Xterra Wetsuits Spring Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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San Diego, California
United States
Koz Enterprises
70F / 21C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 36m 9s
Overall Rank = 586/600
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 44/44
Pre-race routine:

My pre-race began the day before, since I drove down to spend the night in San Diego. (Didn't want to have to wake up at 3 am and drive down on race day.) Stayed at The Dana, an upscale motel right on Mission Bay, and very close to the race site. Stopped by the race site and checked out the swim course. They already had the buoys in place. I have to say, I felt nervous, but I also felt like I could do it, which calmed me down a bit. Once I got to the motel, I had planned to practice my transitions and then clean my bike and chain. Well, I got thru the transitions, but never got around to cleaning the bike or chain, LOL.

Tried to go to sleep around 10 pm, but was not very tired. Also, I was an unfortunate audience to a couple in the room next door who were very eager for each other's company. It was too funny for me to be that upset by it, LOL. Besides, it didn't keep up for very long... ;)

Woke up at 5 am, got dressed and had two WW english muffins with peanut butter. No coffee this time, since my nerves pretty much made any caffeine unnecessary.
Event warmup:

Met up with Mike, Kelly, Matt, and Sherri at the race site. Set up my transition area, and walked down with the others to the boat launch. The water seemed pretty warm surprisingly. After yakking amongst ourselves, Matt and Mike headed back to the t-zone, and I decided to wait in line for the bathroom. Ended up taking forever, so much so that I was afraid I'd miss my swim wave. Threw on my wetsuit and gingerly walked over the scrappy concrete down to the boat-launch for the swim. It was a floating start, but just off shore. I got quite anxious as I floated there, and felt a panic attack coming on, but managed to calm my nerves by breathing slowly with my stomach, and relaxing my facial muscles.
Swim
  • 14m 8s
  • 437 yards
  • 03m 14s / 100 yards
Comments:

Could see the seaweed below me most of the way, and dozens of small jellyfish. Overheard someone say they weren't dangerous at all, but I avoided them all the same. Managed to swallow some seawater which made me gag a bit. I really only had to stop to catch my breath about 3 times I think, and then the swim was over. I had done it!! I knew that if I survived the swim, I would be able to finish.

Felt dizzy standing up after the swim and walked up the ramp -- no way could I run. Plus the concrete and ashpalt really hurt my bare feet. No one else seemed bothered by it, though, so no doubt I just need to HTFU and build up some callouses.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing really. I was extremely nervous about doing this OWS, so I'm glad it went as well as it did.
Transition 1
  • 05m
Comments:

This being my first ever T1, I just wanted to make sure I got everything covered. Was tough peeling the wetsuit off my ankles and feet, had to sit on my butt. No probs getting my shirt on, or socks on, though, or bike shoes and helmet.
What would you do differently?:

Just get more efficient at everything. Maybe using body glide would help me get the wetsuit off faster?
Bike
  • 34m 15s
  • 9 miles
  • 15.77 mile/hr
Comments:

I didn't push super hard on the bike, since I knew I still had the 5k run. That said, I wish I had HR data, since I suspect I was in Z4 much of the time. I only passed one or two people, but got passed numerous times.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, I was happy with the bike leg.
Transition 2
  • 05m
Comments:

Again, just wanted to make sure I covered it all, so I wasn't in a hurry. Really not much to do in T2 -- take off the helmet, and put on running shoes.
Run
  • 37m 46s
  • 3 miles
  • 12m 35s  min/mile
Comments:

Ok, the run is where I was most disappointed in myself. I knew I wouldn't be able to run the whole distance, but I was hoping to at least come close to my effort at the last 5K I did. That just wasn't to be. First off, I hadn't practiced any bricks recently, and my calves were very tight and crampy after the bike leg. They just did NOT want to run, LOL. And I just felt winded and couldn't keep a run going for more than a couple minutes before I had to walk. It also didn't help that I was one of the last ones out on the course. I watched the truck go by with race assistants picking up the traffic cones. And two darling little girls by the water station offered me some freshly plucked dandelions as I trudged by, since they thought I was the last runner. Bittersweet.
What would you do differently?:

Well, run, to put it bluntly.
Post race
Warm down:

Just walked and caught my breath and then found the rest of the gang, who had cheered me on at the finish line. Stopped by the sponsor's booth to pick up my goodie bag, since I didn't pick it up on Saturday.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I've thought a lot about this, and really the run is the only thing I'm disappointed with. The swim I was just really happy to get through at all, and I actually did better there than I thought I would. And the bike is exactly what I expected it to be. But the run overshadowed both of those since I just couldn't do it. After a year of trying to become a runner (though admittedly, not always with sustained commitment), it's just really frustrating to still be where I'm at.

Event comments:

Even though I'm upset by the run, overall I'm very pleased with this race. Why? Well, for one simple reason -- if you had told me a year and a half ago that I'd be completing a triathlon, I'd have asked you to get your head examined. So to have come this far is really wonderful, and I'm quite proud of it. I've met so many cool people through this new hobby, and I'm so grateful. It's helped me adopt a much more positive outlook on life than what I had before.

And as for the running.... well, I've decided to focus my efforts on just that, or mostly that, over the next few months. Jogging twice a week just isn't enough volume for me to improve. So I intend to get out at least 4 times per week and try to work through this hurdle -- a hurdle which is probably as much mental as it is physical, perhaps even more so.


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Last updated: 2007-08-01 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:14:08 | 437 yards | 03m 14s / 100yards
Age Group: 0/44
Overall: 0/600
Performance: Good
Suit: full wetsuit
Course: The swim was a simple rectangle of 440 yards, so not as long as a typical sprint distance swim. That was quite fine by me.
Start type: Wade Plus:
Water temp: 0F / 0C Current:
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Average
Breathing: Average Drafting:
Waves: Navigation: Average
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 05:00
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Average Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed:
Biking
00:34:15 | 09 miles | 15.77 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/44
Overall: 0/600
Performance: Good
Wind: Headwind
Course: The course started from the transition area at South Shores Park, and headed over to Fiesta Island. There, it did one loop around the whole island, followed by another loop that cut through the middle. The return side of the island had a nasty headwind, but other than that, the ride was flat and nice.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Good Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Good Hills:
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 05:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike
Running with bike
Racking bike
Shoe and helmet removal Average
Running
00:37:46 | 03 miles | 12m 35s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/44
Overall: 0/600
Performance:
Course: The course was just two loops around the perimeter of South Shores Park. They said that some of it would be on packed dirt, so I was surprised and chagrined to discover that a sizable stretch was actually sand. It's *really* hard to run in sand, especially when you're already fatigued.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4