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Beach Bum Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint


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Hilton Head Island, SC
United States
GoTriSports
91F / 33C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 13m 36s
Overall Rank = 91/135
Age Group = 39 & Under
Age Group Rank = 20/33
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:45am, breakfast of oatmeal, 1pc bread with peanut butter. Hydration, hydration, hydration. Small amount of coffee, like I needed it. Got to the race about 6am, was one of the first there so had my choice in TA.
Event warmup:

Bit of swimming, bit of light jogging.
Swim
  • 13m 57s
  • 500 meters
  • 02m 47s / 100 meters
Comments:

This time includes T1. All of these times are from my watch, official race results only include overall time, not splits.
This was the longest 500m of my life. My mental game was disrupted early on trying to swim out to the first buoy. I don't know what happened...it was hard going (even though it wasn't hard during warmup), and I guess I lost focus. Also we were swimming with the buoys to the left and I breathe to the right, which makes for slightly freaky navigation. The ocean was as calm as can be, low and outgoing tide, almost no current at all, beautiful swim conditions. I can't quite put my finger on why this swim was so difficult.
What would you do differently?:

I need to learn bilateral breathing. Urgently. Not for waves, but simply for navigation.
Transition 1
  • 00m
Bike
  • 28m 22s
  • 6 miles
  • 12.69 mile/hr
Comments:

This time includes T2.
My confidence came back a little during the bike leg. The way it was set up was 1.5mi from TA to a turnaround, then 3mi in the opposite direction to the next turnaround, then 1.5mi back to TA. There was almost no wind, which helped tremendously (beach wind can be a killer). I felt really good, although with the heat I wasn't quite willing to push any harder. The SandBeast did a great job, although when you're used to clipless pedals and are suddenly using running shoes, it's a bit of a shocker. :)
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, this leg was great considering the sand and an ancient rusty beach bike.
Transition 2
  • 00m
Run
  • 32m 18s
  • 3 miles
  • 10m 46s  min/mile
Comments:

This is where it got hot, and where it got bad. Again over sand, hardpack. The lack of wind, lack of shade, 91 degree relative heat (81F with 100% humidity)....man. I've trained in these conditions for a few months and consider myself acclimated, but I never run with no shade, and I'd been out in the full sun since dawn. The first 1/2 went OK, I was keeping a 10:00 pace, but was dying for the only aid station which was at the turnaround. Had to stop and walk at the station, poured one cup on my head and did the pinch & sip routine with the other cup (yay for tri top back pockets, so no littering). I ran as much as I could but was just this side of heat exhaustion. My lungs were working great, my muscles were working ok (I thought), but when I asked my body to go faster, it refused. I got the cold chills and was actually dry sobbing "This never f--king ends, does it" (physical reaction to heat for me, the sobbing bit). Clearly, my mental game fell totally to pieces and it was way ugly.

The wierd thing about running on a beach is that it's very flat and the visibility is awesome, so I could see the aid station and the TA a mile away...and they just never got any closer. I found that more psychologically damaging than anything the sun could dish out. Of course, if it had been cooler, I wouldn't have been so succeptible to negative thoughts.
What would you do differently?:

Carry my water with me. I had decided to do this and brought a water bottle with a hand-gripper, but off the bike I felt good and I've done 30 minute runs in the heat before without fluid, so thought it would be fine. Clearly, it was not fine. I could've finished easily 2 - 4 minutes faster if I had hydration with me.
Post race
Warm down:

Went back to the ocean and floated on my back with my eyes closed. It was one of the best feelings in the world.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The heat and direct sun, no doubt. Being stupid about water (which is unusual for me). Giving in to negative thoughts and not staying positive and super focused.

I also think I trained too hard the week of the race, and I should've kept everything easy.

Event comments:

This was a laid-back, very small race on the beach. It had an awesome fun vibe, the directors and volunteers made it a good time despite the heat. THANKS VOLUNTEERS!!!

After my first tri in April, I walked away thinking "That wasn't so bad." After this race, I really felt like I had really Accomplished Something. The distances were short, but the sand magnifies the effort unbelievably, even hardpack sand. Add to that the blazing sun with no shade and you've got a hell of a thing. I feel like I learned more from this tri than I did from my first one.

And for all my complaining, I will be there next June to do this thing again, because I know I can do it faster. I don't want to give the impression that I didn't have fun, or that it was all grim. There were moments of sheer joy in this race, no doubt, and HHI is one of the most beautiful places I can think of for a morning on the beach. My wonderful girlfriend braved heat exhaustion to take photos, a friend drove over an hour to see me finish, and all the volunteers stood out in the hot sun just so the athletes could have our race. I learned a tremendous amount, and I'll definitely be back -- I'm looking forward to it.




Last updated: 2005-07-12 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:13:57 | 500 meters | 02m 47s / 100meters
Age Group: 0/33
Overall: 0/135
Performance: Below average
Suit:
Course:
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 85F / 29C Current: Low
200M Perf. Below average Remainder: Below average
Breathing: Average Drafting: Below average
Waves: Below average Navigation: Below average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 00:00
Performance:
Cap removal: Helmet on/
Suit off:
Wetsuit stuck? Run with bike:
Jump on bike:
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:28:22 | 06 miles | 12.69 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/33
Overall: 0/135
Performance: Good
Wind: Little
Course: On the sand beach, pretty well hard packed.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall:
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal
Running
00:32:18 | 03 miles | 10m 46s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/33
Overall: 0/135
Performance: Below average
Course: 1.5mi from TA to a turnaround, then back to the TA.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2005-07-31 4:32 PM

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Elite Veteran
777
500100100252525
flatland
Subject: Beach Bum Triathlon


2005-07-31 4:40 PM
in reply to: #212108

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Champion
7704
50002000500100100
Williamston, Michigan
Subject: RE: Beach Bum Triathlon
Nice race.  Hope you had a great time -SMO
2005-07-31 4:44 PM
in reply to: #212108

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Elite
2777
2000500100100252525
In my bunk with new shoes and purple sweats.
Subject: RE: Beach Bum Triathlon
Fantastic job just finishing. I was working two islands north of you and it was brutal, not as bad as earlier in the week but bad enough.
Don't wait till next year, plan the fall race. I'm trying to work it in but I've got either a sprint or an Oly scheduled around the same time up in Hartsville. Our "Y" takes a pretty good group up to that race as competition with their "Y". But if I can do it I'll be there Labor Day weekend for the SunCoast.
Good job. Train hard and keep racing.
Russ
2005-07-31 4:55 PM
in reply to: #212127

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Elite Veteran
777
500100100252525
flatland
Subject: RE: Beach Bum Triathlon
Thanks, ya'll. Russ - I've already paid my money for the Fall race in this series, and the hotel is about to be booked. Barring injury, I'll be there. But it's not on sand. Now I have to toughen up for that barefoot run across South Forest Beach drive.
2005-07-31 5:28 PM
in reply to: #212108

Champion
8903
500020001000500100100100100
Subject: RE: Beach Bum Triathlon
Congrats on finishing in such tough conditions. That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger! I don't care for those hand bottles, but I do use a running fanny pack with a bottle and I wouldn't be without it. Doesn't get in your way when you don't need it, but it's there when you hit that mental wall and REALLY need the hydration!
2005-08-01 5:58 AM
in reply to: #212108

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Extreme Veteran
404
100100100100
Chicago, Il
Subject: RE: Beach Bum Triathlon
That heat will absolutely kill ya, huh? I get the chilled feeling and verge of dry sobs, too. I always forget that it isn't just the course you have to battle during the race but also the weather! Great job gutting it out and getting it done.


2005-08-01 1:47 PM
in reply to: #212108

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Veteran
111
100
Ridgefield, CT
Subject: RE: Beach Bum Triathlon
Well done. Glad to hear there weren't any shark encounters.

Fantastic job on a very difficult day/course. I dont' think I'll ever sign up for a tri that requires running on the beach. I just can't do it.

Congrats again....
2005-08-02 8:31 AM
in reply to: #212108

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Elite Veteran
777
500100100252525
flatland
Subject: RE: Beach Bum Triathlon
Well the official results are posted, turns out I did slightly better than I had thought. My watch showed me a full minute more than the official time...not sure how this occurred since I hit "start" when the horn sounded, but whatever.

I have moved from MOFOBOP to either BOMOP or FOBOP (depending on where you draw the line) status! I am so excited!! My time was 4.5 minutes out of the top 10, so I know that if things hadn't gone south on the run and I had pushed just a wee bit harder on the bike, I could easily make it. It's nice to know my expectations weren't way off and I'm evaluating my race day times more or less correctly, barring unforseen circumstances like heat stroke.

So, I had to do the happy dances and share that with the board. I'm almost MOP!
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