Memphis in May - TriathlonOlympic

Swim was a time trial start, so that was new for me. Kinda liked it at first but shortly I realized that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I did. With the timetrial start they numbered you by what I think was the order in which you registered. With that said, there were numerous people that started a 100 or more spots in front of me that were back stroking, breast stroke and even dog-paddling...so avoiding them (read, swim right over them) was aggravating. Second sign of a day going bad...as I started, dove right in and off came the goggles...got them regrouped and was off...but with a time delay of course. Had trouble getting the HR down on the first segment, but hell, I hadn't done a swim workout in two weeks...definitely could see that one coming. Finally settled into my grove and was off and running people down. Navigation sucked...no better way to say it...I was all over the place.....surprisingly enough, I couldn't see the black lane line on the bottom of the lake....guess it was the murky waters. ;)

swim straight line??? Was ahead of my goal time, guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Normal fast walk through T1..I don't run, mainly to get the HR down and gather my wits and to make sure I don't forget anything during transition. Large Transition area to run through, but found my bike easily...actually my Mom was right there at my bike (her first race to watch), so I said hi to her as I changed into my bike gear and was off. The mount/dismount line was at the bottom of a ramp, so being in the right gear was very important. Had a little trouble getting clipped in, but not too bad....and was off on the ride.

Speed up, but I kinda like taking my time and relaxing a bit.

Wow, what can I say??? I was flying....felt good, effort was pretty comfortable except for the hills, but overall very comfortable. Well, that is up to the point that my right hamstring started to act up. At first thought it was a cramp, so I just kept pushing thinking it would work itself out. This was around mile 15. About mile 20, it wasn't any better, so I stood up and tried to stretch and evidently this pissed it off. Very uncomfortable at this point, but I knew I was close to the finish, so I just kept pushing to get to the end and off the bike.

Nothing, this was by far my best ride ever. Well that is minus the hamstring pains, of course.

just your typical T2, just tried to make it as smooth as I could. Could have gone faster...took a gel and was off. Overall T2 time is pretty good, just a long way to the exit. You have to run to the end of the racks, then do a U-turn outside of T2, then run the length of the transition area again to get to the timing mat/run start.

speed up a bit...

Tried to run and got about a 1/4 mile before deciding to shut it down. My legs felt good coming off the bike, well the quads..the hamstring was still an issue.

Finish?

this was a tough call. I hate the f-ing DNF but I tried to rationalize with myself, which is not an area I excel in, but had to decide if finishing this race was more important or was the HIM next month or chancing a longer injury that make kick me off-track in my IM Florida training. Could have finished (and maybe should have) but at what cost?

Hope I made the right decision, but it sure as hell doesn't feel like it right now.

Got my Transition area cleaned up and waited on Kristi to finish then I was off for the hotel.


Right hamstring issue.


This was a great race....1500+ racers speaks for itself....only complaints were that the packet pick-up and race/expo was not clearly marked and was a bit confusing to find you way around. Of course, I asked the volunteers and they were more than happy to assist. I would definitely recommend this race to anyone!