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Akron International Triathlon - TriathlonSprint


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Akron, Ohio
United States
HFP Racing
58F / 14C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 23m 21s
Overall Rank = 87/216
Age Group = Male 25-29
Age Group Rank = 7/15
Pre-race routine:

Woke up to my 2 alarms going off in a hotel. Nuked some oatmeal, added yummy toppings, and showered. Met my dad and we went to the site. So cold...toes numb. Why didn't I bring a sweatshirt? I started questioning why I was doing this. Everywhere around me, bikes were nicer, muscles were bigger. I was seeing equipment I didn't even no existed. I heard someone ask their friend, "Accelerade or Gatorade." These people actually know enough about the difference to know which is best pre-race. Thank God my dad is there. My heart couldn't have handled this alone.
Event warmup:

Dad and I did a quick jog around parking lot. There was clearly no way to calm my jitters. God I was nervous. Went over trans area like 50 times. Ate a Clif Bar, my new favorite energy bar.
Swim
  • 15m 30s
  • 820 yards
  • 01m 53s / 100 yards
Comments:

Beach start? I've never practiced a beach start. Oh well, I'll stand near the back so I don't get killed by the real triathletes. When they said "GO!", I realized I was standing with Wave 2. I had to dart through people to catch up with Wave 1 and get in the water. I've read everyone's reports about sardines thrashing, so I was prepared to see an insane amount of kicking and hitting. I was surprised to see how long it took until it smoothed out and I could actually start swimming. I remembered to burp (I have a habit of swallowing air). Swimming into the sun sucks. I started passing people, which made me feel good. I found "the zone", and I remember thinking clearly for the first time that morning that this was cool. I was happy.

About 2/3 of the way through the swim, I thought we were all supposed to turn at a certain buoy. Nobody turned. I stuck my head out, and everyone kept swimming straight. I followed them, but I remember thinking that I must be on the international distance route. Who can swim this much, and then do 2 other legs? I ignored self doubt, and swam hard.
What would you do differently?:

Actually, I feel really good about the swim leg. Dare I say I wouldn't change much? Maybe I would start closer to the front of the pack.
Transition 1
  • 01m 54s
Comments:

Coming out of the ater was a blur. I followed someone up the hill to T1 and did everything he did. Got to my bike, and I saw a lot of other bikes on my rack - a good sign. I put on my helmet before my shirt. Yikes! Luckily, my shirt stretched to fit over. For some reason I paused to take a drink of water from foot-cleaning bottle instead of waiting to drink from the bottle on my bike. Oh well. I shoved an unopened GU in my mouth to eat on the ride. I've never tried it before, but I decided it would be a good idea.
What would you do differently?:

Not try to take a drink while in T1 - wait until on the bike. Don't put on helmet until after shirt. Practice more with race belt - it was my first time, and it cost me seconds.
Bike
  • 40m 25s
  • 12.43 miles
  • 18.45 mile/hr
Comments:

The bike was very hard. My muscles hurt a lot. The hills were harder than when I practiced them a few weeks before. The major hill almost made me cry. I was just so desparate not to walk my bike up the hill.

The GU was too difficult to try to eat. I decided the best place for it would be just inside my tri shorts. Dumb - moving legs caused it to travel south. Those GUs have 4 pointy corners, making certain residents of my tri shorts unhappy. Moved it to the bike wedge. The ClifBar felt uncomfortable as well - I think nerves were cauing it to attempt to come back up.

I had incredible amounts of self-doubt while biking. I couldn't get negative thoughts out of my head. Why am I doing this? I'm not an athlete. This sprint is too hard - how could I dream of doing an Olympic? Why can't I go faster on hills? Shouldn't downhill be quicker? These people that are passing me are older than me. Who am I kidding? The thoughts were so strong, so powerful - they really did almost finish me off. It took everything in me just to keep pumping my legs. When I tried to talk about it after, it just made me cry. I've never felt so much self-doubt in my life. It was as if everything negative in my life was right there, riding with me. All the kids that ever made fun of me for sucking at sports. All the gym teachers that didn't care enough to try to help me when I struggled. The baseball coach that made fun of my .000 batting average when I was 7. The soccer coach that would never let me play. All of it - all the voices, all the memories - they all conspired to try to knock me off my bike. My training didn't matter. My improvements didn't matter. All that mattered was that I was doing something I wasn't good enough for, something I didn't fit in doing.

As I neared the transition area, I looked at my time. I had shaved off minutes. I cried. I had improved, even though I felt like I just finished the worst ride of my life. Somehow, maybe I didn't suck at everything. I screamed, "I'm awesome" twice, while pointing at myself when I went by my family. Later, they told me they thought I was telling them I lost a contact. Oh well!
What would you do differently?:

I need to combat my internal conflicts. I need to find a way to understand my body better so that I can predict how I will feel on a hard bike course. I need to work on my curves.
Transition 2
  • 00m 37s
Comments:

This transition was easy, and I expected it to be. My legs actually felt better than I thought they would while running in the trans area. I was so ecstatic about my bike time.
What would you do differently?:

I would like to practice dismounting my bike. Other than that, I rule.
Run
  • 26m 39s
  • 3.11 miles
  • 08m 34s  min/mile
Comments:

My legs felt great. I was shocked. I hadn't done a real brick in weeks, but I still felt good. I felt slow at times and fast at times. After the first mile, I was pretty sure I was almost done. When I saw the Mile 1 sign, I was shocked that it had only been a mile. I pushed up the slight hill for mile 2. People were running back to the finish, which didn't help the self-doubt. My left foot started hurting about half way through from an injury I need to get diagnosed. I pushed through, and running through the finish line was a blur.
What would you do differently?:

I'm rating this as average, but I'm not sure what I would change.
Post race
Warm down:

Cried, drank water.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Self doubt.

Event comments:

HFP did a very nice job.




Last updated: 2005-07-25 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:15:30 | 820 yards | 01m 53s / 100yards
Age Group: 5/15
Overall: 59/216
Performance: Good
Suit: Wetsuit (Orca?)
Course: Rectangular, first leg swimming into the sun.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 76F / 24C Current: Low
200M Perf. Average Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Navigation: Good
Rounding: Good
T1
Time: 01:54
Performance: Average
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
No
Wetsuit stuck? Yes Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Good
Biking
00:40:25 | 12.43 miles | 18.45 mile/hr
Age Group: 8/15
Overall: 107/216
Performance: Average
Wind: Little
Course: The first half was incredibly hilly. Mile 6 features the biggest, steepest hill I've ever done.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:37
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Below average
Running with bike Good
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:26:39 | 03.11 miles | 08m 34s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/15
Overall: 110/216
Performance: Average
Course: Mile 1 was shaded and beautiful. Mile 2 was up a gentle grade. Mile 3 was back down the same grade.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2005-09-12 10:48 AM

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Subject: Akron International Triathlon


2005-09-12 4:39 PM
in reply to: #244777

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Extreme Veteran
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Centennial, CO
Subject: RE: Akron International Triathlon
Congrats!!!! You are a triathlete. I can feel the pain of your childhood in your race report - but you've made a huge step in battling those demons. You are awesome....you did it....and YOU ROCKED. Your times were awesome!!!!

Carrie
2005-09-13 6:46 AM
in reply to: #244777

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Master
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Savannah,
Subject: RE: Akron International Triathlon
Great race! Congratulations.
2005-09-13 7:34 AM
in reply to: #244777

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Elite
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Subject: RE: Akron International Triathlon

Great job!  Great race report.  Looking at your times I think you should be very proud. 

Remember that Triathlon is a race against yourself, not others. 

Keep racing!

-Michael

2005-09-13 11:23 AM
in reply to: #244777

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Champion
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Whizzzzzlandia
Silver member
Subject: RE: Akron International Triathlon
WOW! You've got no reason to be filled with self doubt... I DOUBT I could ever aspire to that run pace... ever. After 3 years of training I'm still @ 12 minute miles! YOU OBVIOUSLY ROCK! And don't let ANYONE, least of all yourself, convince you otherwise... A great swim/bike performance as well... You should be very very proud of yourself. Nice job. Whizzzzzzzzzz
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