Kemah Triathlon - Olympic Course - Triathlon

We were supposed to keep the buoys on the right and I breath left. My sighting and navigation wasn't too bad. I got myself about 20 yards left of the buoy line and worked my way back to it. For some reason I tend to turn left in open water. Got in a few scrums when I was back on the line but handled them well. I am not a great swimmer and my mantra for this event was to just swim slow and not exhaust myself. I thought I was doing ok until I got out of the water and saw 45 minutes on the watch. Found out later we actually same about 1.1 miles due to where the boat anchored. My Garmin confirmed this. So I actually had about 2:15 pace which for me is just fine.

I could probably go a bit harder but this being my first Olympic I was conservative.

I was a long way from the water to transition. The wetsuit strippers kind of snuck up on me and I wasn't really ready for them. I half walked/jogged the rest of the way in bare feet on concrete. It had started drizzling at this point and I really wasn't in a hurry.

I wanted to have the shoes on the bike but I hadn't fully practiced it. I wasn't too worried as my bike was racked about 10 feet from the bike out.

Maybe keep the shoes on the bike and do a flying mount. Just because it looks cool.

I don't use power so my goal was to find a gear that kept me spinning around 90-95rpm and keep my heart rate around zone 4. I thought I was doing just that so I was surprised to see my average at 81 on the Garmin. I guess that is from coasting occasionally. The roads were horrible. Since that seems to be the case around here I just ordered 25mm tires (they will fit) for my bike. I have a shoulder issue and getting bounced around hurts that as much as anything. I also run 120psi as a Clydesdale but I think I might drop that a bit for some comfort. Also I am still getting used to the aero position. I have clip-ons on a road bike but have been fitted to it. I think the rough roads contributed to me not being comfortable in that position.

Need more time on the trainer. I really want to get to the 20+mph average for this distance. I probably could have gone harder but again, this was my first Olympic, it was raining on the whole ride and I wanted to stay upright.

I didn't wear socks on the bike but put them on for the run. They were soaked when I put them on so that added a few seconds.

Maybe make sure everything stays dry until I put it on.

As I started to then my first thought was "this sucks, I really need more bike/run workouts". I just sort of shuffled along for the first mile or so. For some reason my feet were going numb. My shoes are new but they are the same brand/model I have been using. I had tried a different brand in the last few weeks and had this issue so I ditched those shoes and went back to what I knew. I actually think it is the bike shoes I need to replace. I have an issue with numb feet on the trainer.

Anyway, my Garmin beeps after the first mile and I glance down at my split: 11:14. I like to run but I am a big guy and not fast. A great pace for a stand-alone 10k for me would be 10 minute miles. An average pace would be 11 minute miles so I was surprised how quick that mile was. After my legs woke up I was able to run under 11 minute miles and was pretty consistent. I have a hard time keeping my training runs that consistent so I was happy with it.

This was a 2 loop course and it was raining for much of the time. It started to thunder on my second loop but I told myself I was going to finish no matter what.

About 1/4 mile from the finish line I started to catch up with a big guy. I figured there were not a lot of clydesdales racing so I put on a burst of speed to pass him up. I still don't know if it mattered but I ended up 3rd in my division so I was glad I pushed it at the end.

Walked around for a few minutes and grabbed a piece of pizza. There was also a sprint race that finished before us and of course I was a later finisher in the Olympic so there was very little food left. I kind of feel like as newbies aren't take into consideration for this. There were no drinks left besides water. Luckily this promoter has a VIP thing they do that I signed up for which got me into a different tent that still had some food.

I walked back to the course to find my wife and ran with her for a few minutes to encourage her to finish.

After we both both got back to transition they were already taking down the bike racks. This is where I get lost in the logistics. The awards haven't started yet. I have no idea if I placed because they don't post it anywhere. I don't want to push my bike and carry my gear while I wait for awards but they want it out of transition. I finally found somebody who grabbed the results sheet from the bottom of the pile to show me. I saw I was in 3rd so I had to stick around. I knew it would still be 30 minutes so we went ahead and got the bikes and bags and went back to the awards area. The VIP tent was right there so we pushed our way through and put our stuff in that tent. I guess that is what I will plan on doing in future races. So after 30 more minutes I finally got my award. Mens 40+ Clydesdale is the very last award given out. As it was we had to rush back to the hotel and ask them to let us keep the room for an extra hour to get cleaned up and pack. They were really nice about it though and said no problem.


Just need to keep up on the training and improve my times.


See my comments on post race regarding post race activities. These guys put a big bow on their races but I need to manage my expectations. For example, they promoted the packet pickup and "expo" at a local hotel the day before the race. I don't know what they consider an expo but all we could do is pick up our packets. I would have thought a vendor or two would be there. They also said they would be very strict on shirt sizes. You get what you put on your entry because that is what they ordered. Then they didn't have my size. Where would it have gone? I mentioned it to a volunteer on race morning and she said "oh, I have plenty of those. Here you go." Not sure where all the missed communications come from. None of this is a deal breaker.