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 Swim
Comments: This was a great first tri experience for me. Open water competition is VERY different than doing flip-turns in the pool in your own lane. It is very chaotic and more of a contact sport than I would have guessed. What would you do differently?: Outside of a real open water practice, the closest I got to emulating this was to go to the UC pool during their Saturday morning swim practice. During that time they use up all of the lanes lines so you and the other riff-raff are banging into eachother in three combined lanes. Since they also set up the pool to 50 meters instead of 25 yards you don't get to rest the arms on your turns. This is a good experience that I wish I known about earlier so I could have practice with more chop and less reliance on flip-turns (which is a rest for your arms).  Transition 1
Comments: I thought that this went well. I had my suit over the ankle chip so that it came off easily. I also had the helmet on the seat so that I couldn't get a DQ for forgetting it (easy to do and I did it on my only pre-race solo practice). What would you do differently?: I was pretty happy with this, so other than try other peoples time-saving tips, nothing.  Bike
Comments: I thought the ride was great, particularly for Cincinnati. The first part is more rural and was beautiful with a nice road and few cars. The cops were awesome in directing traffic and giving the racers the right of way. A team of roadies came drafting up on me around the airport. As it is expressly against the rules, this surprised me. This happened right at the single curvy section of the course involving a sharp downhill. Since I am an aggressive road rider and am at heart a mountain biker, I just attacked the leader. Eventually I ending up riding in and around this group for the rest of the ride, so I was thankful for the company if not annoyed at their drafting. What would you do differently?: Maybe consider renting a tri-bike. Other than that, I was really happy with this portion too. Transition 2
Comments: I was less happy with this section only because I forgot my racing belt (bib number). Otherwise, it was a good T2, I thought. What would you do differently?: Put on my racing belt!  Run
Comments: Holy crap, this was tough. I misunderestimatified the course, not realizing from the provided map that it was an out-and-back! I was thinking that it was weird that some folks were running TOWARDS me! And why was the finish line in the wrong place?? This shouldn't have mattered because 5K is 5K, but I was sad to see that what I thought was the end was just the turn around. Oh well, as a long time runner and biker but a triathlon newbie, I can't get over how running after biking is dumbfoundingly painful. Wow. I thought that this was my worst segment. I am not a stellar runner, but have ran since junior high and I was a little disappointed in my run, although I thought my time was pretty respectable. This disconnect is a reflection of the psychological/physical shock of the "brick" more than anything else. What would you do differently?: Practice brick work-outs after every ride. Post race
Warm down: Just walked around in my post-race fugue. Drank some water and ate a few calories. I don't like to eat much after a race. They let you back into the transition area, which was nice as I could pack up without too big of a crowd around. What limited your ability to perform faster: I need more sleep, but my wife and needs even more and she ran the 5K pushing the baby, so who can complain? I guess I'd learn some more tips on transitions and practice bricks more. Focusing on the positives, for one thing, my wife was an awesome support as I prepared for this. Also, I was consistent on cross training: swimming, spinning, running, biking hills, and the elliptical. I was happy with my result and actually ranked in my age group. Event comments: I thought that the Tri for Joe people were great and did a wonderful job of putting together a friendly and non-intimidating event. I was especially impressed with Joe's Dad who reminded me of "Scobby-doo" where one guy dressed up as every character in the mystery (except that Joe's dad is not a "bad guy") But I swear there were 3 of him! Great job! Last updated: 2008-05-19 12:00 AM
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United States
HFP Racing
58F / 14C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 27/266
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 3/21
Three days before the race, I began chilling out: rest day, medium work-out, then basically rested on the day before the race. Actually, we went on a 2 mile walk and ran into a guy in our apartment who was building a tri-bike; after talking a bit with him, he offered to loan me his wetsuit, which I had just then began to wonder if I should have been renting! That was VERY lucky and really helped. I then went to bed kind of early and woke up at 5:45 AM. Had scrambled eggs & cheese on toast, a small banana, and some water for breakfast. Picked up a friend and got a small cappuccino on the way to the race. We got there about an hour and twenty minutes before the swim because he was not registered yet. It was my first tri and therefore I was a little sketchy on how to set up, so being there early was nice. We chit-chatted with others in the transition area and waited for the pre-race meeting.
It was cold, so before the pre-race meeting we jogged around the pool twice, about 1/2 a mile tops. As the elites were queuing up we jumped in the pool for a quick lap to get the wet suit wet.