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Emerald Coast Triathlon Series, Race #2
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Emerald Coast Triathlon Series, Race #2 - TriathlonOther
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 Swim
Comments: Oh well, I paid the fee, I wasn't about to back out now. But I believe in Karma. As I was heading out to the beach, I heard one guy talking to the race director, telling him he had forgotten his goggles and the race directors were going to try and dig some up. Nice guy that I am, I stopped and told them that I happen to have 2 extra pairs in my bag in transition (what can I say, I over-prepare). So the race directors promise they won't start without us and me and this guy take off to make the 100yd run to the transition area to get the goggles. He was really appreciative, and I felt good that I was able to help him out, and I hoped the Tri-Gods were watching. So the gun goes off, and I head out into the water. I really don't know how to describe it. Is this shit typical for an OWS????? Waves were litterally knocking the goggles off my face, I swallowed enough salt water to drown a small village, I saw one guy puking after about 5 mins (he buckled down though and finished the swim). It was just ugly. I saw a couple of guys turn and go back, and I seriously considered joining them. But like I said, I paid the fee, and I'm cheap so I wanted my money's worth. There was no attempt at technique trying to get out past the breakers. Once I got past them though, I knew I was good. Then I switched to somewhat of a modified freestyle/front crawl/doggy paddle/whatever stroke. Whatever kept my head above water and kept the forward momentum happening. Then, after hitting the next turn bouy and turning for the beach, I was able to get into a freestyle stroke and bring it in strong. Passed a few people that last stretch, but got passed by a couple of others. What would you do differently?: Seriously, is this really what OWS is like?? After the race, everyone kept making jokes about the waves, so I'm guessing this was along the lines of "bad weather" for a tri. GOD I hope so.  Transition 1
Comments: The transition area was about 100yd run from the beach, through the club, into the parking lot. I was so glad that I finished the swim that I didn't concentrate too much on my T1 time. It's a little slower than I would have liked, but I'll take it. What would you do differently?: No socks. I spent too much time drying my feet off and putting my socks on. Need to train w/o socks and build up the tolerance in my feet.  Bike
Comments: Before this race, my bike was my weakpoint. My last tri (which was also my first), I avg 16mph, and that was a 10 mile ride. This ride started off ok. The roads were gorgeous. Brand new surface, smooth, fast, and lots of police to help with traffic. The course was right along the beach, and there was little wind with the exception of a slight offshore breeze between condos. I was passed on time at the beginning of the bike. About 5 miles in, I decided to just air it out on the bike and not worry about saving for the run. I had already passed a couple of people, and with the road and weather conditions, when would I have a chance for such a perfect ride again? So I started hammering. It was the best ride of my life. My average on the first half of the 15 mile course was about 17mph. Coming back, I felt like a machine. I lost count of how many people I passed at around 15. I was avering 21-22, with a max of 25. This course was very flat though, so I didn't have to deal with hills. Overall, I was VERY happy with my bike. What would you do differently?: Nothing. This ride was nothing but fun. Transition 2
Comments: Came in with feet out of shoes, decided to lose my tri-top for the run, and slipped on my running shoes. Felt real quick in the transition. Saw mom and waved for the camera. What would you do differently?: Nothing.  Run
Comments: I seem to learn a lesson at every race I've ever done, be it a running race, a triathlon, or a duathlon. My biggest lesson learned from this race was that the HRM is NOT the end-all, be-all performance guage I once thought it was. Starting the run, I noticed that my HR was already spike up to around 175. I felt a little sluggish, so decided to take my time the first mile, bring my HR down, and then speed up from there. But my HR never went down. My legs loosened up, and I started feeling stronger, but because my HR was about my LT, I was affraid to step it up for feer of... whatever would happen! So I kept that pace, the horrible 9-something pace. I know I could have sped up at least a little, but heaven forbid I piss off the mighty HRM! I was passed twice during the run, and passed one other runner. What would you do differently?: I won't wear my HRM to race in anymore. It's become a crutch that I can do without. I shouldn't underestimate what my body is telling me because of a number that a computer has come up with.. Post race
Warm down: Crossed the finish line and mom had a towel and an ice water for me. Gotta love moms. Walked around for a minute and then went and got a beer. We stayed to watch the awards handed out then took off. What limited your ability to perform faster: Those big-ass waves and my HRM. Event comments: This race is the reason I got into triathlons: FUN. I had so much fun out there, the whole race. Joking with people about the swim on the beach before the start, talking to people on run... it was just awesome. There was also a double-leg amputee doing this race. That was amazing. He swam, biked, and ran along with the rest of us, but he did it with two prosthetic legs. Talk about humbling. Overall, this race will stick with me for a long time... just because it was so much fun. Last updated: 2006-05-01 12:00 AM
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 2006-05-21 5:00 PM |
Expert  706   New Orleans |  Subject: Emerald Coast Triathlon Series, Race #2 |
| 2006-05-21 8:12 PM in reply to: #429461 |
Master 1551  Virginia Beach, VA | Subject: RE: Emerald Coast Triathlon Series, Race #2 What a great report! Awesome race. I definitely think that your OWS was a bit extra rough; good job hanging in there and making it through. Awesome job on the bike!!  |
| 2006-05-21 8:38 PM in reply to: #429461 |
Expert 950 McKinney, TX | Subject: RE: Emerald Coast Triathlon Series, Race #2 DAMN!! You're turning into a racing machine! I didn't even know you were going out there! I'm so glad you got your Mom out there too! Sounds like she loved it! Great race!! |
| 2006-05-21 9:54 PM in reply to: #429461 |
Master 2314 Gulf Shores, AL | Subject: RE: Emerald Coast Triathlon Series, Race #2 Way to go! Great race and a thorough and compelling race report. All open water swims are not as bad as you describe but about 50% of the ones I have done in the Gulf are pretty tough. Incredible bike speed and improvement too. Glad you had a good time, that is what make triathlon special to me. Where are you racing next??? |
| 2006-05-21 10:53 PM in reply to: #429461 |
Champion 8903 | Subject: RE: Emerald Coast Triathlon Series, Race #2 Good job, glad to see your big improvement on the bike especially. I'm not a big fan of salt water swimming either, so you got my sympathy on swallowing all that crummy stuff...happens to me too! Congrats on having a great day!
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United States
Emerald Coast Triathlon Series
75F / 24C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 109/164
Age Group = 25-29M
Age Group Rank = 10/14
Warning: This is going to be a really loooong race report for a not so long racee. But after reading some others on here, I decided to try and put as much detail in here as possible.
This race was in Panama City Beach, about 6 hrs from New Orleans, so I left on Friday after work and headed over there. My mom met me there, the lives in Orlando, and I had invited her to come and "jockstrap" for me. She got a kick out of the race, and being that she just retired a few months ago, she was getting antsy sitting around the house. So we met at the hotel in Panama City. I had sushi for dinner and went to bed around 10. Up the next morning at 5:15 to get everything loaded up and get to the race by 6:30. The weather was supposed to be beautiful, and for the most part it was, but I notied when we left the hotel there was a little breeze, and a little blid of cloud coverage. Oh well, at least it wasn't cold and snowing.
After getting to the race site and checking in, I spent way too much going over my transition area. But I've learned that it's worth it to do that, so I just roll with it. After I OCD'd that for a little while, I decided to go and check out the beach. Note: the way this race was set up, the swim was in the Gulf of Mexico. You came in from the swim, ran through this open restaurant/club, and then into the parking lot out front where the transition was set up. Then biked and ran up and down the beach streets. So I hadn't actually seen the water until I walked through the restaurant.
As a side note, I've spent my share of time in open water. I grew up on the coast in SW Florida, spent every summer snorkeling and diving in the keys, and since joining the Coast Guard almost 10 years ago, I've swam in all types of water and weather, some for pleasure, some not. But all that went out the window Saturday. I tried to imagine what an open water swim in the Gulf would be like, and after reading a lot of race reports on here, I thought I knew. Ha! There was 4 foot surf, current, and it was just plain NASTY! The course was rectangular: out, across, and then back in. It really didn't look all that long. But the first turn was out past the breakers, it was obviously going to be a chore just to get to the first bouy. Alot of people were just sitting out there watching the surf. There was 2 jetskis for safety. TWO! There was over 150 competitors. So needless to say, I "shit a brick" after seeing what I was going to have to swim through. Did I mention this was my first OWS?