Disco Triathlon - Triathlon

I started about three quarters in the back. I started out awful, just keeping pace with the majority around me. I ran into people and then treaded to find a good line and swam again. Right at the first buoy, there was a sand bar (can you have a sand bar in a lake??) and most would stand up. This cleared the crowd a bit. Also, after I rounded the buoy, I swam wide and found some clean water. I did the same at the second buoy coming back to the beach. I'm sure I swam a bit more than others, but it was worth it to not have to fight thought it.

I got out of the water and jogged towards T1. They had the time running at the start-of-T1-mat and it said 17:xx. I had my Forerunner on my bike, so I didn't time it my self. I knew I had a bad swim but didn't think it was that bad. It wasn't until after the race was over that I realized the clock was started for the first wave and I was in the second, so I was actually 3 min faster. Still, a bad swim, but considerably better.

Only about 1-2 dozen people had less than a 10 min swim time, so the swim had to be more than the advertised 500 yards. There was a decent run from the beach to the T1 mat, but that shouldn't have taken more than 30 secs or so.

Swim aggressively. I sighted well and went where I wanted. I just need to swim my pace and assert myself through/around the others.

I'm really not one to be in a hurry in the transitions. I want a good time overall, but the transitions for me is a time to regroup and re-focus and I just don't want to rush through them.

I broke a bolt on my aero-bars the night before the race, so I took my ('87 Schwinn) road bike.

Great bike for me. Almost immediatly after I started out, I started passing people. My goal was to see what I can do on the bike and then see how it affects my run.

I passed alot of people and got passed by much less. I really passed more people on the ups of the rolling hills than anywhere else on the course. This really suprised me as my commute route is really falt with 1 stretch with a whopping 2 rolling hills.

I ran into John (jcagg90) and chatted with him a bit. He asked me if I saw the 13 year old girl. I said, no, but that must have been who rode by and said "sorry" as she passed me. I wonder if she appologized to all of the old farts that she passed. I did catch up to her later, but didn't pass her back. How embarrasing would it be to be passed by her twice :o

I also saw Aaron (JeepFleep) coming the other way. I think he was about 3'rd at the time (his swim wave was the first).

I think this was a very fast course and I saw plenty (5 or 6) on the side of the road changing flats. I'm thankfull I wasn't one of them.

I've always told myself that I was not going to get a new bike until I averaged 20 mph in a race. I broke this rule about 2 weeks ago as I found the bike I wanted at a good price. But, then I broke the aerobar and have now validated the new bike purchase.

Also, I've gained 2-3 mph average over my bike splits of the two tri's I did last year.

Not break my bike the night before the race and not get passed by the 13 yr old girl :)

Seriously, this was a great ride and there's not much I'd change about it.

I was suprised by the transition time. I thought it would have been longer than this as it felt like I took my time. Again, until I get real competitive, I'll not rush through the transitions.

Immediatly when I started running, I had a pain in my left shoulder. It was on the top of the shoulder right at the place where the bone sticks up. It was kind of like a side stitch pain. This is the shoulder I've had some minor rotator cuff problems with, but I can't imagine it was this. My best guess is that it was something with the way I rode on the bike.

I found a pace that made the pain bearable, but it didn't go away for a while. I'd push it a bit and the pain would get stronger, so I paced myself by the pain in my shoulder as opposed to my HR or other feel. My hope was that it would eventually become minor or go away completely.

Towards the beginning, I see a flash of polyester and a black 'fro going by me. It didn't register at first, but I later realized it was John. Holy crap, how he ran with that shirt and wig in the heat is beyond me. You'll have to check out his RR as I'm sure he will have pics. Going through the run, I also see all 4 of my TNT coaches and Aaron sporting his Team Ironhead uni.

The course was completely shaded and a little crowded, but overall I really liked it. At the first aid station, I grabbed a cup of water and through it on my head. After this, there was a fairly slight and long incline to climb. I slowed considerably at this point and was wondering if I'd even break a 9 min/mi pace. I reach the second aid station and turnaround. I stop and drink the water and then get going again. Going down the hill was a nice pick-me-up and my shoulder was starting to feel better. By mile 2, the pain was almost completely gone and I was able to pick up my pace a bit. At this point, my HR is lower than it was on the bike and my legs feel real fresh. I'm now running a decent pace, but still conservative. I think at the time I feard the shoulder pain coming back, so I still held back some. With 1/4 mi left, I upped the pace again and was able to just about sprint the last tenth of a mile. I forgot to stop my watch and I didn't look at the timer, so I really didn't know how I did until the results were posted.




Looking back on the run, I think I found a comfort zone and just stuck to it. I should have kept pushing myself, especially after mile 2 when the pain was pretty much going.

Walked around, stretched, drank water and ate an orange. Hung out for a while with the other BTers (jcagg90, JeepFleeb, Comet, DerekL, tri_it_cajun_style).


Breaking tri bike? Pain in shoulder.


I really liked this race. The theme was great. There were even a few who was in full Disco gear and riding old beach cruisers. That must have been a blast.

After volenteering for a few races , I really would have thought that I'd pay the volenteers more attention. With the exception of a couple of "thanks for volenteering", I didn't really pay them much attention.