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 Swim
Comments: This hammered home how little I had done in the pool. The first two lengths were fine, my breathing was good and I didn't feel panicked......but then I panicked and got into a race!! Went out far too hard and far too fast to the point of having to stop at each end from length 5 onwards to catch my breath and get through the next length!! What would you do differently?: Use a lot more self control and do a lot of training. Getting carried away and going too hard ruined my breathing and probably added several needless seconds.  Transition 1
Comments: Surprisingly T1 went very well. There was a 75 metre run from the pool, around the leisure centre to the transition area. I took more time than I had too because of my breathing rate being far too high for my liking. I'm asthmatic so I planned to use my inhaler here anyway but I took my time because I knew it was needed. What would you do differently?: Nothing too drastic. I wasn't fumbling with my helmet straps, my glasses went on fine and there was no drama.  Bike
Comments: Definitely my weak point. Of the 71 riders that finished above me overall only two were slower on the bike section. My cornering let me down on the two turnaround points, I had to slow right down because I was losing my back wheel on every turn. In hindsight I didn't have my tire pressures high enough for the conditions. What would you do differently?: I need to spend more time on the bike. I can see this continuing to be my downfall until i'm comfortable riding high gears at 80-90rpm consistently. Transition 2
Comments: Brilliant. I could not have been happier with T2. I got passed late in the bike leg by three guys and I was out of T2 and onto the run before all of them. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Everything went exactly as it should.  Run
Comments: CRAMP!!! Instantly cramped in my left calf as I got my shoes on so I spent the start of the run trying to stop that from setting in. Turned out to be impossible so I had to modify my foot strike which definitely slowed me down. What would you do differently?: Try to not cramp either by hydrating more or stretching more. I still think more training is going to be helpful as would some standard stretching routine even when i'm not training just to keep the muscles loose and relaxed. Post race
Warm down: Foot-long meatball from Subway......that's cool right?!?! What limited your ability to perform faster: My underwhelming lack of bike training definitely stopped me getting under my target of 1 hour. I think I could have had a chance of doing it if I hadn't cramped on the run. Event comments: For my first race I don't think I could have chosen better. Brilliantly organised and a great location/course meant I could enjoy my first triathlon experience. Last updated: 2012-09-10 12:00 AM
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United Kingdom
Active Outdoor Sport
22C / 72F
Sunny
Overall Rank = 72/120
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Travelled up to Yarmouth the day before the race and stayed in a B+B so that I wouldn't have to get up at 3am to make my start time. Luckily i'm pretty familiar with the race route (both the cycle and run are basically out and backs along the seafront). I had already decided on my nutrition plan and had pre meal meals with me but made sure I was fully "carbed up" by having a good pasta meal at about 8pm.
On the day of the race I was up at 6am and made my way down to registration which was no more than a 5 minute walk away in the Leisure Centre on the seafront. There was probably only ten other people in transition getting set-up as I registered which was handy because it meant I could ask all those panic induced questioned associated with doing your first triathlon. I got my transition set-up pretty quickly (about 15 minutes) considering my inexperience and had plenty of room thanks to some people not showing up for the race.
Once I was happy with the entry and exit points I went for a quick jog (about 800 metres) along the run course just to familiarise myself and then settled in to watch the start of the swim leg. I had about 90 minutes until my start time so I made sure I kept warm and kept loose and stretched every 20 minutes.