King Tut - TriathlonSprint

SWIM: 500 meters
This was my first open water swim since October, and it was also my first change to try out the Orca Apex 2 wetsuit that I got for Christmas (I found a great deal on it through Zappos!). It fits really snug, so hopefully I have the correct size. I had to have another guy help zip me up. I had the wetsuit on for a good hour before it was finally my turn to dive in the water.

The water temperature was 63 degrees. I was nervous that it would feel shockingly cold. However, I never seemed to notice the water temperature. This was my first floating start which was good practice. Also, for the first time I wore my heart rate monitor in a triathlon. My heart rate was 154 when I was just floating in the water! That really concerned me. There was a lot of confusion at the start as to when we were supposed to begin swimming. It was rectangular course fairly well marked by gigantic buoys.

Right from the get-go I was kicked, smacked and nailed by limbs and other various body parts. Unfortunately, these collisions continued throughout the entire swim. It made me lose my composure, kicked up my heart rate and caused me to be short of breath. It was very difficult for me to swim freestyle for very long when I kept getting absolutely smacked on all sides. I also found my arms getting tangled in some kind of sea grass below the water surface. It felt like a fishing net grabbing me. Half of the swim was directly into the sun, so I could not see for the life of me where I was going. It was a tough swim. By the time I got out, my heart rate was over 180!

Need to find a way to practice in the open water and spend more time in wetsuit.

TRANSITION #1
Thankfully, they had people dedicated to helping you remove your wetsuit. That made the process quick and easy. This was the longest run I have ever done to get from the water to my bike. As always, my bike was stationed at the farthest point from the bike exits. I really hate running in my bike shoes. How do people get their feet in bike shoes when the shoes are already clipped to the pedals? I need to find a video or something on that. Overall, it was probably my smoothest transition - no major hiccups. When I got on the bike, my heart rate was 174 - yikes.

Practice transitions.

BIKE: 12 miles
My legs were feeling pretty gassed on the bike. Overall, the course had a number of flat spots but there certainly were a couple of decent hills thrown in. What made it particularly challenging was the intense wind. For a good portion of the bike it felt like we were moving direclty into the headwind. It even made the downhill portion difficult.

It was a 2-loop bike course that went by pretty quickly. A couple people had absolutely amazing bikes passed me, but not too many. I found myself drooling over some of the bikes I saw today. Maybe someday...

Spend more time on the bike, particularly on hills

TRANSITION #2
Like my last triathlon, I did not feel any "brick leg" sensation when moving from the bike to the run. I completely attribute this to my Newton running shoes and my new style of running. This transition was, again, actually pretty quick and seamless for me. For the first time ever, I had my foot pod which I turned on. Pairing happened within 30 seconds, so it was nice to have that feature to help manage my pac

Practice transitions.

RUN: 5 kilometers
I absolutely love running in my Newtons during these short distances. My footstrikes are quick and effortless. The run really is my strength. I did all of the passing - no one came close to passing me.

The first good chunk of the run was just straight up hill with lots of narrow turns. After that, it was a pretty flat out-and-back course. There were three sections with questionable safety standards as the sidewalk (1) went out and was replaced with dirt potholes, (2) was submerged under water and mud and (2) elevated 3 inches and then dropped 3 inches in a four foot span. Thankfully, I got by unscathed. I absolutely bolted to the finish in an all-out sprint. It feels really good to finish strong.

METRICS
Distance: 3.1 miles
Average Heart Rate: 174
Max Heart Rate: 195
Average Run Pace: 7:33 min/mile
Max Run Pace: 5:18 min/mile
Average Run Speed: 7.9 mph
Max Run Speed: 15.3 mph
Average Temperature: 63 degrees



Practice hills and hydration while moving.

Ate a banana.


Lack of preparation.


SUMMARY
Considering my lack of preparation for this race and the health issues, I feel pretty good about my performance. I hit or exceeded my time targets in each area. I did not crash my bike. I finished strong.

I am really loving both my Newton running shoes and my KiWAMi Trinergy triathlon suit. The Orca Apex 2 wetsuit added a lot of buoancy to the swim and definitely kept me warm. I felt that the arms were a bit restrictive, perhaps because it was so tight. Hopefully it just needs to be broken in.