Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Felt good the first half of the swim. I hugged the buoys nearest the middle of the river to maximize the currents effect. Felt really good through about 1000m and then I started feeling queasy - too much Gatorade before the start. I managaed to hold it together, but the last 200m was rough. I still made it out of the water at 19:25, ahead of my goal pace, so a good swim overall.

Drink less before the start

My transition area was right in the middle of the racks, just at the entrance to the T area. I got my shoes, helmet, everything on quickly and ran out. I run out to the left, get to the exit and realize I should ahve gone to the right leaving my spot. I got a 2:00 penalty, and it must ahve been for going the wrong way out of the transition area.

I didn't know that you couldn't go either way out of the transition area. There were probably 10 volunteers right there, wathcing me and any of them could have yelled at me to turn around and go the other way, but noone did. In the end, my fault for not knowing the proper exit procedure - however stupid that procedure may be

Felt really good going out. The wind was tough, but stayed low and smooth. The first of the 2 loops was harder than the second. I passed quite a few people on the second loop, especially on the hills. At the end of the second loop, I was averaging 19.8MPH, and my final spped was over 21, so I did well coming back in. I actually felt good at then end of the ride, thought I was ready for a strong run.
My problem was my stomach. I had put Gatorade in my Aerobottle but after about 3 sips by mile 3, my stomach was telling me NO MORE GATORADE. I got some water about mile10 or so and was able to nurse it about 1/2 way down by the end, but I drank very little overall, less than 8oz, because I was still nauseated

Nothing other than the GI issues form the start

Again, as I got to my spot, I changed shoes, racked the bike, and was 20 feet from the exit. One of the volunteers told me I needed to go all the way to the end of my row and then run back so I wouldn't get a penalty. I thought that was incredibly stupid since I was on the last row, but after my T1 experience, I did it anyway. What the hell, it probably saved me another 2:00 penalty. I was mentally ready for the run after I had blown up on it last year, but I was still queasy.

As above

Felt great running down the sidewalk to the river, up the flight of steps, walked up the big hill and couldn't get started again. First mile was right at 9:00, second mile was 8:15 and I thought I was getting setlled in to cuise the rest of the way. Just before mile 3, no PR was happeneing today. I felt myself about to vomit, and was able to keep it at bay with some walking. Tried to take some fluids which only made things worse. I probably should have induced some vomiting, but I couldn't bring myself to it. I jogged/walked the last couple of miles, but sprinted in strong to catch a 60 something year old and the last elite female - saved some semblance of my pride

All my problems came from my drinking too much before the race. My goal was to run a 47:30, which should have been fairly easy. I was 1:30 ahead of my goal time at the start of the run, but quickly lost it. I had run 53:30 or so last year and was very mad at that time. I certainly didn't expect to be 6 minutes SLOWER this year. It is a hard, hilly, hot course, but not a 59 minute course

Sat in the shade with a cold towel over my head. I was actually able to drink a bottle of water without feeling too sick


I drank too much Gatorade pre race


The down river swim is nice, especially on the ego. The bike is OK, although the pavement was pretty rough, especially onthe hilly section we rode twice. The run is fine. It's hilly, hot , and not a lot of shade, but everybody's got to do the same course. It's not unfair. However, after the run ahs totally kicked my ass the last 2 years, I probably won't be returning next year