Emerald Pointe Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

So after months of swim training and practice, the whistle blows and I'm swimming all lopsided with my head above water again... I never really settled into my stroke as it was just wayy too crowded for me. I was just over 9 minutes out of the water, which wasn't that bad for me, but that freakin hill... If you small (150lb or so) guys thought it was rough, just imagine carrying another 120lbs up that hill! All in all I probably could've pushed a lot harder, but being my first race I wasn't really sure how my body was going to hold up!

Definitely need to get some clear goggles, my tinted lenses made it pretty hard to keep my bearings. Never really got into my stroke.

Next time I think I'll also recruit somebody to give me a piggy-back ride up the hill...

Didn't feel like I took this long in transition, but I'm not really surprised. I'd practiced this only once and I didn't really have a great plan. I also wasted too much time trying to get the sand off my feet. Once I got everything on I ran the bike out to the mount line, hopped on the bike, and got the shoes clipped in at the bottom of the hill.

Bring an extra water bottle for the sand, maybe? I really wasn't terribly concerned with my transition times as this was my first race and my goal was just to finish.

Bleh... I thought this was going to be my strongest portion, and it was... until that long hill around 3.5 miles in. I couldn't get out of the big ring and my quads cramped up something fierce. I hopped off to walk it up a minute and for the first time had some SERIOUS doubts about what I was doing there. I probably lost at least 5 minutes walking it up this hill and I almost let my head tell me to just turn it in and quit... Almost. Once I got up to the top and started riding again I felt pretty good. By mile 8 or so I had found a good cadence and was getting through all my gears again. The last few miles of the bike were great, and I really enjoyed the scenery (which also tells you that I didn't push as hard as I could've). I got passed by about 1,000 people on the bike and maybe passed one, but the encouraging words from some of the super fast riders really kept me going (Thanks!) and once I got into my cadence I really felt good!

Practice more swim/bike bricks! I think I did this once and it definitely showed. I also need to get on my bike more and stop riding at the gym. Should also figure out what in the world was going on with my front derailleur those first few miles...

Again, thought I was faster than this (but who knows since I forgot to hit the lap button on my watch after I got on the bike). No major issues, just took my time and made sure I had everything I needed.

Push harder, remember that this is a RACE!

Here's the truth... I suck at running. There, I said it. That being said, this wasn't as bad as I expected to do. I practiced a lot more bike/run bricks than swim/bike bricks, and my legs really felt fine getting into the run. I had planned on a Run/Walk schedule, which I followed for about the first mile and a half. After that I ran into a couple of guys about my size and we stuck together for the rest of the race, talking about how we'd make a better offensive line that triathletes and how we would be faster if there was a beer on a stick out in front of us. These guys were great and really helped me forget about how tired/slow I was, but the downside of this was that I really didn't push nearly as hard as I could've. I made the turn up the last hill and saw my girlfriend there cheering me on, and made a pretty good sprint (relative) up and through the finish line.

Push harder from the start, trust that I've trained enough to finish strong. Not get distracted and take the easy way...

Thanked my fellow offensive linemen for keeping me company, hugged the girlfriend. Grabbed a gatorade and water and walked around/stretched for a few minutes. Grabbed my t-shirt and packed up.


Being almost 100lbs overweight! Seriously though, I can't say enough to all of the people who encouraged me along the course, I definitely needed it! Looking back I'm a bit disappointed in the times that I posted, but for my first race I'm just glad I didn't talk myself into quitting when it got tough. This was a perfect day and great setup for my first tri, and I'll definitely be back with a purpose for my next one.


All in all a great day. I wasn't expecting to set any records, but I feel like I accomplished something incredible and I'm only motivated to get better. After all, I can't get much worse!

For a 270+ clyde, I'm just stoked that I finished this thing without dying. Training for this race has really given a purpose to my workouts, and I hope to make it through the winter months in better shape to actually "Race" a few Tri's in the spring!

For me, 649th>DFL>DNF>DNS!