Matt Gilmartin's Group- CLOSED~ we're swimming! (Page 27)

mmez - 2012-02-19 1:51 PM

My HITS Corpus Race Report

 

I know that this will probably not come close to covering everything, so if there is anything I missed or forgot, please ask. Disclaimer - this WILL be long!

The weekend prior to the event, we took a little day trip to the event site to try and get a feel for the course and see where everything was going to be located. The Athlete's handbook was e-mailed out and there was an address, so we got directions to the advertised site and off we went. 

The race site is about 2.5-3 hours from our house so we had a little bit of a drive. Once we got down there, we couldn't find anything with the listed address. We were near a large arena that hosted basketball games and concerts, so we figured that the event would be held there since there was nothing else around. We looked at the water, which was VERY choppy and drove down the shore. We noted that it appeared that we would be riding our bikes on the road and perhaps running on the seawall since we saw nothing else that could have been remotely possible (unless we were in the completely wrong area). 

I sent an e-mail to the RD and stated my concerns regarding the lack of a good location address and the hazard of swimming in such choppy water. The RD sent me an e-mail back rather quickly stating that the event was going to be held in a parking lot and the water was smooth in the morning hours and then turned choppy later in the day. I had my concerns, but decided that we would wait for race morning to decide whether or not we would race based off of what the water looked like.

We kept an eye on the weather leading up to the day of the race. It was not looking good - high winds (25+mph) and rain were in the forecast. Things were not looking good for our first race.

We decided to take both vehicles instead of renting a van since that way I could get up and go to the race site early (had to be there between 0500 and 0600 for gear check-in) without having to wake the kids up. We also had 4 sets of gear to pack and there was NO WAY we could bring all 4 bikes, transition bags, helmets, and clothes for 2 days in my husbands little car. 

I took off of work the day before the event so we could load the car and pick the kids up early from school to drive out. I managed to fit 3 road bikes in my car as well as transition bags for 3 of us and helmets. My little car was packed pretty tight. My husband had the kids, another bike, the floor pump, another transition bag and our large overnight bag with all of our non-tri stuff. He was also packed pretty full. I remembered right before we left town that I needed a new tube since I had blown a tire and forgot to pick up a new one. We stopped on our way out to get one as well as some Gu Chomps. We checked the kids out of school and away we went. 

It rained just about the entire trip down to the coast. In some places the rain was REALLY heavy and the wind was blowing me all over the road. We finally got to the Naval Base where we had a room reserved, checked in and dropped off a few bags. It was still raining and I was concerned about the race.

We drove down to the race site and had to park about 2 blocks away from the check-in tent. The rain was coming down pretty good so we were all wet by the time we got to check-in. The check-in area was not organized very well, so we were standing out in the rain waiting to get under the tent to get our packets. When we finally did, we had to fill out USAT waiver forms for everyone while they were looking for our packets. We finally got all 5 packets and headed over to the food tent. The race site stated that there would be an "Athlete's dinner" included in the cost of the race, so we didn't plan on having to go out for dinner. The food tent had a handful of tables and chairs and about 4 chaffing dishes of various pasta's. There were also some rolls. I wasn't very impressed, especially since they were charging $10 a ticket for non-athlete's (no way would I have paid $10 for that meal). The tent was pretty crowded, but we found a spot at the back end of the tent for the 4 of us to sit down and eat. Once we sat down, we realized why no one was sitting there - the table was under the tent, but the chairs were not. We sat down anyway since we were already wet and really, it's just water and we'll dry off.

A nice couple came and sat in front of us (once those seats were vacated) and noticed that my daughter and I did not have anything to drink (it was very crowded and I was not about to get up and fight the crowds for a bottle of water). The man got up and went to get us some waters and we thanked him. We started talking to him and his wife and found out that they were doing the Half on Sunday. They were very nice and wished us well.

Once we got back to the hotel, I unpacked and re-paked the transition bags for 5 races and put the helmet/swim cap stickers on everyone's items. I was very concerned that even though I had made a checklist for everyone, I would forget something. I decided that if I did, oh well and there was nothing I could do about it at that point (there was no expo in which to purchase things).

Saturday morning came fast - I was up most of the night listening to the wind and rain and I seriously considered not doing the sprint and just doing the open with my family at noon. In the end, I decided that I had to at least go out there to see what the conditions were and I was not going to let a little bit of rain deter me. I got up, got dressed, and put my race numbers on (they were the tattoo type - not just a marker). I grabbed my transition bag for the first race and drove to the site. 

I parked and then had the task of getting my bike out of my car and putting it back together (had to take the seat post and the front wheel off in order to get it in the car). I then aired up my tires so I wouldn't have to tote the air pump back to the car. It was dark and chilly, but the rain had settled down and was now just a fine mist.

I got to transition and found my spot. Each spot had a little stool and a "box" with a slot for your tire to rest in. I put my stuff down and arranged it in a manner that seemed to make sense to me. I stood around for a while and watched what others were doing. Finally, I decided it was time to put on my wetsuit.

Once transition was closed, we all walked down to the water and listened for last minute instructions. The men's wave started and we started funneling into the water one at a time. 

The water was FREEZING! I heard later that it was 59F. It was an in-water start, so we were all in there for a few minutes before the air horn went off. I started off on the far right side thinking that I would let the masses go and then fall in, however, the current was such that I never could make my way over and ended up swimming farther away from the far buoy than I should have. I have only done one open water swim in my wetsuit prior to the race, but have done several OWS, so I kind of knew what to expect, however, I really couldn't get comfortable. Maybe it was the wetsuit; perhaps it was the cold or even nerves since it was my first tri, or even a combination of all three, but I didn't do well at all. I ended up on my back a LOT. I was drinking tons of salt water and many times was gagging and thought I had to throw up. There were plenty of kayakers that kept checking on us and one guy even reminded me that if I needed to hold on and take a break that he would be near (never needed his services). I felt like the buoy's kept moving farther away (either that, or the current kept pushing me out), but it was just a horrible swim. When I finally made it back to the stairs to climb out, it's a good thing there were people helping us. I was very disoriented and dizzy. I walked to the transition area, pulled off my wetsuit and started to get my bike gear.

As I'm sitting there trying to put on my shoes, I was having trouble maintaining my balance. I was sitting on the little stool and it's a good thing my seat was next to the barricades because there was a time or two that I was wobbling so bad that I wobbled right into them. I'm sure I looked drunk!

My T1 time was pretty bad since I really took my time trying to regain my balance. It started raining a little harder by now and I was worried about the bike ride down the road. I made my way up this ramp to the mount line and decided that I would take it easy so as not to wipe out. I passed 3 people right away and settled into a very easy, comfortable pace (a little too easy maybe). I passed many people on the side of the road with flats and several walking their bikes back to the transition area. There were also a few that I saw later with some bad road rash, so I'm guessing there were several spills out there.

I passed a number of bikers and made sure to say "On your left" and not draft. I also thanked EVERY Police officer and volunteer I came across. The police officers were great and I never had to stop for traffic! The roads were not the best and we were riding on the shoulder for a good portion of the race, so they were pretty rough and I had to be careful to avoid potholes. There was a CRAZY head wind on the way back and it made it hard to pick up any speed. I felt as though I was working really hard to maintain forward momentum. Fortunately, I made it back to transition without having any bike problems and did not have ANYONE pass me!!

I switched out my bike shoes for my running shoes and off I went towards the run out. We were running along the seawall, which was also open to the public, so there were areas where you were dodging people that were just out there (why people wanted to be out there in that kind of weather stumps me, but to each their own). I had to walk a few times just to regain my breathing as I felt like I was hyperventilating. I got to the turn-around point and grabbed a water and Heed - boy was that stuff NASTY! One guy passed me at the turn-around point. I heard him coming up behind me, but wanted to make sure he didn't pass me until I at least turned around. I kept plodding along and towards the end, heard someone else behind me. I read something, somewhere that said something like "If I don't win, I'm going to make sure you PR" or something in regards to that when someone is behind you. I kept that in my mind since I didn't want anyone else passing me at the finish. I made it in to the finish chute and did not let the guy pass me. He thanked me and said that I was "quite the inspiration" to which I replied that he was inspiring me! We shook hands and then I grabbed a banana and water. I over heard someone tell the man behind me that he finished in under 2 hours and that that in and of itself was quite an accomplishment. There was no clock at the finish, so I didn't know what my time was.

My first tri was over and I was so happy that I didn't forget anything and didn't have any mishaps. I made my way back to the transition area (after a few dry-heaves at the finish) and set my gear out for my second tri of the day which was to happen with my family a few hours later.

Thirty minutes later my family met me at the race site and we built up everyone's bikes and made our way to transition to set up their gear. It was open racking, so they just set their stuff next to where my assigned area was. I put my daughter next to me since we were doing the race together. I helped them into their wetsuits and reminded them to put on their helmet BEFORE even touching their bike after the swim. This was their second tri, so they are "old pros" and all I got was "I know, mom, I know"...darn these 7 and 9 year-old-teenagers!

I couldn't get my wetsuit back on since it was still wet from the mornings swim. Guess I'd have to do this one in just my tri-suit...brr! As we were waiting for our event, we looked out towards the water and saw TONS of dolphins swimming out on the course. My daughter looked at me and said "I'm not going to swim with you mom - I'm swimming with the dolphins"!

My son hesitated (a lot) about getting into the water, but finally did. He was less than happy about it and I even told him that if he wanted to get out and not do it, that I would get out with him. My daughter stood on the steps and cannonballed into the water - not a care in the world! 

The air gun went off and we started swimming. The current was really pushing off of course and by the time we were ready to turn back around, we were so far off course that I know we swam a lot farther then the prescribed distance. One of the kayakers told my daughter that he saw a dolphin near her and she was thrilled (I didn't see anything next to us, so I don't know if he was just trying to excite her or what, but she's telling everyone that she swam with the dolphins)! As I'm swimming with my daughter, I hear people on the seawall yelling her name. I knew that my husband and son were already out of the water, but didn't think that they would have stopped to cheer for her. I looked up and saw the nice couple that sat by us at the dinner the night before. They later told me that they wanted to come out specifically to cheer us on knowing that we were doing it as a family! How sweet is that?!?!

I helped my daughter out of the water and got her wetsuit off and shoes on. We then walked to the mount line. The bike is her least favorite event. We have been taking her out to practice a lot lately and we told her that if she didn't feel ready, we could keep practicing and find another race when she was a little more confident. She declined and wanted to do it, so we did. I waited for her to start riding her bike before I clipped in and then realized that we may be stopping a lot, so I kept one foot clipped in with the other one just resting on top of the pedal - which proved to be VERY wise. I'm not sure how many times she would just stop for no reason. We would be going along fine and then BAM! she would slam on the brakes and stop right in front of me. I noticed that we had a motorcycle police officer behind us as well as a police truck to keep traffic from getting in our lane. The police officers were very patient and every time she stopped, they would stop and before I knew it, we had 4 motorcycle police officers! We had 1 in front of us, 2 on the side of us and 1 behind us. We also had the police truck and eventually acquired a police car, too!! We FINALLY made it to the turn-around point and one of the officers told me that they were going to have us ride on the seawall instead of the road so we would not be blocking traffic. I was fine with that, but worried about the non-racers out and about and wondered if they would move over when they saw us coming or if we would be doing a lot of stopping along the way back (by this time, the rain had stopped and the sun was peaking out behind the clouds, so there were many families out walking along the coast).

To my surprise, something clicked with my daughter and she started riding like a PRO! I don't know what happened, or if it will ever happen again, but it was so awesome to watch. She started riding and despite all the people out and the crazy wind (25+ mph) that was pushing both of us sideways on the bikes (I literally saw her bike shift over sideways while she was riding), she did amazing. She didn't stop at any of the intersections (police were out stopping cars from going down to the marina), she didn't get nervous weaving in-between people that wouldn't move over, she didn't have any problem navigating between people and statutes, and she rode the entire ride back without stopping! I was cheering for her the entire time and was SO proud! The couple that was doing the half even rode out on the course to cheer her on while we were riding - so wish I could remember their names. To me, they are the true epitome of sportsmanship!

We got back to transition and headed out for the run. We were so far behind everyone that the signs were taken down so we just winged it. One of the guys from the HITS staff took off his jacket as we were leaving the run out area and asked if we would like some company. He ran with us and chatted with my daughter the entire run. She did great on the run and never stopped to walk! We ran a pretty good ways out and I was sure that we had run further than a half-mile (the run was 1 mile), so I told her that the turn-around was up ahead and we all just got to a specific point and headed back. When we were about 100 yards out from the finish line, I could hear the announcer say that he saw Zsa Zsa heading into the finish. Then I heard the sweetest thing that almost made me start crying right there - I heard my son get on the mike and start chanting "Go Zsa Zsa Go; Go Zsa Zsa Go" over and over and over! He was so proud of his little sister! The announcer took back the mike and announced her finish while my son ran to the finish line and gave her a big hug! Made me a proud mama!!

My husband ended up getting 1st in his age group and got a little award from Dave Scott. My son got 3rd in his AG and my daughter got 2nd. Only 1st place awards were presented, so neither of my children received an award, which proved to be a teaching/learning moment for my daughter (she thought all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners would receive something and had a little bit of an issue that only 1st was awarded - oh well, she'll get over it). My son was so sweet and told her that she will always be first to him! 

At this point, all the gear had to be taken back to the car, broken down and the puzzle of equipment put back in the vehicles! We then drove to the hotel, showered and went out to dinner!

A couple of lessons learned:

#1 (the biggest lesson learned) WEAR SUNSCREEN!! Even if it's raining and the sun is no where to be found, wear sunscreen. I am so burned on my back and shoulder and behind my legs that I haven't slept well since the race!

#2 Hydrate/eat - I neglected to hydrate properly during the race (only drank a little bit of water during the run; none on the bike and tons of salt water during the swim that probably didn't help matters). I also did not eat all day. By the time we were done, I had a massive headache that was nearing migraine status. Not smart...

#3 Try to get a family picture before and/or after the race. Unfortunately, I found out after the race, that there were no race photographers, so none of us will get finish line photos or anything else. Kind of disappointing for our first tri (at least mine and my husband's race). 

#4 Be flexible - expect that race day conditions might not be ideal and sometimes your expectations may have to change in order to be safe out on the race course. I expected the swim to be faster (and not as cold) and was quite disappointed when I saw my time, but I really didn't have any power over the weather in order to calm the waters or dry the roads for the bike. 

In the end, I am happy that I finished the sprint under 2 hours. I got 3rd Female Military and if I had not have registered military and would have just registered straight AG, I would have received 1st AG (oh well). 

We plan on doing another HITS tri later in April and hopefully the conditions will be a little more friendly!

stevesflyshop - 2012-02-21 12:17 PM

Mariah,

What did you think overall about the HITS event? Were the problems you encountered due mostly to weather or was the event pretty well run? I'm considering doing one of their events but didn't know too much about how they were run. It sounds like you had a great time in spite of all the challenges thrown at you.

Steve

catiek - 2012-02-21 4:28 AM

Mariah,

You are a legend!  Two tri's in one day... awesome effort, especially in the bad weather.

Sunscreen and hydration are great tips!  I don't think I drank enough water during my race either and with the punch to the face during the swim I started to get a headache.  I am sure a bit more water during my bike would have nipped it in the bud.

Now your first is done and dusted... are you hooked?

mcgilmartin - 2012-02-23 10:43 AM

Well kids, another weekend is coming up on us!  I saw my massage therapist and my Chiropractor this week, so I'm looking forward to some good training this weekend.  We're supposed to get hammered with snow in Chicago so I'll likely be stuck inside, but I'm hoping to do at least a 5K swim and a 7 mile dreadmill run.  

Mariah, are you doing an indoor tri?  I have my kids this weekend- the LTF by my home has their indoor tri this weekend, I wish I could have my kids spectate.

stevesflyshop - 2012-02-23 7:07 PM I'm looking forward to a good training weekend but I'm afraid most of it may be inside as well. I just got the book "Be Iron Fit" and went through the training plans. With the exception of moving some swim days around to fit my schedule, I really like the training plan. It works so much better for me to have long run and long ride on the weekends. I'm starting the 30 week competitive plan today (skipping the first 5 base building weeks) and working it in to the 24 weeks I have until the half ironman. We'll see how it works.

mmez - 2012-02-23 6:30 PM

Sounds like you have a good plan. Can't wait to read your race report!

Jenheaslip - 2012-02-23 10:03 PM

Hearing all these stories about how you guys are trying new things and challenging yourselves has inspired me. I'm still a little intimidated by the bike and especially spin classes. Tuesday I got on a spin bike for the first time and Thursday I survived my first spin class. It was really hard, but I was able to make it the whole class and then run the 5K distance afterward (in 70-degree weather in February! so nice) for a great brick workout. Not sure I will be walking tomorrow, but whew, that was one big mental and physical hurdle cleared. I don't know why the bike is so scary to me. The indoor tri I signed up for in 2 weeks includes a spin class so I need to keep at it.

On another note, I read that you need at least 3 grams of carbs per pound of body weight when training, and that means I am getting only about half of what I need most days. I can't eat any more meals, so I guess that means bars/drinks/powders. Any really good ones that pack a bunch of carbs, or any to avoid? I've neaten the bars before.

mmez - 2012-02-24 11:48 AM

We purchased some Spinervals video's when we bought our bike trainers. We have about 5 or so video's now as well as 1 SufferFest video that I downloaded (Downward Spiral). I have also used TrainerRoad, although I should be using it more than I do. I find that I ALWAYS get a good bike workout when I use a video as opposed to just spinning without any real guidance.

Don't let the bike intimidate you! My bike coach told me that it's the best/easiest way to make up time during an event! He told me that he did an IM a few years ago and was about 600 coming out of the water, but coming off the bike he had moved up to 15 - that's a HUGE increase (he fell to 25 during the run, which disappointed him)!

Good luck to everyone this weekend! Whether you are racing or training, make your time in the water, on the saddle on pounding the pavement count; otherwise, you might as well be on the couch!!