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Did first sprint..bit demotivated
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 2010-02-28 3:10 AM |
Veteran 546  |  Subject: Did first sprint..bit demotivatedHey.. I did my first sprint today 1:40:47...disappointed..more than 10mins slower than I expected and last in my aged group by 4min plus and pritty much last out of 500+ participants... I had done heaps of training and felt strong...but I screwed up bif time on the swim... My times were: - Swim: 28:26 (750m). I lost direction a couple of times and I think I swam more than 1km  ...as I came out of the water...I saw there was hardly anyone around and felt s bit lonely..the fact my wife and a mate were there..kept me going..- Bike: 48:15 (20km). This was ok...25km/hr for me is OK given I've only been riding a few months - Run : 24:14 (5km). This is what I expected... My goal was to finish well...but also had a time of 1:30in my mind...hummm... Can I still call myself a triathlete? Do others struggle with navigation in the open water too? Need some motivation and cheering up! |
| 2010-02-28 3:20 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Veteran 732  Pittsburgh, PA | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Uh... way to go! What the heck kind of field was this? I'm not fast at all- usually about 5 min faster on the swim and 5 min faster on the bike with a slightly slower run, and am somewhere near the middle of the pack (of both men and women). If you'd have done one of my sprints there's no way you would have been near the back. Or if that's no consolation- you had a fast 5k, be proud of it! And if it's your first tri, you'll get better at swimming straight, and that should shave at least 5 min off your swim even if your fitness doesn't improve. |
| 2010-02-28 3:27 AM in reply to: #2697678 |
| Veteran 546 | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Thanks Chayes..yes I knew my run was not bad.... |
| 2010-02-28 3:37 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
| 31 | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Sydney Triathlon Series.....tough competition. Use this as motivation.......train hard for next time. |
| 2010-02-28 5:04 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Melon Presser 52116  | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Yes, lots of great triathletes in Oz and it's high season there ... Look, you're a good athlete. You could use some work on your swim, but so can everybody. Most people even experienced swimmers have some trouble navigating. You're doing GREAT for just starting out--FANTASTIC for first tri! You were well prepared and many people are not. The thing is, triathlon is a strange beast. It takes a lot of practice, and a lot of RACE PRACTICE, to sharpen up. Really, for a first triathlon, it's best to be really proud of yourself for finishing, and hopefully you had some fun. |
| 2010-02-28 5:20 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
| Member 58 | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Mate Im 2yrs into this and still enjoying every race even though Ive come DFL the last 2 races here in queensland. I travel all over asia with work and consistent training is proving impossible. Todays race for us was changed to a run/bike/run because of a tsunami warning - last race I had 2 (TWO!!) flats and ended up running barefoot bike back to transition because I figured better DFL than DNF. The marshalls were looking at me on the run longingly as in "hurry the hell up then we can go home". Its demoralising to do worse than you know you are capable of but the key to your first triathlon is to finish it without hating it. Sounds like you did. And you are a triathlete because you finished a triathlon - full stop. Start googling for your next race ! Next time you swim you'll know to do your sighting - your base times are fast enough that you'll do well in the rest of it. |
| 2010-02-28 6:27 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Veteran 559 | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated You did the tri, first one I did was 1.42 and after that I was dog tired. Its just a matter of getting out there and doing it, Swim..dont worry, open water swimming takes a bit of time to get used to it, I find 30 strokes, head up for 1 stoke to get my bearing if I am alone and if I am with a group, just watch for the bubbles from the feet of the person in front of you and follow them, Sounds easy but it took me 2 seasons to work that one out. Most of all do lose motivation, I was stuck on 1.38-1.39 for a while, does not matter how hard I trained the times would not come down. Had a race today and my time dropped by 11 minutes..1.27 I really did not expect to go that fast today so just hang in there. Rome was not built in a day. |
| 2010-02-28 6:38 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
| Regular 166 Maine | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated This was your first so use this to build on. The way I'd look at it, if you think you're able to do a lot better, is it will sound that much more impressive when you tell people how much time you have shaved off since your first one. |
| 2010-02-28 6:46 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Pro 3804 Seacoast, NH! | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Dude, you did great!! You finished and didn't meet your goal, I know that's tough and yeah, that's a little bit of a slow swim, bt so what!? You are a triathlete and I don't want to hear anything about this race demotivating you from becoming a stronger athlete. This crap takes serious time. Be patient, stick to your training and you'll be rewarded. By the way....like the others are saying, if this were many other races, you'd be right there in the middle and that's awesome! YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE!!! Now go get in the damn pool!  |
| 2010-02-28 7:21 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Veteran 163 Newburgh, Indiana | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated I have to agree with a couple other comments, if your were competing in our local sprints you would have been MOP easily. More importantly however, we all perhaps set high expectations for our first triathlon and many of us fall short. BUT that's the beauty of triathlon, there is so much room for improvement. Like yourself, my first triathlon I performed much worse than I had planned. Right after I finished I walked over and told the wife that I would think twice before I did another. The next day I was looking for another to compete in, a month later I did another sprint and although I didn't get that much faster, I had improved. I was hooked at that point. We are all somewhat competitive by nature, but as I get older I have to make sure I am gauging my progress based on my own accomplishments and not by comparing myself to others. You did just fine and you'll do even better on the next one! |
| 2010-02-28 7:32 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Pro 4360 Baton Rouge area | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated First, Congrats!!!! You finished something that most people think is incredible. Be happy! I have been where you are and yeah I was a little unhappy but now you have a goal for next year to race it again and blow away your time. BTW, your run time was great! |
| 2010-02-28 7:33 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Master 1584 Fulton, MD | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Don't worry about it, you'll do better next time! I think for my first open water swim, I swam zig zag down a lake. It was supposed to be an Oly, but I think I did an IM swim... |
| 2010-02-28 7:36 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Master 2491 | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Goal times are tricky, as you can't anticpate conditions, problems, and especially the first time. Finishing your first race is a big accomplishment. Allow yourself to enjoy it! If you think you didn't fulfill your potential, it just gives you a time to beat next year. |
| 2010-02-28 7:43 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Member 45 Cicero, NY | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Hey, be proud of yourself! You finished your first tri! I don't think your time is bad, so I'm in agreement with the others that if it were any other tri you would have come in better off. You did a great job. I'm doing my first tri in August and I'm sure I'll have some swimming navigation problems too. I think it's a really common thing. Keep your head up, pat yourself on the back and smile! You finished! |
| 2010-02-28 8:04 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Expert 1087 Portland | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated for your first tri that is great!!! There are a TON of things in triathlon that just can't be prepared for. And a 24 min. 5k off of a swim and bike... thats AWESOME!!! Stick with it and you'll get better. |
| 2010-02-28 8:18 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
| Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated The first couple OWS are the debil! I swam around the police boat on the wrong side, I think I went to a neighbouring state at one point (still in the water) and it was still one of the most fun days I've had yet. Think about it, now everything's going to be a PR  |
| 2010-02-28 8:24 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
| Columbia | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated First, I echo everyone else's comments .....congratulations! DFL is not failure...it is not tri-ing at all!
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| 2010-02-28 9:01 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Extreme Veteran 745 Colo Springs, CO | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated True Confession time: For my first tri, I had signed up with Team In Training, a large fundraising group here in the States, that provides all the coaching for us. So the coaches had taught us about sighting (and a woman I met at my local pool who is a 2x KQ had worked even more on it with me) and we had been told how important it was. We get to the local reservoir, and the coaches remind us to "sight every 3-4 strokes until you get a feel for how straight you swim". I think to myself "I swim straight. I can sight after 8-9 strokes and I'll be fine." So we are in the swim area, and the line of bouys that we are swimming alongside are parallel to the beach. We start swimming, and after 8 strokes, I pop my eyes up to sight just like I've been taught and I'M SWIMMING STRAIGHT TOWARDS THE BEACH! Yup, I was 90 degrees off course!  After that, I started sighting more frequently, and discovered that I had a wicked pull to the right (it wasn't just the waves pushing me that way, it was my right arm crossing over.) Since then I've learned to swim a lot straighter, but I still sight fairly frequently just because going off course is so much slower. And I've learned how to just barely pop my eyes out of the water just before I breathe so it doesn't really slow me down at all. There is no need to breaststroke or "gorilla swim" if you learn how to sight efficiently, and when you know how to sight efficiently you'll do it more willingly and avoid the extra distance. |
| 2010-02-28 9:15 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Extreme Veteran 683 Cleveland Area | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated getfitfast - 2010-02-28 4:10 AM Hey.. I did my first sprint today 1:40:47...disappointed..more than 10mins slower than I expected and last in my aged group by 4min plus and pritty much last out of 500+ participants... I had done heaps of training and felt strong...but I screwed up bif time on the swim... My times were: - Swim: 28:26 (750m). I lost direction a couple of times and I think I swam more than 1km ...as I came out of the water...I saw there was hardly anyone around and felt s bit lonely..the fact my wife and a mate were there..kept me going..- Bike: 48:15 (20km). This was ok...25km/hr for me is OK given I've only been riding a few months - Run : 24:14 (5km). This is what I expected... My goal was to finish well...but also had a time of 1:30in my mind...hummm... Can I still call myself a triathlete? Do others struggle with navigation in the open water too? Need some motivation and cheering up! Dont stress, I was in the exact same boat in my first tri. By the time I learned a little more and fixed some training, I was able to go from 1:46 to 1:30 in less than five races, and my run time is 33:00+ Keep tri'in |
| 2010-02-28 9:49 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Master 2429 Falls Church, Virginia | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated Congrats on a strong finish TRIATHLETE! You have a run time to be proud of, and you're certainly faster than me on the bike. And think about this...some people (myself included) haven't gotten up the courage to do a tri with an open water swim yet. I've only done pool swims because of my slow swimming times and fear of poor navigation. You know what you're weakness is now, so you can more effectively train to fix it. |
| 2010-02-28 10:23 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Master 2426 Central Indiana | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated getfitfast - 2010-02-28 4:10 AM Hey.. I did my first sprint today 1:40:47...disappointed..more than 10mins slower than I expected and last in my aged group by 4min plus and pritty much last out of 500+ participants... I had done heaps of training and felt strong...but I screwed up bif time on the swim... My times were: - Swim: 28:26 (750m). I lost direction a couple of times and I think I swam more than 1km ...as I came out of the water...I saw there was hardly anyone around and felt s bit lonely..the fact my wife and a mate were there..kept me going..- Bike: 48:15 (20km). This was ok...25km/hr for me is OK given I've only been riding a few months - Run : 24:14 (5km). This is what I expected... My goal was to finish well...but also had a time of 1:30in my mind...hummm... Can I still call myself a triathlete? Do others struggle with navigation in the open water too? Need some motivation and cheering up! Sounds like the event was competitive. My 1st tri was a Sprint last April with over 600 triathletes & had a much shorter 400M pool swim. 1:40 would still have beat over 2 dozen people. DFL>>DNF>>>>DNS |
| 2010-02-28 10:41 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Master 1440 | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated DUDE You finished a Triathlon, 99% of the population will never be able to say that. You are in the elite of the elite. Guarantee your times will get better! |
| 2010-02-28 11:10 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Veteran 242 Sutherlin | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated THats great, I was 1:43 for my first. I had a 22 min swim time, and I was straight marker to marker, I just suck at swimming.... I also suck at running, when I saw your run time I was like, "Holly $#!t!!" My first and only was great for showing me where I had to improve... been swimming and running more, so as long as my time for that race this year is 1:42 or less, I will be good!! Enjoy and continue... |
| 2010-02-28 11:13 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Expert 774 | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated USA Triathlon has 125,000 members. That means there are 299,875,000 people in the US who are not USAT members and probably couldn't finish a triathlon if a saltwater crocodile was chasing them. You should feel good about your first effort. You will likely show fast improvement on the swim and bike legs and your run speed is already respectable in my circles. Edited by greyg8r 2010-02-28 11:14 AM |
| 2010-02-28 11:22 AM in reply to: #2697675 |
Master 1790 Tyler, TX | Subject: RE: Did first sprint..bit demotivated You'll be amazed at how quickly you improve when you're a relative beginner. The time decreases can be staggering! I was 24 or 27 in my AG in my first triathlon. Now I'm regularly in the top 10% in most local triathlons, and top 20% in competitive regional ones. Granted, if I were in Austrailia I'd be placing a bit lower Hang in there, keep training, and you'll see some serious improvement! Brian |
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