TOTW: SC race recap.

My race report is as long as a dissertation so here is the link:  http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=134357

I tried to describe the course in detail in the column at the right so the info would be helpful to future racers at SC.

Race Difficulty

In addition, I would say that I think this is a good race for a first-time HIMer.  I felt it was within my ability, but was a stretch because the distance was a stretch for me (as with most first-timers).  The lake was beautiful and the bike was challenging but without killer hills and the run was rolling.  The community support was awesome.  There were signs at the bank welcoming the racers and our hotel even gave out directions to the park (which we didn't follow).

Training 

 I trained with no specific plan although BT offers some very nice plans - one of which I even downloaded to my log.  Instead, Doug gave me advice as I tried to ramp my run and bike mileage up so that the HIM distances felt easy.  In the other distances, this has helped me a lot mentally and physically so I wanted to do the same here.  I was able to do that on the run and swim, but not the bike and you can tell.  I was fast but the run was really hard.  Next time, I'll do more longer bikes and longer bricks in my training.  Because of my GI issues, I practiced my nutrition a lot, so that was a non-issue and I'm happy about that.

Race

The race was well-run and with the exception of the finishers medal tent, I knew where to go and how to get there at all times.  The packet and schwag were very informative and helpful.  I have nothing negative to say about this race except for the racers who threw stuff down on the bike and run after they asked us not to.

I'm really glad we picked the South Carolina HIM to be our first race at this distance.  The race director has it down and you just need to race.  There were no missing or under staffed water stops or poorly marked turns.  Everything was exactly as they said it would be.

When we signed up for this race i knew that we would need to train more and that nutrition was important, but I didn't realize how important decision making was going to be.  You have to have a solid plan for each part of the race and a contingency plan for each part.  You can't ride a little faster since you feel great or go out hot on the run and see if you can hold it.  You have to race within your ability at that moment on that course.  How well you are able to judge your ability on race day will be the main determinant in your finish time.

During the run portion of the race I was amazed by the determination that my fellow athletes showed.  On my first loop I saw an elite athlete puke and then immediately take off at a blistering pace.  He wasn't going to win, but he still had something pushing him to do his absolute best.  On my second loop I saw a lot of athletes running with limps and grimaces on their faces.  I didn't know their story or what had gone wrong, but I could see they still had a fire in their eyes.  The going had gotten tough and they were sucking it up for no other reason than a goal they had set for themselves.   It was really inspiring.

If you have are on the fence and can't decide if you should try a HIM, go for it.  You won't be disappointed.

I'll post more of a SCHIM recap later but real quick about the medals.  I had asked how do they run out of medals?  Turns out that this year they opted to do those hats instead of medals.  The few medals that they did give out were left over from last year and they thought they would just get rid of them.  Then they got more than a few complaints about not having medals.  They decided that they would try to make everyone happy by ordering and mailing finishers medals to who ever asked for them.

To be honest, I prefer the hat and I told them that.  Just my opinion but medals are cool the day of the race but then I don't care so much.  I've already gotten good use of my new hat and I'll wear it for a long time.

bgreen - 2008-09-30 2:43 PM No wonder I didn't see them. The whole world was spinning at that time

 Ha!  I had the same problem and never saw the medals.

Kevin, you can have mine from last year if you want it. I think it's in a box somewhere around the house.  I'll bring it to you on Thursday at the meeting if you are going to be there.