Hickory Knob Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

42m 11s 1500.00 meters 2m 49s /100 meters *doesn't include run up ramp to T1
500m at 11min
Okay, It was a really cold morning though the water was okay. I only had my bike shorts on. 98% of people had wetsuits. It was cold air and cold ground to walk to pier on lake. I warmed up a tiny bit, perhaps 5 minutes around pier, not even 100m. Here's what I learned: I went with novice group of about 5-7 people M/F. The first 500m were very tough as I really wasn't warmed up enough - but I think it's a mix between warming up properly and fatiguing later in race. The last 500m was tough since I could tell my stroke was getting weak and I was having trouble finishing it. So if I had warmed up properly I probably would have swam the first 500 better and faster, but would have had a tougher time on 2nd and 3rd leg due to fatigue. Open water swimming is tougher due to sighting, rougher waves - which made it tougher for me to relax and lay my head and get good breaths without swallowing water, and I could have sworn there were some currents in that lake! And of course, in all my training I have always took little breaks, put my feet down here and there between laps, or sets, etc. Not an option in lake - so I was a little worried during first 500m when I couldnt catch my breath or stroke or anything else. I did a fair amount of breast stroke until I calmed down and then would crawl. It took 500m to warm up/settle down. And by then of course I had fallen back quite a bit with just two other swimmers at that mark. One would end up picking up the pace and finishing perhaps 5 min ahead. The other I finished just in front of. I used more kick in the last 500m since I could tell I was having trouble finishing my stoke, nothing crazy, had a little trouble getting up ladder, and then I felt my legs more tired than I expected. The guy behind me zipped up the steep landing, and I had to walk a bit with a tiny bit of jogging. Ran into transition area and got ready and off pretty quick. T1 from my watch was 4:31.8 (which seems slow now that I think about it). The T1 started after you ran up the hill and across the road and entered the transition area, so hill run was part of swim time. I also had my HR monitor on during swim though it doesn't work in water. P.S. I thought this swim would never end. Each 500m leg was a neverending leg. It took forever to reach those markers.

2h 2m 35s 28.00 miles 13.70 miles/hr
Avg HR: 163
Max HR: 177
Okay, hopped on bike with 1 guy about 100yards ahead of me (so basically, since I swam in novice group which was 3rd and last wave, there were no people behind me, or for me to ride with - which would have been nicer, and I think I probably would have been able to ride faster and it would have been a more pleasant experience - not that it was bad). First 25m ~4 inches of shoe lace gets caught on large sprocket and rips off. Start cruising down long hill and chain pops off. I ride down to near bottom and put it back on. It would pop off 3 more times in first 5 miles or so. Some of my shoelace got stuck in back derailer but I pulled out last time. Okay, chain was derailing when I tried to shift from small to large sprocket or vice versa, and I couldnt get large sprocket to shift into lowest rear sprocket gear for hills. So eventually I decided I couldnt afford to keep stopping and putting my chain back on - so I decided to stick to small sprocket (since I could get lowest rear gear for steeper hills). So I estimate I lost 4 minutes of time due to chain coming off, and perhaps more because I couldn't use large sprocket and lowest gear in large sprocket. I figure the rear derailer problem is my bad, since I could have adjusted it to get lowest gear/large sprocket which has been an problem for a while. It's unprecedented that my chain came off so much. So equipment issues from not having bike shoes and clips, to having an old heavy bike played heavily. The course was 2-3 times hillier than the hilly course I train on. So I focused on spinning. Near end I saw a guy whose bike had broken down on side of road, and I caught up to a young girl (22) who was riding a mountain bike. Since this was a tough Oly course, I thought it was more important for me to try and keep positive about the experience so that I don't burn out or get turned off. I knew I had bitten off quite a bit coming into this race since it was my first ever, and from race reports, and course description, so trying to make sure it was positive was important. I caught up to the girl on mountain bike and we talked for a while and rode side by side. It was cool. After a while I moved on ahead and finished up. That helped to make the experience more positive. And actually finishing up last few miles I started coming across the runners who were coming and going. They offered encouragement which I thought was great. Theres a special camaraderie and good will and feeling among the athletes and in this environment that I thought was cool and positive. I ate 2-3 gu's during this ride, and 3/4 of a power bar. Since I am used to leisurely transitions between events from my training, which allows more recovery of legs, muscles, etc., I was more tired/fatigued in muscles than I was used to. So I was trying to do what I could do help myself out with nutrition. it did help, but it couldn't overcome the hilliness of the course, etc. So I averaged a time that is about average for my riding. If I ever really wanted to do decent I would need a decent bike, shoes, etc. Equipment would help a lot. I took a 1 liter bottle of water which was too much. So I carried extra weight as well. I poured out about 1/3 of it around mile 10-15 because I saw I wasn't going to use it, and it was cool weather. I still had some left over after bike part. My T2 time was ~1:34 which is decent.

Avg HR: 158
Max HR: 177


Okay, the run course shared the first 2 and last 2 miles of bike course which has some steep hills, one of which is pretty darn steep. I kept waiting for my legs to adjust during this run race and overcome the fatigue so that I could take off, but my legs never did. I never got that little breath, or felt that reserve! Part of that I'm sure is the hilliness of the course. My practice runs are mostly flat except for the first and last mile which is a saddle. But this was a hillier course - oh yeah. I ate some gu and some power bar during run and drank water. That's something I missed on this tri is that I didn't know they had cytomax to drink instead of water. I thought they might have something else, but each time I asked people at the water stations what they had or if they had something other than water, they kind of just mumbled something unintelligible or said just water. Okay, so my legs were tired for this run, and since the transition times between events were so close together as compared to my practice and training and the course was hilly, my time was slow. Since I was running with a slight injury: Rt. Achilles,ankle - coming into it, pain started up earlier than normal due to hills I think. I had to walk about four times to give ankle a break, and one of those times that big hill just ate me up. Coming back on run and coming down large hill I got a charlie horse in my right inner quad! Yikes. I wasn't expecting that.(mile 4) That sucker spassed on me and locked up so that I had to walk Rt leg straight-stiff-legged for a few minutes- with no choice. It finally started loosening up at bottom of hill ( I hate to run up and hill and not enjoy the benefits of coasting down) , and I saw the guy who had bike problems starting to catch up- so I decided to take off again. There was one older guy further behind too but not in sight. I eventually sighted a lady up ahead and eventually caught up to her. She was 30-40's I guess. I don't know she had an A on her leg so maybe that's Athena. So she was a little heavy. I caught up eventually and chatted with her - which all adds to the experience. And she offered encouragement. Especially as I was nearing 4 hour mark. She said I could make it in under 4 - which remarkably is about what I ran when I did my own personal OLY minus the leisurely transitions. So I eventually passed her and went to finish. I had my first and only cup of cytomax after mile 4. It was a lot of uphill to finish. My right quad was getting close to charlie horsing so I was really worried that I wouldn't make it under four hours if I had to walk, but it never spassed all the way. So I made it. Yeah! I think my time is around 3:58:28. hahahaha. Not very impressive. But it was a tough first tri. I would definitley recommend doing a Sprint instead, because theres so much learning that goes on, and you will have more of an opportunity to perform at a higher and faster rate. This will definitely change my training routines I think. I hope my knee is okay. That's still the only thing I'm worried about. That too might be a lesson in and of itself. But of course knee was fine during run, and I only starting feeling discomfort later on drive home, and in evening. I am writing most of this 2 days later and it's improving a bit. Right quad where charlie horse happened is still a bit tight. yeah! First Tri!

Some stretching. Fluids. Chow. Driving back to Charlotte.


Bike - as in I need a decent bike - not a heavy, broken down, 1980 ten speed with mechanical problems.


Lessons learned:
1)warming up is very important, but not so much that it will cause fatigue later in event. I only warmed up a little for the swim, and the first 500m was tough since I couldn't breath good it was a little panicky. It was almost like I was hyperventilating. Maybe it was the cold air too. The thought of drowning might have crossed my mind ; ) It's funny now.
2)Start with a Sprint to learn and enjoy yourself more if you can.
3)Plan your event ahead of time. register early, arrive early, maintain your equipment.
4)You will probably perform quite similarly to how you train in terms of time.
5)When you eliminate the leisurely transition times the rough becomes a lot tougher
6)The course is probably about as tough as you think it is from the race reports you read, and from the course profile.
7)Encouragement and camaraderie are great, and really add to the environment.
8)Dropping some pounds would probably help a lot for this kind of race. Maybe my shoulder injury has affected my overall metabolism more than I thought. All the pushups I used to do used to spur me on to running and jump rope so that I would be defined and not bulky (which I don't like). This might have helped me stay at around 185 versus 195lb.
9)Try to have fun and make it a positive experience
10) Unexpected pains and injuries might show up both during (charlie horse) and after the race is over (rt. knee cartilage pain, left outer foot pad by small toe bone took a pounding somehow).