login
 Swim
Comments: So much going on! Did the individual start, forgot to start my watch until I was in the water, and when I'd waded far enough out I dove in with my goggles still on my forehead. The cold water had me breathing a little more often, but it was okay. I didn't have a wetsuit, and would do that the same again. I did a lot of swimming over the winter, and it really, really helped, although my careful stroke practice was all but out the window as I navigated through bodies and weeds, lowered the lake level by one huge gulp, and struggled to site. The race-issued bathing caps were the same color as the buoys, and this made for some confusion, but the course was so short that before I knew it I was out again. My absolute best 400m time in the pool was about 11 minutes, and I was to the timing mat (about a 100 foot run) in under 10 minutes. Had to be less than 400m. Still, I'll take what I can get! What would you do differently?: Lay low for the two days prior, not wear myself out like I did Friday night.  Transition 1
Comments: My hands were so cold I had a tough time tying my shoes! Also, I switched from swim trunks to running shorts, with compression shorts underneath. Stowed my milk crate under my bike, then had trouble getting the bike out. Felt like I was fiddling around way too long - couldn't get the shirt open to pull over my head, and then struggled to pull it over my wet torso, stuff like that. What would you do differently?: Invest in Tri shorts, and practice the transition at home.  Bike
Comments: The roads were very good for the most part, much of it newly paved, potholes marked, kilometers painted pink on the pavement. Shared the road w/traffic the last mile or two, but it didn't slow me down. Just tried to keep a good pace, keep pedaling, etc. When I turned back west, into the wind, it seemed to have pickup up - it felt like a 10mph headwind. Combined with the rolling hills, that slowed me up some and drained some energy. My wind was excellent (I've been biking a lot), but at 270 pounds (6' tall) I'm just lugging so much extra weight around that I'm sure it slowed me down. Still, I hung in there, and had the bike been the last event, I could easily have poured on the coal the last three miles. I didn't, though, and saved my strength. Good thing. What would you do differently?: When I got home I checked my bike, and the front wheel was spinning poorly - so poorly that when I hung it up and gave the wheel a good, hard spin, it only went around about four times. Dont' know if that was the result of cramming the bike into the jeep without taking the front wheel off or not. Transition 2
Comments: I was a little surprised that this Transition came to as long as it did, but I did have to walk the bike probably 200 feet. What would you do differently?: Better conditioning would have allowed me to run the bike through the transition area.  Run
Comments: I was quickly running out of energy going into the run. My normal training run was two miles, which I usually did in around 23 minutes. I ended up switching between running and walking, and the time reflects it. Saved a little for the end so I could tear around the corner. Ended up with more of a 'lumber' than a 'tear', but I gave it what I had. What would you do differently?: LOSE WEIGHT!! Post race
Warm down: For about 15 minutes I felt a little woozy, but that passed. I stretched, walked around. Felt better after that, but exhausted. What limited your ability to perform faster: Weight, lack of serious training. Event comments: Whatta feeling! I'm already planning on doing it again next year. Nowhere to go but up! Last updated: 2008-06-01 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
54F / 12C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 463/500
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 22/23
Made one mistake: scheduled a very late (for me) night playing guitar at the local brew pub Friday night, and that, combined with loading equipment afterward took enough out of me that I couldn't quite get it back by Sunday morning. Woke up at 3:15 am, an hour before the alarm, too wound up to sleep. Ate oatmeal, left for Lansing at 5:00, arrived 6:40 for the 8am race start.
My first Tri, so it was all new, but they had a great beginner's meeting that answered all my questions. The volunteers were as helpful as could be. As somebody else reported, they postponed the start by about 15 minutes to move some buoys. To my eye, the swim was shorter than 400m, and this was borne out by my time. The air temp was in the low 50's the water probably high 60's. Splashed around in it to acclimate - brrr. Thank God for the adrenaline.