After freaking a bit on my first OWS at White Lake, my plan was to hang back after the starting horn and let the sprinters take off. I wanted to get comfortable in open-water, and get in that "bubble" of chill. Mike (HookedOnTri) did the same thing, so both of us started off together. However, we swam right into a shallow place, tossing red mud all over the place. After trying to swim out of it, we decided it was better just to stand up and walk over to the deeper water. So, the first leg was probably about 250 meters, and I just took it slow and got into my stride. As I made the first turn, I glanced around and decided to kick into my stroke. The markers were on my left, and that is my default breathing side, so that worked well. I was sighting every 5-10 strokes, and just trying to get into a good pace. I was able to do this pretty quickly, and was clipping along. I started over-taking some in front of me, and felt just fine bumping and passing. I also got passed some, and was able to shift into their wake for some good drafting opportunities. Once I made the second turn towards home, the chop started kicking up. It was a combination of a breeze, and also the concentration of swimmers about 200m ahead of me as they finished. However, I was in such a zone by that point, I was not knocked out of my stride by chop.

I was so relaxed that I was actually enjoying the swim, and the water, and actually racing ... I was able to look around when I breathed, and was able to make passes and drafting decisions. I also started thinking about the bike course, so I was very relaxed. I would not change anything about this swim, but I am comfortable in race OWS now, and will probably not hang back at the start next time.

The run into T1 was uphill, through some woods ... so I cut my toe, got a splinter, and was basically tired from the swim. So, it took me a little while to shuffle up there. I decided to pull cycling shorts over my tri shorts, however, I did not remember to do so until AFTER I unracked my bike. So I re-racked, and pulled them on (glad I did). That was frustrating, especially since the "bike shorts issue" came into play again in T2.

I would rip my wetsuit more aggressively, and actually remember my "strategy" of pulling on bike shorts. I need to work on T's, obviously, but I really want to get better at the sports first, and then I'll worry about T times.

I was a little frustrated by this course ... I was planning on really putting it all out there on the bike, but within the first couple miles I felt sloooooow. At about mile 3-4, I started to feel better, and then was passed by Edde (ellasdad) and Debbie (DB8). I thought I would be able to keep them in my sights, but could not. That was a little bit of a bummer. Little did I know, I would not pass anyone until about mile 12-14. The hills and roughness of the road beat me up more than I thought they would. I finally caught my breath, and was able to start tapping out cadence. I was even more comfortable in aero, and loved that. My hamstring, on up to my butt, started hurting and spread up to my butt and lower back. No good. I was bumming about that when I came up on a guy hanging out on the side of the road peeing, and surveying the scenery. I thought "there are bushes right there, yet he has elected to whip it out in front of everyone and go for it ... good for him!" About 1 minute later I hear someone chatting me up as they rode up behind me ... it was HookedOnTri. I said "hey, where did you come from ... thought you were in front of me?" He said "well, I stopped to pee!" "That was you?" "Yeah, I had to go!" Cool ... so it was my friend who was peeing so freely! That was a good chuckle at exactly the right time ... my leg, butt and back were really hurting, and he cheered me up. We rode together until about the last mile, having a great chat and enjoying the ride. That really brought me back to enjoying the race, instead of suffering the pain, and I thank Mike for that timely pee-stop and the good conversation!

I felt really strong by the time I came up on the 20 mile mark. However, I need to ride more often, for longer training distances in order to get faster.

I came into T2 feeling pretty strong, and pretty positive about the run. I got the bike racked, and put the running gear on pretty quickly. I took off through the TA for the run-start, and noticed ... yep ... my biking shorts were still on. Damn it all! I jogged back to my TA and ripped them off over my running shoes.

Remember to take my cycling shorts off before heading out on the run.

After finally getting my cycling shorts off, I felt pretty good. I actually headed out of T2 thinking I was going to have a great run! Shannon was there cheering me out, Mike (HookedOnTri) was just in front of me, and I was feeling good. We left the shade of the park and headed out onto the public two-lane, and then the sun hit me. I got hot pretty fast, and had to walk. That's when the hamstring really made itself known. Ouch. I went ahead and took an early walk break, but it did not help relieve the pain. Finally I started running again, and was planning my typical 3:1 ratio. It just was not to be. I was overheated and thirsty, but could not drink because my stomach was sloshing and full. The run just crashed before my eyes, and got worse and worse. I reduced it to a 1:1 ratio to try and get (a) my heart rate down; and (b) the water in my stomach to absorb. The Garmin was telling me I was running in the 9's ... when I was running. I could never get my run back, and just flat-out suffered through this one. I never felt good, so I told Shannon at the turn that I would not be anywhere near my goal, but would finish. My race goal was 3:10-ish, which I did end up hitting.

I have to solve my hydration and nutrition strategy. I tried to drink more on the bike early-on, so it would be absorbed by the run. However, it was still all up in my stomach. Debbie (DB8) suggested that it may have just been nerves, because it was my first Oly and I was all keyed up. This makes sense, because I had the same issue on my very first tri last September, but never had it again until this Oly. It must be a "first race" thing ... so maybe it will solve itself.

I crossed the finish line to the cheers of Shannon and Debbie, and then found the first patch of shade I could find. My feet were about to explode, due to the pain caused in my flat feet from the uneven road surface ... and my hammy was about to release, and spring my leg into a 90-degree angle! Shannon asked Debbie "where is Christian?" Debbie pointed to the heap that was me, and said in a hushed tone "ooooh, there he is ..."


Fat.


This is a great race in a great location, sponsored by some very friendly, warm people. The TA/start-finish is based in a nice lake-side park way out in the country. It's a great place for family and friends to relax while waiting on us to return from bike and run legs. The volunteers give race proceeds to the American Cancer Society, and are so nice. The crowd support was nice, with a lot of cheering from locals. Along the bike course, specifically at police-guarded intersections the volunteers cheered us on. During the run, there were many friendly aid-station workers who cheered us along the course. The State Highway Patrol was there in force, and did a great job. It is a small race, which is nice. I recommend it to anyone wanting an NC Oly.