login
 Swim
Comments: I had a swim coach, which is the only reason I was able to complete the swim freestyle at all. I was still having some problems with sighting, especially on the way back because you were swimming towards sunrise. My breathing was all over the place. I can't bilateral breathe very well, just something I need to work on competitively I really didn't have too many problems with swim traffic, most of my wave left me in the dust. One funny thing about the course is that on the way back the route runs by the shore and the water is only about 3 feet deep for about 300 meters. It was strange swimming and having another competitor stand up in three feet of water. I think I would of been compelled to do better if I didn't feel like I was a triathlete in a kiddy pool at that point because I was laughing on the inside. What would you do differently?: Practice, practice, practice. Endurance, breathing, technique, everything. One guy I was talking to said it really takes two years of constant swimming before you start feeling comfortable enough to go fast. I've only been swimming a year since I was a teenager. In any case I was slow, and felt slow.  Transition 1
Comments: If there was one part I was pleased with, was the transitions. My legs of course weren't running very well just coming out of the water. But everything was in place. But I did make one crucial mistake that cost me later. I was at first planning on taking a gel pre-race. And then talked myself into taking one first transition because I wanted it mostly for the run. But I was moving so fast, and hadn't practiced taking one during transition, that I didn't take it at all. More below. What would you do differently?: I am not to flexible and a swim only made my legs more tight. I had to sit to get my bike shoes on, but got them on quick anyway. Maybe a little more stretching and I don't have to sit. Also I will take a gel pre-race.  Bike
Comments: My bike leg went much better than expected considering my trusty Trek 1000 failed me. I checked the tires pre-race, but nothing else. Big mistake. For some reason it chose today for the front crank to refuse to shift to the big gear. I was stuck in the middle gear up front the whole race. I was spinning faster but going slower. I was mad at my bike the whole bike leg, and at myself for not checking it pre-race. But even with this setback, I did better than I expected once I saw my results. On flat courses at least I was mostly passing people instead of vice versa. I had a bum crank on a road bike and still placed reasonably well considering it was my first triathlon. I have confidence here. Drank one bottle of Cytomax during the bike leg. What would you do differently?: Buy a Cervelo P3 Carbon. Oh wait a minute, I'm poor. Check my bike pre-race and probably take it to a bike shop the week before a race. Transition 2
Comments: Smoking. I had practiced my technique of preparing to get off the bike, and then getting off the bike with my shoes still in the pedals and me barefoot running back to the rack. It all worked flawlessly. One thing I was real happy about. My only problem was after I dropped off my bike and started running towards the bike course. I probably would of been sub one minute had my calves not told me I should of taken the gel, they were both cramping. What would you do differently?: As far as technique, I am not sure how I could of done it faster.  Run
Comments: Me not sucking up that gel, and probably not enough water pre-race had finally come back to haunt me. At the beginning of the run my legs were cramping. I actually ran by my swim coach and let her know. Another female racer near me said, no they aren't don't think about it. I took her advice and low and behold at the end of the first mile they were gone. Then my left hamstring began to cramp for the second mile. So for the first two miles I was practically waddling through the run. At least it felt like it. The last half mile my legs actually started to get better and I was running more my pace for a 5K. But the damage was already done. At least I felt good crossing the finish line at a strong pace. I almost had a heart attack too because the main clock read 2:10. Then I remembered I was one of the last waves to start. What would you do differently?: Way more brick training. My legs were lost during the first 2/3 of the run. And more hydration and sodium. Post race
Warm down: A volunteer gave me an ice cold towel right at the finish. Water bottles were available everywhere. I did mostly walking. They had some various snacks and food I grabbed. Also one stand was serving up free smoothies but I passed it up because the line was like a mile long by the time I finished. Another reason to finish faster. What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of training the first week of August set me back a bit, I think I felt it on race day. Need more brick training, and more hydration for the run. I learned the hard way about checking your bike the night before and pre-race. Event comments: Overall a lot of fun, I will be back next year and would advise anyone nearby to do this race. Tons of volunteers everywhere. I didn't stick around for too long afterwards so I can't comment on the post race activities, I was too busy thinking about how to do better next time. I'm hooked. Last updated: 2006-08-28 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
Lake Norman YMCA
Sunny
Overall Rank = 242/382
Age Group = Novice
Age Group Rank = 9/22
Got there at 6:00am. About 2/3 of the contestants were already present setting up. I had been to the site the day before and knew where my stall was located. I got a pretty good spot considering I was in the novice group. I was familiar with the course and race site so I was pretty much just taking it all in. I wasn't nervous but anxious. One thing I found out was we are all family, and what's yours is ours I suppose. I had walked away and was on my way back to my bike stall and some guy I never had met was grabbing my air pump to use it. Okay. No problem I guess. At least he thanked me once he realized it was mine. My first mistake was pysching myself out about my power gel I had planned to take pre-race. But I will get to that a bit below. Also I may have not hydrated with enough water, I was mostly sipping on Gatorade.
I was stretching lakeside as all the other competitors from the elites and age groups were started. I was second to last in the novice group. Another guy I never met let me know I had forgotten to snap my timing chip on all the way. Thank you again if your reading this. We all got in the water as the group before us was started. I tried a little swimming back and forth, but never really got anything really warmed up with a brief 5 minute wait.