BigDH - Checking Off the Boxes - Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 15)

Darren - that triple brick sounds freaking insane.  No thanks! 

Alright, I am in full fledged pre-race freak out mode.  (By the way, my logs aren't up to date, as I need to find my garmin cord).  Seriously, I do this every time to some degree and to a large degree for new distances.  I am doing my first triathlon on Saturday.

Can I even do this?  Am I crazy?  Will I actually be able to bike and run after swimming?  What if I drown on the swim?  (Okay, not too likely given it's a pool swim).  What if my bike breaks down?  Or I forget something vitally important.

I think it would just be easier to focus on my son's triathlon, and ignore mine.

Not meaning to sound rude, but get a grip!!

You always sound so prepared for training on the forum and during your planning of sessions. Surely its the same now (if you werent panicking!!)

As this is your first triathlon then of course you want to do well, however it isnt the end of the world!!  If things go a bit wrong, then assess an turn it into an extra group training session.  You seem like you are willing to put the effort in and work towards your goal, thats what your doing, however the first race goes!!

You will probably need to remind me of this before my first race!!!!

All the best though, Mark

Yes - you are very prepared at this point. 

We all are!

YES

You won't!

It won't and if it does you fix it or if you can't - you don't.  Not much you can do about this. 

Make a pre-race gear checklist (I already made my checklist for my race at the end of June). 

Good luck in your race!  You'll do awesome!

Deb:
I get where you're coming from.  I did my first indoor tri 5 years ago - or should say I trained for it but got myself so worried that I got sick and could not compete.

....mellow out....have backups (Extra goggles?  Spare shoe lace? etc.) Arrive early. 

When your heat info is out, hopefully your heat is not first, so you can watch other heats and get a sense of the flow of the thing.  In retrospect, I wish I had volunteered at some Tri's before entering - just to really see how it all works.

Rest assured, the folks that are running the show want you to have FUN! 

My fear was that I would finish last.  In fact, that is still my big fear - public humiliation at how painfully slow I am at everything. Swim, bike, run, transition - I am slow. But Tri'ing is fun.  The pure joy of finishing is the unbeatable!

Alright, feeling a little more balanced now.  I'll be fine, and I probably will focus on my son beforehand which will keep me from freaking out.  He's doing the kids' race at 11:40.  My heat is at 2:15.  I'm sure I'll be passed, but I won't be DFL, since there's heats starting until 4:20.  I doubt I'll take that long...

Got our bikes checked today.  Pretty straight forward, and I knew my bike was in good shape, so no worries there.

Lost my normal goggles this week.  I must have left them at the pool last time I swam because they weren't in my swim bag.  I had to use my crappy back up goggles, and they leak even more then I remember.  The only good thing is that they were needing to be replaced soon anyways, and I already have a new pair that are the same ones.  Just need to test them at the pool to be sure they're good.

Thats better!!  Good luck to you and your son.  Enjoy it!!

I went to tri club again last night.

The slow runners had all sloped off, so was a lot quicker pace.  There was occasional stops for one guy, but the 5 mile run was approx 4 mins faster than normal.  It was quite nice!!

The swim was also alot harder session, this was really good.  feeling tired today, but will be going for a gentle jog at lunch time.

The half marathon is fully subscribed, you can normally pay on the day.  So will look for another race.  I feel like doing a 10k to test my pacing.

Cheers,
Mark

He turned 4 in March.  We're both doing the Tinman triathlon in Vulcan.  His is the "tinbit" version.  It's super short, so hopefully lots of fun for him.  25 metre swim, 800 metre bike, and 250 metre run.  He is super excited and keeps telling me he wants to go do his triathlon right now.

My daughter is 2.5.  My biggest concern is whether she will be okay cheering for him but not participating.  She isn't very good at pedaling yet, even on her trike, so putting her in wasn't really an option.  Maybe next year she can do it too.

That sounds really good Deb, I bet you will be so full of pride that your race will go really well.

That's so cool on so many levels!  25 meters of swimming is a long way for a 4 year old.  It's very cool that you are getting him involved so early on. 

Weekend plans

Saturday - Mtb with my son for an hour or two. Probably run a half after dinner

Sunday - Kayaking AM, short brick session 45min bike 15min run

Monday - bike to work 80km 2.5hrs, bike home 80km 2.5hrs.

I am back!  Had a great race yesterday.  I let nerves get the better of for half a week prior, but come yesterday morning, I was actually doing pretty well and managed to keep it better.

I haven't done my full race report yet, but here's the quick version:

The tinbits race:

Unfortunately, it was pretty chilly in the morning when the kids did their race.  I had Sebastian wrapped in a towel until just before he went in the water.  He loved the swim!  The did it in age groups.  Even though he's only just turned 4, he is really tall, so he looked huge next to all the other ones.  He also pretty much led the swim across the pool.  I thought he was making friends with the kid, in a red swimsuit, next to him, but when he got out he told me "I beat the red boy in the pool".  Um, need to remind him that he's supposed to be concentrating on having fun still?  Competitive already?

After getting out of the pool, he was cold.  It was less then 10c (50f).  It's one thing to expect adults to htfu, but I wish he had gotten warmer weather.  I got him dressed and put a jacket on him.  In hindsight, I wish I had put pants on over his swimsuit too.  To be honest, I don't think he enjoyed the bike that much (although, afterwards he said he loved every part).  He was nervous riding on the road (usually rides on sidewalks), and wanted me to have my hand on his back the whole way.  I was walking, and usually I have to at least jog to keep up with him.  He finished it though!

The run he had a great time with, and he went fast!  (For a 4 year old.)  He ran an average pace of 6:40/km and had a top speed of 4:40/km!  (Yes, I know, I timed him, but I'm not even telling him the time; it's just so I can brag...)  You couldn't wipe the smile off his face during the run, and he totally forgot he was cold.

Then he got a medal.  Really, I think that was his favourite part.

My race: It was great!  I felt good throughout.  If anything, I think I could have pushed myself a lot more on the bike and a little more on the swim.  I was worried about running out of energy though.  I killed the run.  I did it in 27:36.  My previous personal best on a stand alone 5k was 29:58, and that was on a short course.  I had no idea I could run that fast, maintain it for any distance, and do it at the end of a triathlon too.

While I said that I could have pushed more, I have no regrets about the race.  I learned a few things, and will do them differently next time, but I had a great first triathlon. 

I was going to do the full race report later, but I might just have time to go and do it now.  If so, I'll let you guys know. 

Deb, congrats to you and your son on your triathlons yesterday.

Yesterday I went out for a bike ride.  I was going to do a couple loops of my 8.75 mile course and about 2 miles into my second loop I felt the bike getting a little squirly on a couple turns.  1st thing in my mind is I have a flat, so I stop and check it out, sure enough my back tire is starting to get soft.  I turn around and ride back towards home, made it about another mile before I felt like i was starting to hit the rim.  Then I took off my shoes and helmet and walked about a mile home in bare feet.  I don't normally ride with a spare tube (maybe I should), since I normally take my phone and if I have any issues I call back to home base for a support vehicle to come and get me.   The bad thing about it was I was really killing my ride when it happened so I'm sorry I didn't get to finish it out.  I did go out and buy some new tough tires (mine are originals and really starting to get worn down) and a couple more spare tubes, so hopefully I won't have any more issues.  I might also look into getting one of those co2 fix a flat cartridges to take on a ride for occasions like this.

Today looks like a run and swim day.

awesome job Deb and son! sounds like a really fun day. congrats on the killer run.

Nick - yes get a c02 inflation they are great plus it will give you practice (should you need it) for if you get a flat on a race day.

My son and I went out for a run in the morning and we put in just over 3.5km. We then went home he grabbed his bike and we went back out with me running for another 15km. Unfortunately I have developed a bit of a blister on my heal so it looks like running is on hold for a few days.