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 Swim
Comments: The first 30 seconds or so of the swim went well, and then went downhill from there. The first time I got in a crowd and got a mouthful of water, I felt a little panic and I felt my heart rate start to spike. I was starting to melt down again, the way I did at Timex last year. As I got further out, things only got worse, because the water got choppier the further I got from the shore. I'm not a strong swimmer to begin with, especially in open water, and I have never dealt with choppy water before, so every yard was a struggle. I couldn't keep my face in the water, and the buoys now seemed to be miles apart. There were still a few people behind me, but the pack had left me behind - I felt out there completely alone, except for an occasional kayaker checking in to make sure I was okay. I struggled a lot with whether I was going to be able to make it, but I kept making forward progress. Once I turned the last corner and met up with a bunch of the spinters, I felt a little better and made it the rest of the way in. The swim left me drained and I was exhausted before even getting to what I felt would be the 'tough' part of the race. What would you do differently?: CALM DOWN! I spent a lot of mental energy on the swim, and fighting the waves took a physical toll as well. In all of my worrying about the bike course, I had overlooked the fact that this was my longest open water swim to date, that it was in a bigger body of water than I was used to, and it was colder than I was used to. I'm not sure I could have done better on this particular day, but getting in the right frame of mind may have helped.  Transition 1
Comments: After the rocky swim, it was not a very good transition. I struggled with getting the wetsuit off and felt a little disorganized. I forgot to take a gel pack with me for the bike ride, which may or may not have helped me, but it would have been good to have. What would you do differently?: Remember the gel pack, take a couple of deep breaths, and collect myself before moving on.  Bike
Comments: The bike course gave me all I could handle, and I am proud just to have finished it. Normally, the bike is my strongest event, but hills are the great equalizer for a Clydesdale. No matter how strong my legs may be, hauling 210+ pounds up steep hills is not easy. On the out and back, I felt pretty good. Speed was low, but I kept my cadence up and spun up the hills as well as I could. Since I was about 15 minutes behind the pack after the swim, there was not much traffic to contend with. I found out later it was also breezy, which I am sure didn't help, but I didn't even realize it at the time. The bike course didn't have any aid stations, which led to some mental stress since I was running short of fluids and the course was only getting more demanding. One nice thing about the course was that Jenna could drive most of it. She passed back and forth a couple of times on the out and back to encourage me and see if I was doing okay. On the last pass of the out and back, she asked where the aid stations were. I told her there weren't any and it looked like the riders were on their own. She appeared again along the canal path. She was concerned, and not knowing the rules, had gone to the store and bought drinks. Even though she was there to help me and I was dying to take a drink, I told her that it was against the rules and I couldn't accept help that was not provided by the race. I know that she has probably never felt more helpless, watching me struggle and not being able to do anything about it, but her heart was in the right place and I felt good that I had followed the rules, even though it wouldn't have affected anyone's outcome but my own. The last climb into the tranmsition area was punishing. I was running on fumes already, but it seemed especially steep. I fought the urge to hop off the bike and walk it in and finally arrived in the transition area after about two hours of fighting the hills. What would you do differently?: Train for hills more. However, for my level at this point of time, I did about as well as I could do. Transition 2
Comments: At this point, the transition is a blur. I know that I couldn't balance myself to stand while I changed my shoes because I was on the ground, but I don't remember much else. I was in a fog and just wanted to get done. I do remember asking someone if there was water, and he said that there was at the exit of the transition area. At least I would be able to get a drink. As I left transition, I saw Jenna again - she told me that there would be aid stations every mile on the run course. This made me feel a little better since I knew I wouldn't get further dehydrated as I moved forward. What would you do differently?: My mind and body were both depleted at this point - I'm not sure if there was anything different I could have done.  Run
Comments: With what little I had left, there was no way I was going to be able to run it out. I think that out of the six miles, I probably ran and walked about half and half. The aid stations every mile were a godsend, and I took several cups of water at each - I also had a gel pack at miles 3 and 4. I was exhausted and just trying to keep making forward progress. It did help that I knew that somewhere out there was a finish line with Jenna waiting at it, and I was able to run (more like a lope) the last mile. I finally turned the last corner and saw Jenna with the camera. She got a picture and ran ahead of me toward the finsh so she could wait for me there as well. It was a huge relief when I crossed the finish line. It was cool to hear the announcer give my name and home town and to have the finishers medal placed around my neck. What would you do differently?: Unfortunately, it was all about getting across the line at this point - I couldn't have done much more. Post race
Warm down: Gatorade, Gatorade, Gatorade. A massage the next day and a couple of days in Vegas. What limited your ability to perform faster: More hill training for the bike and the run and more swimming in choppy water. Event comments: Aside from the lack of aid stations in transition 1 and the bike course, the event was well organized. I should have brought more drinks to prepare for that possibility. The course was difficult, as I knew it would be. I would have to say that this event is the hardest thing that I have ever physically done, and will probably remain so until January when I plan to complete a marathon. I think in the end the course won, but at least it was by a decision and not a knockout - at least I finished the fight. The real star of the day was Jenna, who was all over that course, turning up to support me and keep me going. After being everywhere during the day to support me and motivate me, she saved her brightest moment for the end. After she snapped my picture coming around the last corner, she turned and outran me to the finish line. As she passed the line, she turned and snapped a picture - without lining it up or looking - while still in motion - of me crossing the line. Somehow, the picture turned out. She was awesome! This was a very difficult but memorable event. Each tri is an adventure and a learning experience, but this one really stands out on a lot of levels. Even if I decide to come back and do it again (despite my general misery over the course of the day, I can't say I am ruling it out - what can I say? - I am a triathlete and I thrive on pain and misery), I will always remember this one. It told me exactly where my physical limits are right now and I was at the threshold from the start to the finish. The course was set up to exploit every one of my weaknesses, but I still dragged myself across the finish - I take solace and pride in that. If I do return, here's to hoping that I can give the course a little closer match next time! Last updated: 2007-07-13 12:00 AM
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www.bbscendurancesports.com
80F / 27C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 131/137
Age Group = Clydes Under 39
Age Group Rank = 8/8
There was nothing routine about this race, as it was the first time I have ever traveled to do an event. Adding to the unusual aspect of travel was the fact that we were staying in Las Vegas, which, while very familiar to us, seemed to be a very strange place to be focusing on doing a tri. We came into town on Saturday, stopping at the race site on the way to pick up my registration packet. While we were there, we took a look at the bike course from the road - I knew it was going to be hilly, but my excitement for doing the event was quickly replaced by a fear of what I had gotten myself into. It really started to sink in what a long day I had ahead of me on Sunday. Jenna, who had never previewed a course with me, couldn't believe it, especially a long climb up an 8% grade back toward Highway 93.
Things got off to kind of a rough start on Sunday. While we felt we made it to the site in plenty of time, I had removed my front wheel to keep the bike in the car. I was trying to put it back on the bike in the dark, and it did not go well. It took me about 15 minutes of working with it before I felt like I had it on right and the brake wasn't rubbing. The next step was getting transition set up. I found my spot and laid out my stuff, but I needed to fill up my water bottles - one to rinse my feet after the swim and one to drink on the bike ride. I looked all over the transition area for the water, but there was none to be found. I asked around, and the closest water was at the bathhouses by the road. By the time I hiked up there and back in my sandals, by feet had blisters and I no longer had a lot of time to play with. I then realized that I had left my bike pump in the car. Jenna went to get it while I started to put on my wetsuit. I can't zip it up on my own, so I needed to wait for her to return. She had trouble finding me when she got back, so we were standing about 30 yards away from each other just waiting. When we finally found each other, she zipped me up and I quickly put the pump on the bike. At this point, the start of the race was about ten minutes away, and I hadn't yet been in the water to get a feel for it. I went down and got wet, and I was already stressed out. Jenna tried to calm me down before the start, but I was having a rough beginning to what would be a long day. On the bright side, my heart rate was already up, so there was no real need for a warm up.