Tri for Real #2 - TriathlonOlympic

I knew I was a slow swimmer, but dang. I was in the first of 6 waves, and when I got out of the water, I was already in the middle of the pack. I think I finished the swim ahead of just a few others in my wave, most of which passed me on the bike.

Swim faster, duh. But seriously, my effort level was about 2/5. I didn't know how hard to swim. Aside from trying it on the night before the race, it was the first time I'd worn my wetsuit in 3 years. It really restricts how I can bend my knees. My kick isn't especially strong, but with this wetsuit, it's almost nonexistant. I need to look into getting a new one.

No hurry in T1. Suit is hard to get off (too small?). I have big feet, so I suspect that makes it extra hard on the ankles. I generally strain something in my shoulders trying to take this thing off, but I did ok this time around. Nice walk out to the bike start. Time is kind of a guess. It didn't seem like that long, but it's hard to say for sure.

Not much. Even though I wasn't speedy, the couple minutes I spent in T1 made little difference in my overall time.

I wasn't taking it easy, but I was still way slow. I'm just not a very fast cyclist. I need to build up those legs a little, I suspect.

I got passed a lot, and didn't pass anyone. Definitely a sign I need to work on the speed.

Should have had a little more to drink, but I haven't been able to figure out how to keep water cold enough to tolerate. I can't stand drinking warm Ctyomax, or water for that matter. I drank about 1.75 bottles, which I thought would be enough, but not even close. I need to get a better hydration setup for the bike.

I also need some decent glasses. The ones I have now are no good for biking. Way too much wind gets through to my eyes.

Didn't try too hard in T2, either. If I hurried, I might have been able to take off 1 min or so, but not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. The guy next to me had his bike pretty far into my space. I had to push it over to fit mine in. I knocked his helmet off and it rolled down a ways. Oops. Time is kind of a guess. It didn't seem like that long, but it's hard to say for sure.

Have a number belt. Pinning on my number in the middle of a race felt ridiculous. I knew I wanted to get one beforehand, but didn't get around to it.

I started out ok, running under 10 min/mile. My knees were holding up well enough I thought I might be able to run the whole thing. But, not drinking enough on the bike and the heat caught up with me. I had to walk 2-2.5 miles.

Drink more. That alone would have easily taken minutes off my time. Dehydration was the only theme of the run. No other improvements can be made until that's sorted out.

Walked around for a minute trying not to throw up, then stood in the lake for a few minutes. Tried to walk over and get something to eat, but too nauseous from the dehydration. Had to sit in the shade for awhile. Turns out burger and fries was $4 anyway, so screw that. Had a free brownie instead. They had pretty much run out of free food by the time I got there.


dehydration


Good race, but not a standout for being good or bad. The race photographer left the run section early and didn't get a bunch of us. With the heat, one more water stop on the run would have been nice. Water at the bike turnaround wouldn't have hurt. There was one v in the bike course that was unmarked that I didn't remember seeing going the other direction. I got going the right way.