Swim
Comments: When I signed up for a triathlon 3 months ago without knowing how to swim, the general strategy was to "not drown", which I thought was a good first goal! Despite making great strides in 12 weeks and being certain I would not drown, the swim was always going to make me most apprehensive. Then when I saw the current, and that the longest part of the triangle set up was against the current, I got very anxious. I planned on starting in the back out wide, following the usual advice for newer swimmers, but as my wave congregated in the starting pen almost nobody set up in the front. In a group of about 75 swimmers I found myself about 2 rows back, maybe in the front 15 swimmers or so. I decided to just go with it. The first third of the swim went well. I briefly thought about trying to draft someone but quickly reminded myself to not get over competitive and stick to my plan of going nice and easy. I reached the first buoy much more quickly than I thought I should have, and was encouraged by this. Shortly after the turn I was able to calm down and I got comfortable for the first time, even going directly against the current now. I had trouble sighting well, and definitely zig zagged a little because of it. Some of this is because even when practicing sighting I am not very smooth. Add the chop that made it tough to see over, and it felt like the second turn buoy took forever to come into sight. The last 200m in to shore was smooth. All together I passed more people than I expected which was cool. I estimated I would finish in about 20 minutes, and then saw the chop in the morning and actually told my wife and kids if they wanted to see me come out of the water to give me 25 minutes. So when I saw my watch at 20:41 I was pleased. Then when official results came out, to my surprise the swim was my strongest portion relative to the field as I was in the top third of finishers. What a good surprise. What would you do differently?: Nothing really. For my first triathlon this swim went about as well as I could've expected. Transition 1
Comments: I consciously decided I would not rush through T1, even though I had rehearsed all the steps in my mind countless times. I wanted to ensure I stayed composed and kept the heart rate under control. That being said, it did not feel like I spent 5+ minutes! I didnt bother to towel off sand and grass, put on socks and running sneakers. Had some trouble getting the tight tri top on a wet body - something to be aware of next time. Took a quick gel and was out. What would you do differently?: Just move faster. Considering I missed my stretch goal time by just about 3 minutes, seeing 5+ in T1 hurt. Bike
Comments: I was doing this Tri on an old hybrid mountain bike that I picked up used when I decided to do this triathlon. I knew I would be slower, but it was very discouraging seeing people just fly by me like I was standing still. Even so, I knew that going in, and I hit my expected bike time almost to the second, so I think I executed fine given my current fitness and equipment levels. I started the bike spinning easily and then shifted into my more preferred higher gear, staying conscious of overworking the legs. The gusty wind that made for the choppy seas earlier was in our face for part of it, but behind us for equal parts, so that made up for it. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I think I executed what I expected and felt good going into the run. Transition 2
Comments: T2 I felt like I was in and out in a flash. I had an unfortunate location on the opposite side of the area from the side that had both Bike In and Run Out, so just getting to and from my gear took most of this time. I had an advantage since I don't have cycling shoes yet, so it was really as simple as bike racked, helmet off, hat on, gone. What would you do differently?: Nothing. I was probably at my designated spot for 15 seconds. Run
Comments: I started the run very slowly and made sure I was calm and had the heart rate under control. I felt good, legs no worse than expected, and started to pick up the pace probably about 1.5 km in. I started to pass a ton of slower runners / walkers, so that made up somewhat for the bike segment. I realized on the way back that I had a shot at breaking my PB 5km run time which I set two months ago. I thought that would be a really cool testament to my increased fitness levels in the last couple months if I could break the standalone PB after 1+ hours of swimming and biking. It wasn't to be as missed out by 39 seconds. I didn't have to take any water at the aid stations even in real feel of 100+ degrees so I was happy my pre-race and bike segment hydration was enough. I did however grab a cup each time to pour over my head. What would you do differently?: Probably pick up the pace a bit sooner. I really pushed myself all race but in a controlled manner. I think once the run part came I really could've gone harder sooner. I was tired crossing the finish line, but not ready-to-collapse-tired, so I feel like I left some out there. Post race
Event comments: Overall this was a great experience and I really couldn't be happier. Four months ago I hadn't exercised in close to a year, and was probably about 20 pounds overweight. I started getting back into running and dieted well, and after a couple 5km and a 10km race I decided to do a triathlon. I had always been enamored with the idea of the sport, but never knew there were actually shorter distances than Ironman...I thought that was the whole sport out of sheer ignorance. When I heard of the sprint distance I knew I had to try. I grew up with a pool and could swim with my head above water, and was in the Marines so certainly comfortable staying alive in the water. But I had never tried to swim "correctly." When I you tubed freestyle tips and went to the pool, I couldn't do one length with proper breathing! I also didn't own a bike when I registered, and hadn't been on one in about 20 years. So I am very happy that I not only enjoyed the race but enjoy the process of training as well. I'm down 17 pounds and counting and feel great. I'm disappointed that there are no more races here for the season and its gonna be a loooong 8 months until my next tri, but hopefully it will fly. Time to upgrade the bike and continue to increase the fitness. By next April it will have been a year off the couch, and who knows how much quicker I can go. I am going to do 1 sprint to start the season and 3-4 Olympic Distance races. That's the plan for now. Last updated: 2015-08-28 12:00 AM
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Singapore
Tri-Factor
90F / 32C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 214/560
Age Group = 20-39
Age Group Rank = 155/355
Woke up at 5:30 am which wasn't too bad since I had a later wave start time. 3 hours to race (6 am) had a breakfast of toast, almond butter, banana, Gatorade, and coffee.
Arrived at event site at 7:45 am, got marked, and set up transition area. Got what I thought was a good spot in transition, being the last athlete in one of the rows. I figured in the excitement of my first race this was a good thing being all the way on one end, simple to find and less crowded. I quickly realized when walking the transition area to familiarize myself that because of the layout I had a VERY long way both into, and out of, T2. Oh well.
After setting up transition I headed down toward the beach to have a look. Two things struck me. The course looked much bigger than I anticipated. Even after coming to spectate a triathlon here in the same spot last month so I could know what to expect, this course just looked massive. Also the almost always calm seas were very choppy. The race MC kept pointing it out, and I heard some of the earlier wave swimmers exiting the water commenting on it as well. Though I heard they calmed down considerably from what they were earlier in the morning, it was clearly not the best conditions for my first race. I hopped in the water for a quick warm up swim of 5 minutes.