login
 Swim
Comments: The swim was nerve wracking. I was less bothered by all the limbs flailing than I thought I would be, I just struggled to navigate. I found myself in the middle area past the buoys several times. I also could not get in a rhythm. In the pool I would breathe every four strokes. Here when I did that, I felt out of breath and off course. I had to sight every time I breathed which was very uncomfortable. So I switched to breathing every 2 strokes and sighting every other breath. This eventually worked for me, especially the second lap, although my form suffered greatly with all of my thoughts about navigation. Overall I felt good exiting the water which was my goal. I saw my family and put my game face on, heading toward the transition. What would you do differently?: I needed to train more in open water. I only swam in a lake once this year and oddly enough I had the same navigation problems in my race that I did in the other lake. This did end up being my best leg of the race though as far as overall placement.  Transition 1
Comments: I walked and slowly jogged to the transition area and took my time, getting ready for the bike. I didn't want to have to come back to get my helmet or my clif shot bloks. I was slow and relaxed which was the plan. What would you do differently?: Next time I'm going to try having my shoes on the bike, but I for this first race I wouldn't have changed anything.  Bike
Comments: I was very surprised that my worst event, as far as ranking, was the bike. I felt most comfortable on the bike. I past a good number of people going up the big hill the first time. However after the hill I made a conscious effort to take it easy on the second lap tp make sure I could get up the hill again. Four of the people I passed the first time, were walking their bikes up the hill. My second time went better than the first, but I was still really slow overall I guess. I felt good, I'm just slow. What would you do differently?: I would not have picked up a water bottle at the top of the second hill. I had no place to put it and the road was very rough. I gulped a bunch of it down (even though I had been hydrating all along) and it gave me a terrible stomach cramp in the first 4 miles of the run. Transition 2
Comments: I was very slow on this transition. Again I tried to take my time, but i still made mistakes. I pulled on my shoes, tied one of them and realized that my superfeet were in my bike shoes. So then I untied the shoe took them off, moved my insoles put them on again. Then I started to run off and realized I forgot my sports drink that I planned to carry with me. So I turned around grabbed it and started to jog out of the transition area. That's when I felt all the water I had just gulped on the bike sloshing around in my stomach, giving me a terrible cramp. What would you do differently?: Have insoles for my bike shoes that are separate from my running shoes. Have my bottle out of my bag.  Run
Comments: The run was nice because of it being an out and back I got to see and try to encourage more racers. I love the atmosphere. Although I was among the final people to finish the race, I was so encouraged by everyone who passed me by. Despite my cramping, I felt good on the run for the first 5 miles. The last mile was hard. It just seemed to take forever. I kept assuming I was almost there and I wasn't. Finally I made it to the finish and opened up for a final sprint. I felt great, although from the pictures you wouldn't think so. What would you do differently?: The only thing I would do differently on the run is, not be so overweight. I could stand to drop 35 pounds and it was obvious on the run. I was slow and steady, with an emphasis on the slow. Post race
Warm down: It was a wonderful celebration with my family and friends. I hugged my little boy and my wife, and felt so proud to have finally accomplished this task. Although this will not be a once in a lifetime experience. I loved it and will be coming back to do more races in the future. What limited your ability to perform faster: Weight, technique and experience Event comments: You BT people helped me more than you know. Although I don't post a lot, I read so many posts helping me navigate many triathlon issues and you guys did solve my foot problems on the bike. It's so nice to have you all as my teammates. I've never been in a sport where I have so many teammates and no opposition. Profile Album Last updated: 2008-05-12 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
SAW Sports Productions
Overcast
Overall Rank = 107/111
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 8/9
We camped at Lake Perris on Friday night. I hardly slept at all with the anxiety of my first triathlon looming and the precarious position of the bed I was sleeping in that kept my nose about 6 inches away from the ceiling of the motorhome. If I rolled over in the night I would have plummeted 5 feet down to injury on top of my wife and 3 year old son. I have signed up for two other triathlons in the last two years, paid my money and then had an unexpected injury that kept me from even showing up to the starting line. I wasn't gonna let that happen again. I woke up at 5 am, ate a bagel, some peanuts and a handful of raisins with a couple cups of water, then my friend Tim and I walked down to set up our transition areas. I was nervous because my last 4 weeks of training had been my least consistent of the year. I hadn't swum in several weeks and I hadn't ridden my bike in a couple weeks. Then I saw the other racers. Lean, fit people with expensive bikes and aero helmets. Also I realized I had left my bike pump at home. Luckily these very fit people are also very kind and I was able to borrow a pump and ask people what to do with all the different numbers I had received.
All I did to warm up was jog to the bathroom and back.