rounded the last buoy. For the last leg, we were swimming straight into the rising sun. BRUTAL! I could not see anything and really struggled to make it home. Went way off course and wound up swimming much further than I needed to. BAD!

Unfortunately this has been the theme of all my races this year, but, TRAIN MORE. I had good intentions of really going hard on the training this summer, so I signed up for four races. I did almost no training for any of them and at this distance (my first OLY), it really showed.

I really took my time in the transitions today. It was my first OLY and I felt it at every leg of the race. I wanted to enjoy the race, so I didn't kill myself at any point. Just sort of took my time looking around and enjoying the moment.

Get in shape so that I can actually "RACE".

I have only ridden my bike once or twice this year, other than the races I've done, so I should not be too surprised by my lack of fitness on the bike, but I was a little surprised by how slow I was. Before the race, I had been involved in multiple threads on riding in aero vs. on the hoods and at what speed you gain/lose benefits of aero. As a result, I stayed in aero WAY more than I normally would have on this ride. I think that actually hurt me in the race. I really need to get a fitting done to get my position tweaked, but I think being in aero so much slowed me down due to loss of power. I also planned on really pushing hard the back half, since I knew I would be walking the 10K at the end anyway. When I got to the back half, I was shocked by how much of a headwind had picked up. I felt like I was riding through mud at some points it felt so strong at times.

Obviously ride more, but also I need to get a fit done to get in the correct position to maximize power and aero benefits.

Again, took my time. I walked my bike -- didn't run. This was also the first race where I brought any sort of nutrition along with me, so I didn't want to rush and forget anything. Also first time using a race belt vs. pinning my number to my shirt.

Not much. I am comfortable with transitions -- just need better fitness so that I don't need to recover as much during them.

Obviously I did not have the fitness level to run during this race, so I knew I would be walking this one going into it. Still had a good time and enjoyed the scenery. Lots of interaction with campers throughout the park and very well supported with hydration and nutrition along the run course. I started feeling something "wrong" on my right foot at about the 1.5 mile mark. Started out as irritating and got more painful as time went on. I thought it might be gravel from T2 that got in my shoe on my sock, but wasn't sure if I should just stop and readjust or not. Decided to walk through it. Never really went away, but I just kind of dealt with it. (Turns out it was just a blister forming as I found nothing in there after the race, but had an irritation there afterwards). I had read all the reports of BACON in the park, but was disappointed that by the time I got there, all the bacon was clearly gone and it was time for DINNER!

I wish I had alternated some running in with the walking. Even if I had just run 30 seconds every other minute or something, it probably would not have killed me and I could have dropped under the 4 hour mark for the race. Still had fun and enjoyed myself!

Went over and signed up to get a massage, but there was a LONG wait. Stretched my legs a bit and had a couple muscle milks and some fruit while I was waiting. A lot of the people waiting for massages wound up leaving, but I still had to wait a long time. When I finally did get up there, they were ready to leave. I wound up being the last massage, and he didn't even have me lay down. Just a little work on my shoulder blades while sitting and they wrapped up. That was a bit disappointing, but I understand that they wanted to get out of there.


Training (or lack thereof).


I have always been pleased with the GA Multisports races I have done. This was no exception. The race was well run and the support was great. This was my first OLY and despite being severely undertrained this year, I really enjoyed this distance. I look forward to doing Tugaloo again and more GA Multisports events.