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 Swim
Comments: I laughed my butt off on the first stretch as some guy came flying by me swimming with his face down in the water...he was almost swimming at a 90 degree angle going left as I was headed straight for the next buoy! I had slight leakage on the right side and it was probably due to my sunscreen...I treaded water 3 or 4 times just to quickly seal it back up. I had my goggles kicked off once. I also noted that a lot of these triathletes need to cut their toenails! You get up close and personal with your fellow swimmers out there. :) What would you do differently?: Due to the excitement of the environment, I'd have to say I was going way too hard half the time. The other half I felt fine and relaxed. Sighting and getting around buoys was a challenge. For my 2nd OWS in a race, and 3rd overall, I was ecstatic with the results!  Transition 1
Comments: I purposely took my time seeing as how I saw that high number for my heart rate...a number I have only seen once a long time ago...so I took my time. What would you do differently?: research what the pros recommend for transition...I didn't really have much of a system. Maybe putting my sunglasses on the bike so I wouldn't waste time donning them.  Bike
Comments: wow, where to start. on the way out after I built up some speed I had a gel. 30 minutes later, I dropped a gel by accident...it just slipped out of my hand. I had 2 water bottles filled with diluted gatorade endurance. I have never had gatorade endurance and stupid me decides this will be good to try for the first time on race day with gu gels! Needless to say, the equation (new drink + aero position = regurgitation) holds true. From about mile 10 to mile 30-something, I'd periodically get mouthfuls of gatorade endurance coming up that I'd have to spit out. At the 2nd station I tossed one of my bottles to get a big ol' water! That was nice. I had to get out of aero position when I was drinking. The crouch was scrunching my tummy and I was having trouble getting it down my esophagus. I planned on a gel to start off my bike and then 1 every 30 minutes which should have been about 8 total because I was planning on a 3:30 bike time. I was flying the first half of the bike and again was too stupid to realize I probably had the wind at my back. :) Coming back I figured that out. :) I didn't have to pee while on the bike and that made me concerned because I probably wasn't hydrated enough. I also didn't realize the last aid station on the bike was the last aid station. I wish there was a sign indicating that in hindsight. I was an idiot and didn't realize I only had about 1/3 of a water bottle left. With only some gatorade endurance left, I didn't want to risk another gu gel before the run so I missed one there. What would you do differently?: I don't want to see lemon-lime gatorade for a while. :) Nothing against the product, it was just me not being smart. If you don't train with it, don't risk it on game day. My stupidity. I should have at least had a 22 oz. water bottle filled with water. Transition 2
Comments: I was still debating whether or not to wear my hat. I would have preferred a visor and I didn't bring one. :( What would you do differently?: bring a visor as well.  Run
Comments: Here's where it gets a little ugly. For me, I was having a great day, yeah, I felt like I didn't get enough hydration, but I was amazed at the turn-around to know I was just 6.55 miles away from the finish line of a 70.3 mile race...A HALF-IRONMAN! My original goal was 6 1/2 hours and I was already far surpassing that...but greedy Brian got the crazy notion to reach for another goal. As I rounded the turn-around I knew immediately that if I ran another 55 minute split, I would finish at 5:30...or even better 5:29:59! Ha, talk about setting yourself up for disaster! Those last 4 or 5 miles felt like murder. Slow and torturous murder! I was drinking pepsi...I never drink soda, and for some reason, again, it's race day! I'll try something new! Well, maybe it was the natural diuretic effect of the caffeine, or the fact I hadn't urinated in over 5 hours...weak tummies don't read the next sentence...I peed myself! By the time I hit 2.1 miles to go and 15 minutes to hit 5:30, I knew I had to run sub-8 minute/mile pace with my tank on empty, I just said screw it and started walking like a cowboy and turned on my faucet! The completely irrational state of mind I was in had me thinking, "Oh don't worry, the tri-shorts will soak it up," HA! It was dribbling down my right leg, into my shoe...now I had a squishy show for the last 2 miles to deal with! Not only that, but as I'm walking down the street peeing, a police SUV is slowly driving towards me! I'm thinking, "Oh great! I'm gonna get arrested for public urination!" Fortunately either A: he didn't notice. B: he noticed and didn't care, or C: he noticed but knew if he arrested me he'd have to stick my foul-smelling shorts in his nice SUV! :) The last mile was killer as you can hear people finishing over the loudspeaker. The people of Cambridge were AMAAAAAZING! Some folks put a little sprinkler on that sprayed mist into the road! They were angels!!! It felt so good! In my mind I kept telling myself, "Do the funny running, do the funny running!" It's my way of making sure I stay true to form, more strides per minute, slightly flexed knees...it works for me. What would you do differently?: choose a realistic goal? Post race
Warm down: put my arm around the handler-lady after the race who walked with me a little , took my timing chip, and gave me my finisher's medal. I was hungry but I wasn't. It's very difficult to describe. I saw a line for a hose, so I was able to jet-spray my tri-shorts, legs, feet, socks and shoes! :) My wife and kids were there supporting me the whole day. I couldn't have done this without them. What limited your ability to perform faster: exercise bike in the winter is no substitute for training on your own bike. Event comments: Again, the real all-star of this race is my wife. From 4:00am until our departure from the race at 3:00pm...for her to manage our 4 year old and 17 month old all that time...she's amazing. It was a day I'll never forget. I'm still sore, but I've been worse. About 4 years ago, I wasn't doing any training let alone exercise of any kind. I went out and busted out a 22 minute 5k on a really humid day and I could NOT walk up and down steps. I literally had to hold onto a rail and go 1 step at a time. My preparation for the race has paid off. I'm sore but it's nothing terrible. In a few days I'm sure I'll be looking forward to my next challenge!!! Last updated: 2006-11-24 12:00 AM
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United States
Columbia Triathlon Association
~68F / 0C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 671/1170
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 88/141
The day before was very hectic. To 1st time triathletes I don't know what I can say to prepare you for your first tri, but a good start would be to make sure your car has enough antifreeze/coolant under the hood! On the (what was supposed to be) 75 minute trip over to Cambridge, not only did I take a wrong turn (there are several Market Streets and Railroad Aves on the way), my car which has NEVER overheated was 3/4 up the temp meter. I already had to ask directions once at a roadside chicken bbq stand, and now I had to stop at a gas station to get antifreeze/coolant! It was mid-80's the day before the race and to add to that, those who know cars know you cool off the engine by blasting your hot air through your vents! So I'm sweltering like a pig even with the windows open on what was supposed to be a nice relaxing rest day, stressing over when I was going to get to the registration, and stressing over the decision that morning to do a 15 minute run!!! I got there about 40 minutes later than anticipated but a couple friends of mine were there and found me. I really needed a new pair of goggles and one of my friend's buddies suggested the pair he had just gotten. He hadn't tried them yet, but I'm adventurous and new anything would be better than my wal-mart special cheapos that recently started to leak on my pool swims. The 3 guys I was there with were going for a light practice swim just out tothe 1st buoy, rest, and back with wetsuits on. My buddy is the same size and I borrowed his backup wetsuit. It was very reassuring. The Aquasphere XPs were like a suction cup on my face and I was finally feeling pretty good. I had no trouble driving home and felt better now that I knew how to get to and from the race site. I got home just in time for a nice dinner of Barilla pasta with spaghetti sauce and cut up zucchini. I even tried a little bit of a Power-Bar (I've never had one before) and it wasn't as good as the chocolate peanut butter chip cookies my wife made that day!! I had a few Pringles...then, I realized I was friggin exhausted from the stress of the day, the morning run, the afternoon swim, and the only real protein I had during the say was a big roast beef sandwich. I opened a can of tuna and promptly ate it up and washed it down with a glass of orange juice. I read bedtime stories with the kids, and then proceeded to pack the family car (not the one that overheated earlier that day!) I only got about 4 1/2 to 5 hours of not so restful sleep the night before. The anticipation is pretty overwhelming!
My wife and I woke up at 4:00 and proceeded to get the stuff in the fridge into the car, and when all was set, we woke up the kids (17 months and 4 years old) and brought them into the car. Our 17 month old girl conked out on the way, but our 4 year old boy was taking in all the new scenery even with it being dark in the beginning. My wife and I must have read every sign between Dover and Cambridge. :) We got into town a little before 6:00, but the traffic was bumper to bumper. The lot right next to transition was already filled, so police directed the long line of cars to a sports field several blocks away. Just so I could get my transition area stuff set, my wife suggested I get going and she'd probably catch up. After about a 10 minute walk to the transition area, I had to urinate like a race-horse! There were 3 or 4 lines of 40-50 people each, and by the time I got to about 12th in line I couldn't wait, so I ducked behind the porto-potties and watered some beach grass. :) I had about 30 oz. of water and almost a whole 32 oz lemon-lime gatorade on the way to the race and let's just say it was a copious amount of urine! Ha! The only thing I forgot in transition was to take off my back reflector...big deal. Oh yeah, I also forgot sunscreen, but as I was running around frantically, my wife saw me and WITH baby in arm and child at foot, she slathered me up! Only one problem with that. I think it may have affected my goggles seal on my forehead because the previous day I had a perfect toilet plunger-like seal that was perfect. All in all good stuff. Oh yeah, before I forget, I had 1 piece of peanut butter toast and a banana between 4:30 and 5:00 with all the hydration I previously mentioned. They closed transition at 7 and my wave was due to go off at 7:29. I chatted with my friend and his dad before the race. His dad blew 3 tubes pumpimg up tires before the race! People were so nice at the race, he was offered several tubes. The tri community is amazing! The guys I was next to at transition were very supportive and reassuring too. Just to see how the stress was affecting me standing there in my wetsuit, goggles, swim cap...I checked my HR. My average resting heart rate is around 40-42 beats per minute...just standing and waiting I was 100bpm! Getting into the water waist-deep with about 5 minutes to go settled my nerves. 67 beats per minute with 4 or 5 minutes to go-time!