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 Swim
Comments: They lined us up along the pool deck in groups of 50 at a time, where we waited to walk across the timing mat, jump in and swim. The whole time I waited, I was thinking, "well, I'm going to jump in that water. Here I go. Yup, I'm going to jump in and swim, then bike, then run. All in the next 90 minutes. I'm just going to jump in." Mental games my brain was playing with itself. Then it was my turn; I walked across the mat and jumped in and started swimming. I seeded myself at 8 minutes for 400 meters, which turned out to be pretty much right on target. I got passed by one or two people, and passed about 5 or 6. There was a bit of congestion, especially at the turns. THe lanes are wide enough to pass comfortably, but if you get caught behind a passing situation, there isn't much to do. I had to basically stop swimming a couple of times because I couldn't pass a group of two or more swimmers. In fact the entire last 50 meters I was stuck behind two people who couldn't figure out who was passing who. Other than messing up my rhythm, it didn't really bother me too much. As a newbie (and someone who is not very agressive or competitive), I was more worried about screwing up someone else's race or pissing them off than my own time. What would you do differently?: Not much. With experience, I think I will be a bit more agressive and confident to pass people. I felt like I swam at a good pace for me, and was not too out of breath or winded when I left the pool.  Transition 1
Comments: For my first tri, I wasn't going to rush through transition. I knew that a few seconds here would not make a huge difference in my overall experience. Everything went fine. I had obsessed about putting my knee brace on-- whether to swim with it or try to put it on a wet leg. I practiced the day before, pulling it on over a wet leg. On race day, however, I skipped right over that part. I had my shoes on and realized I had forgotten it. I went out with my bike hoping my knee would forgive me later. Drank some gatorade. What would you do differently?: Not much. I felt really good about it.  Bike
Comments: This was, as I expected, my weakest link. I have only a couple of rides under my belt, and even though I "trained" all winter on an exercise bike, I am far from experienced on the road bike. Additionally, my bike is not exactly a speed machine. It's a probably 25 year old Huffy LeGrande 12 speed with friction shifters that don't agree with me as to what gear they want to be in. I knew I would not exactly burn up the bike course, but I was surprised a bit by how challenging it was. I had to go into the lowest gear for every little hill (or even minor incline). I got passed by quite a few people. Except on the downhills, I never felt like I was really doing anything that would resemble "fast." And, looking at my times for the three splits, it shows. I was in the top third (roughly) for the swim and run, and the bottom third for the bike. ON the way back through campus, you pass the run course. It was both exciting and intimidatig to think that I would be doing that finaly leg in just a few minutes. I yelled "go runners!" a couple of times. What would you do differently?: Train more on the bike. Transition 2
Comments: The transition area was kind of a mess this time through. All the stuff in my row, including my stuff, was kind of scattered around-- not where I had left it. FOrtunately, I quickly accounted for all my stuff and gathered it back to my little area. Ate a power gel, drank some water, and was off.  Run
Comments: I was unsure what to expect coming off the bike. I had not trained with any bricks, so I was kind of expecting jelly legs. I would not describe my experience as jelly-like. It was more like lead legs. They felt stable, but I felt like that I couldn't make my legs pick up any speed. And that was actually OK. One of my problems when I run 5Ks is that I start off too fast and have nothing left at the end. So my goal for today was to start off slowly and hopefully pick it up the last mile. The run felt great. I think I got passed once or twice, and I know I passed a lot of people. At the turnaround, I started getting really excited thinking I would soon be a triathlete. I had enough fuel left to pick up the pace, especially after the 2 mile mark. With about 1/2 mile to go, my right knee started acting up. This is the one that has really been affecting my running for the last few months. The end was in sight. I literally said "f* you, knee, I'm sprinting across the finish line." And I did. This was the best I ever felt at the end of a run. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Run faster. Post race
Warm down: I got a wet towel, water and Gatorade handed to me. I met Lurker93 (Scott) at the finish line and we chatted a bit. Went to get some food, but didn't feel too hungry. I do regret a bit that my family couldn't be there... I watched finishers come in for a while, then gathered my stuff and headed to the car. I had a towel missing from the Transition Area. Went to uptown Oxford to get all nostalgic about my college days. Ate lunch at the Bagel/Deli shop and headed home. What limited your ability to perform faster: Inexperience on the bike. Event comments: THis was the perfect first race. The distance was just right, and now I am looking forward to some slightly-longer sprints this summer. The volunteers and organizers did a great job. I had a great time. I found out where I need to focus my training, and I want to get better. I want a better bike (though I am not blaming my poor bike leg on the bike alone). When I first germinated the idea of a triathlon last summer, I almost immediately told myself, "yeah right. You will never be able to commit to dedicated training in one sport, let alone three." I barely told anyone about it, because I didn't want to have to face up to it if I backed out. The closer it came to spring, the more confident I got, but I was still pretty unsure when I clicked "Submit" and signed up for this race. I think I doubted myself right up til the minute I hit the water. So, it's not an ironman. I didn't save the world. But I set a pretty big goal for myself and did it. And I've already set the bar higher for next time. Last updated: 2007-04-02 12:00 AM
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United States
Miami University Student Foundation
70sF / 0C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 199/396
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 18/23
This was my first triathlon. I spent the entire week overthinking it, freaking myself out, and experiencing a constant buzz of excitement and nervous energy. I had dreams all week about showing up late, not having all the right gear, getting lost, etc. In my head I knew I could complete the race, but my nerves and self doubt were getting the better of me.
I kept telling myself stuff like "the next time I come to the Y, I'll be a triathlete. Monday morning when I drive to school, I'll be a triathlete. 24 hours from now, I'll be a triathlete." It's kind of corny self-motivation, but it worked.
I slept OK on Friday night. My alarm was set for 5AM, but for some reason it did not go off. I woke up at about 5:15, and my first thought was "what am I doing? Can I get out of this?" That thought only lasted a second, though. I had been wanting and waiting for my first tri since I caught this bug last summer.
I ate 1/2 a bagel with peanut butter and a banana, got my coffee, and hit the road for Oxford, about a 30 minute drive.
Here's how much I obsessed about this the week up to Saturday: I made a playlist for my ipod, just for the drive up to Oxford. Here it is... it actually worked to help me feel calm, confident, and excited at the same time:
I Won’t Back Down – Tom Petty
Another Day – Tim O’Brien
If I Can’t Change Your Mind - Sugar
Can’t Hardly Wait - The Replacements
Complicated - Poi Dog Pondering
Shine - David Gray
The Rest of Our Lives - Mike Ness
The Heart of Life - John Mayer
High - James Blunt
All Days Shine - Jeff Black
The Sweetest Thing - U2
Take My Hand - Ben Harper & the Blind Boys of Alabama
When I got there I choked down a Power Bar. That thing was disgusting. Clif Bars or nothing from now on. Sipped Gatorade up to race time.
I gave myself plenty of time to get parked and set up-- I had no idea what parking would be like or how far I might have to walk. I found parking pretty close to the rec center, so I had almost 2 hours til race time.
I picked up my packet and goodie bag, walked back to the car and got my gear. I went to the transition area, and just watched other people get set up. The bike racks were already getting packed. I found a tiny space to squeeze in. I was super nervous about bumping anybody else's bike or infringing on their space, so I kept myself and my area as tight and tiny as possible. I heard later that my rack had like 30 bikes assigned to it, while the others had only about 15-20. I think the organizers were working to redistribute some of the folks who came later. By race time, it seemed like everyone was OK.
Since I had so much time, I walked back and forth between the transition area and the pool deck. I was watching other athletes prepare, set up, and warm up. I wanted to take in as much as possible, since I still didn't feel like I knew what I was doing. I had to figure out how I would know when my swim start time was, why some people seemed to have their bodies marked and others didn't, whether we were required to wear the swim caps that were in the packets, etc.
The organizers were going over race details and I figured most everything else out from observing and asking other people.
I stretched a bit. No real physical warm up. I peed about 50 times.