Playtri Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Oh man! This sucked! I didn't wear a wetsuit. BIG MISTAKE! It was cold, but tolerable. By the time the swim started, I was accustomed to the temperature. But my muscles were contracting. Made it to the first buoy alright. I'm in the middle of the pack. A little kicking and slapping, but nothing too bad. Midway to the second buoy, I get a little cramp in my right calf, but it goes away after a couple of seconds. No big deal I think to myself. Round the second buoy to head in. About 150-200 meters left, and the cramp is back. And it's not going away. I try to work it out, to no avail. So the last 150-200 I do some variation of a side stroke, using my arms only. It takes FOREVER! The cramp just wont leave. I finally make it in, and I cant get out of the water. Can't put any pressure on my right foot. I look down, and there's this big knot a little below the back of my knee. And below it, looks like a pocket of air. I reach down to rub it, and it feels so weird. I get cramps playing basketball fairly often, but they come and go in no more than 3-4 seconds. They never stay, but I'm never in cold water either. So I lean against the rail for awhile (I have no concept of time at this point!) and do my best to stretch it out. In the meantime, this guy is trying to tell me to relax and slow down, which for some reason I interpret as quit. Well I'm not quitting because of a cramp, so I continue to try to work it out. It finally leaves, such a relief! And I limp into T1.

Stretch better, maybe hydrate more prerace and consume a little more salt and potassium to prevent cramps. But more than anything, GET A DAMN WETSUIT!

Didn't care about this T1. I don't know how much of it was spent on the rail stretching. I didn't get my feet into my shoes for a good while into the bike, and had trouble doing so. Need to practice this more.

Not cramp.

Had to regain my focus during the bike. Every down-stroke on my right foot hurt a little due to my calf. Not alot, but enough to be a nuisance. Hard to focus by this point. Went for a drink, and dropped my damn water bottle. Turned around, picked it up, heavy traffic at this point. Found a place to sneak in, and started it back up. Passed about 15 people on the course, which was encouraging. I needed the encouragement after the disaster in the lake.

Dont drop the water. Focus on making passes, because this gives me motivation. I'm always trying to pass.

If there is anything to be proud of for the day, it would be this T2. First time trying to dismount running, and it worked to perfection I thought. Was off the bike into a run, so much that I passed two people at the entrance of the transition area. Was slowed down by people here, but had a time to be pleased with. Had some trouble gettting out of my shoes on the bike, but not too bad. Had a little trouble getting into my running shoes, but not too bad either.

A little more practice wouldn't hurt, but overall I'm very pleased

I'm also fairly pleased with my run. I look forward to the run the whole race, because I believe that is my best event. However, every time I planed on my right foot I felt a little pain in the calf. Not bad, but like on the bike, enough to be a nuisance. Really tired by this point. Much more tired than I have been on my last two tri's. Only passed once, and I passed a good number of people. As on the bike, passing is my motivation. When I started this tri thing, I just wanted to finish. But I'm competitive, so I look for it to keep me going. Regardless, I need more work to get my times where I want them on the run. Took water at both aid stations to keep hydrated. I think more went on my body then in my mouth as usual.

I really need to keep a timer for pace purposes. I'm planning on beginning heart rate training, so I also need to look at where I want my heart rate at for specific times during the run.

Bitched about the swim mostly. Found Karen, but I was too disoriented to communicate. I wish I was, because I wanted to gather and meet a few fellow BT'ers. Stretched a little. Found and ate some bananas.


Cramps.


This race was good for me. It showed me that I can finish strong, even when things aren't going my way. But more than anything, it showed me that I am in the right place. If bad things can happen and I can still look back, be relatively happy with my performance, and want to get back out there and do it again, I know that the triathlon is for me!