Fifth Third Bank Firecracker Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

The water was freezing. My wife commented that we all seemed like lobsters thrashing in the water since everyone's arms were so red. I couldn't put my face in for a long time since my face felt like it was melting. I had serious brain freeze. I forgot to breathe. I felt claustrophobic and thought I was going to die.

I would breathe. That was definitely my biggest setback. I think relaxing would have helped.

The transition had us running at a slight incline on the beach. With my balance out of whack, it was really hard. I took off my wetsuit on the beach as it was restricting my run to the transition area. I saw another swimmer in front of me take off his wetsuit in the water. I think that was smart. Was out of breath the whole way. Forgot to clip on my helmet.

take off wetsuit in the water.

Really tired from the hills Was passed by 4-6 people with some sweet rides. As they zipped past me, I could only think, "I beat you in the swim!"

Train on hills more.

Pretty smoothe transition..

nothing

Went out fast. Had a nasty cramp at the 1 mile mark. Probably from drinking too much gatorade endurance drink. Fought through them. My calves felt like bricks.

not sure

Drank some water. Ate a banana and gatorade. cheered the other participants. Celebrated with my wife and baby!


I didn't practice enough brick workouts. Cramps


This was my first triathlon and although I felt totally wasted at the end, I'm ready for my next race(Spirit of Racine). I really underestimated how difficult the race was. I will need to do more bricks and long rides to survive the next race. I was happy that wife and baby were there to cheer me on. While I would say that a wetsuit was a must, it was interesting that the first swimmer out of the water was just wearing tri-shorts. Basically, I learned that while a wetsuit will keep you warmer and hold you afloat, it cannot replace having a good stroke and technique.

A few negatives: They served pizza at the end of the race which I thought was kind of wierd. They should have had bagels, not pizza. I expected the expo to have booths, not a booth of overpriced tri-gear. The t-shirt that participants recieved was a low-quality cotton with a small firecracker emblem. I will wear it with pride as I wash my car or do chores.