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Tradition's Triathlon
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Tradition's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint
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 Swim
Comments: Wow... I have never been in a washing machine swim like this. Pretty much some form of contact the whole way and I'm really not sure why. My plan was to stay a bit wide around the bouys because I knew they would get crammed. As it ended up I cut right next to the bouys because everything was crammed. There were clumps of people who were just breast stroking, backstroking or looking around. I had to change direction several times to go around them, on top of getting grabbed by the ankles and bumped into. The return leg was right into the sun, and with the little bit of fog that had formed in my goggles I was totally blind. I tried to look up every breath, but just saw glare. Finally the last 100 or so yards the traffic cleared a bit. I didn't kick much the whole swim because I just didn't want to kick anyone in the face, I constantly had someone hitting my toes. Overall I'm happy with this swim though, I mean, first in the age group isn't too terrible. I was so focused on not bumping into people that my form went to heck. What would you do differently?: I really don't know. I feel good about how I performed given the amount of contact. I would man up and kick harder, if people want to ride my feet they will just have to risk getting kicked.  Transition 1
Comments: My hands were cold, my brain was cold and I couldn't really think. The short run up to transition is on a sidewalk, so that is good, but I got behind two people REALLY taking their time, so I had to walk... slowly. I pulled my hat, goggles and ear plugs off immediately and shoved everything in the hat, then pulled my suit down to my waist. Once at the bike the suit came off easily, but I fumbled with putting on socks and had to move the bikes next to me to get mine out, since it was swaying in the wind and had almost tangled itself with theirs. I put my shoes on then jogged to the mount line with the bike. Quick hop on and it was time to go. What would you do differently?: A little more urgency. Go around the slow people, get shoes that don't give me blisters if I wear them without socks.  Bike
Comments: So I was totally ready for the bike. I've been biking a lot, and have been getting some good pace. I have not, however, been working on hills much. And it kinda showed. I started off good, but almost immediately started feeling weak. I think it was still a bit of the "hang over" from the night before. I knew this was going to be a survival thing. I just put it in a gear that felt good and spun my way around. There were two really big hills, and I actually kinda caught up with people on them... how I do that I don't know. There was one stretch that I swear was a slight downhill, I was pedaling and felt like I was only going 10mph. I thought I was losing my mind until I looked and the people ahead of me weren't pulling away, so it must have been the wind or something... I don't know. I took a small swig of hammer gel and some water to give me a boost, and it kinda worked. I was so glad to see the dismount line though. What would you do differently?: Practice more hills, eat a better breakfast, and take my feet out of the shoes for the dismount. Transition 2
Comments: I walked my bike in since I still had on the shoes. One guy next to me had racked his bike right over my stuff. Seriously people? Have some courtesy, we aren't fighting for Kona slots here, move your bike over 4 inches so I can get mine in. Anyway, I slide his bike over and racked mine. Off with the bike shoes, on with the running shoes, grabbed hat and shades and took off out of transition. I was halfway to the exit when I realized the shades I grabbed weren't mine, oh well... they were going to be mine for the next 3.1 miles. What would you do differently?: Take my shoes off before the dismount, not be so slow on the bike that everyone else on my rack is back before me.  Run
Comments: Ah the run... my nemesis. I took off and couldn't feel my feet... like... at all. At this point that may have been a good thing, they could have been hurting. I plodded along at a consciously slow pace because I knew the course was pretty hilly and I didn't want to implode. I actually passed people. The awesome thing is, I felt like I was going SUPER slow, but my first mile was a 10:09. Best ever in a triathlon. WOOO! And that was up a stupid steep mega gravel hill. Ok, so to most people it wasn't steep, but I run on dead flat terrain most of the time. I quickened my cadence and just stomped my way to the top. Second mile was a 10:06, and that was up two long inclines. Not really hills, but just inclines. Third mile clicked off at 9:49. Heck yes! That mile included a long downhill, then an uphill trail and part of the final big hill. Turned the corner and there was the finish line in all it's glory! Yay! What would you do differently?: Run faster fatty! Actually, I feel like I did well considering I was still weak feeling from the bike, and it's still the best run I have ever had in tri. I just need more work on the run, more hills, more running, some tempo stuff, and confidence. Post race
Warm down: I grabbed a powerade and a water and walked around. I wasn't feeling all that great and kinda just wanted to go home. I sat on the curb and waited for my friend to finish. She killed the run in 23:50. Geez. After she finished I gathered my stuff in transition, left my borrowed sunglasses laying under the bike next to mine. I hung around for a few, but headed home before the awards ceremony, not knowing I had placed 2nd in the age group. So now I have to drive back down to Gulfport to get my award at some point. HA! What limited your ability to perform faster: Confidence. I never feel confident in my ability to do anything. It's something I need to work on. I need to be able to just lay it all out there. I could have pushed a bit more in all 3 sports, but just didn't have confidence in my speed. It would have also helped had I not had multiple panic attacks the night before and gotten some sleep, but I don't think that was the end all. Event comments: This is a great little race. My only beef is the shirts are NEON ORANGE. Like... NEON. I guess they wanted them to stand out, and they do. Other than that, the swag bag is awesome, lots of samples, a pair of socks, and a water bottle. The course is well laid out, well marked with volunteers at every turn, transition is large and secure and the registration and packet pickup is organized. Overall I would recommend this race to anyone. Post race food is good too, fruit, bars, waffle house, raising canes chicken fingers, snow cones and beer. Last updated: 2013-04-10 12:00 AM
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 2013-04-10 2:44 PM |
Veteran  444  |  Subject: Tradition's Triathlon |
| General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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United States
Run-N-Tri Company
70F / 21C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 160/248
Age Group = F 30-34
Age Group Rank = 2/10
So I went into this race having not actually completed a triathlon in a year and a half or more. My race calendar last year was horrible, with a DNF at New Orleans, then a DNS at Gator Bait, Mighty Magnolia and Oilman Texas. Despite all of that, I was jazzed for this race. I drove down to a cousin's house in Gulfport Friday afternoon, stopping by the site for a little look at the lake and transition area. Friday night I had a good supper of baked chicken, potatoes and green beans, baked bread and pound cake with strawberries. YUM! Everything was going good, decided to hit the bed about 9:30 and that's when all heck broke loose. I started having panic attacks, one right after the other. I couldn't stop shaking and had to focus my breathing so I didn't hyperventilate. It feels like a heart attack, and that went on for over an hour. Once I did calm down I couldn't sleep. I got maybe 3 hours of sleep that night. I woke up feeling a bit "hung over" from the attacks and lack of sleep, but readied myself and grabbed some bagels to munch on for breakfast. I arrived at the site just after 6:00 and gathered up all of my stuff for transition setup. The racks were so high that my front wheel was 4 inches off the ground when I hung the bike by the seat. Hehe. Shorty me. Once I was satisfied with my spot I set off to find some friends who were doing their first tri.
I walked around and nibbled my bagels for a while, then they called the 30 minute warning for transition to close. I wiggled and squirmed into my wetsuit, only to realize my shorts were still on... DOH! So off the suit came, shorts off, suit back on. Yep, I'm warm now. The suit felt a bit constricting around my neck, wasn't sure if that was going to affect me on the swim or not. With 40 minutes to go to the start I waded into the water. I know... super early. I didn't realize it was that early, and I had to pee. AAAAHHH... warmth, then the pee washed out of the suit and it was COLD. Like... C O L D. I stood around for a few minutes, burying my feet in the warm mud on the bottom. Finally I decided to take a short swim, as soon as my face hit the water I couldn't breathe. Wow, that's brisk baby! I doggy paddled until I got used to the cold water, then took off swimming. Once I was used to it I was ok. They called us out of the water to line up, then we all started TT style, 3 seconds apart. Fist bump from the race director and I was off!