Sorry it took me so long to get this up here.
Sat Afternoon I packed up all my "race junk", that's how my wife and I refer to the equipment I have spent all of our money on. I loaded it all into the van broke the bike down and took out the back seat. Not in that order. We packed an overnight bag and all the stuff for a new baby and took off. Despite speeding all the way up the drive took a lot longer then I thought it should, and in hindsight I cant explain why cause the drive home didn't take nearly as long.
We arrived at the lake at about 5 pm. Lots of people milling about but I found my way to the registration table and got my race packet picked up. Unpacked my gear and got my bike tagged and headed over to transition. Transition area looked 1/2 filled with bikes. I found a nearly empty rack and picked and outside edge. I then realized they were going to shove 7 bikes on each rack. these racks were not big enough to do that. Uggh! I knew in the morning my bike was going to be crammed in hard. I did what I could and put a garbage bag on my seat and handle bars and taped 2x GU packs to my repair kit bag I was not going to risk not having a GU pack because of clumsy hands or improperly secured nutrition again. Stepped back and surveyed what was sure to be a mess in the morning. I walked to the boat ramp and looked out across the lake. I smiled to myself and in my head I thought "Tomorrow I would be a triathlete". Then I looked at the posted water temp 63*. "Well maybe next year I can be a triathlete."
Wife and I talked with Amber the race director for a few minutes. She was getting ready to give a course talk which I was not sticking around for and she gave me a quick run down. Nothing special I didn't miss anything. We hopped back in the car and then went and drove the bike course. It was going to be a good day tomorrow. Nice bike course.
We headed over to the hotel and checked in then I made a crazy decision to eat pizza hut. Ya Ya Ya I know not necessarily the best idea. But man it was good I ate a half large Pan supreme with Jalapenos It was divine! I haven't had greasy pizza in a long time. I know it was really stupid It could have ruined my race, but I didn't! :)
Back at the Hotel I prepped all my gear for the morning. Fell asleep to the sound of my son crying.
Race Summary and Results
Well there you have it my first Official Triathlon completed. 1:45:40.7
Im somewhat confused to my finish time because when I actually crossed the line the time above the finish read like 1:41 or 1:42 or something similar. I was in the first wave of swimmers so Im not really sure how the time got off. I know I wasn't penalized. Meh whatever.
This graphic shows the comparison to the other guys in my AG Its pretty obvious where my weak issues are.
Things for next year
Lots of swim training
Improve my 5k time to as close to 25 min as possible
Pedals & Shoes
Potentially a Gearing upgrade
Lose 15-20 more pounds by spring
Race Day
OMGIC - OMG Its Cold! Wake up and WIN! I showered ate apples and peanut butter and drank crappy coffee.
Got dressed and loaded my cheering section into the car. I felt bleh! not great just OK. I was getting race butterflies big time. Im always astonished at pre-race traffic. Its was still dark and 100's of athletes are making there way to the same place while others dream about pancakes and sleeping in another hour. Ok I too was dreaming the same things. No place to park...Im going to end up walking a half mile to transition. I hope this doesn't count against my time. I grabbed all my stuff and started trekking to transition.
Really glad I covered my seat and handle bars. Super Dewy! There was an extra bike on our rack. Already crowded with 7 bikes somehow we got lucky and some awesome racer decided they could fit there bike on too. I set up my area and decided I needed a second shirt which I didn't bring. I ran back to the vehicle and grabbed the long sleeve technical shirt that came with my packet. Glad for that I needed it. I ran over and grabbed my timing chip and barely made it back into transition before it closed. I through my wet suit on and got ready for the waves to start.
Swim
Standing at the boat ramp a few of us ask about waves and no one really knows we keep getting told someone will tell us. No one told us and All AG Men and Clydes took off at the same wave. which is Ok but no one knew that so there was alot of confusion at the whistle people standing on the boat ramp as half the swimmers took off. Already nervous, blind, and not disorganized my swim start sucked!
As I waded out and dove in I literally felt my chest implode from the cold. I immediately begin to have problems. The water was so cold I couldn't keep my face down. Every time I tried it would take my breath away. It was horrible. For all the swimming I did It seemed to not help at all I shudder to think how I may have reacted with less practice. I was 200 yards out and began to panic... a combination of not being able to see not being able to breath and the cold caused me to freeze up and forget what I was doing. I almost lost it. I managed to get control and breath and I told myself. "IF you stop you will sink and you will drown." It was really the only thing that kept me going. I felt so heavy and so slow. People were passing me like crazy. I just kept stroking knowing that I would eventually hit the shore again. I was 100 yards from shore and I looked over and saw a kayak and thought momentarily about swimming over to it to rest but realized it was 50 yards to the kayak and only 100 to shore. What a waste...so I kept going. I'm glad I did I was only wimping out. I hit the boat ramp and really felt like crap as I took my first 4-5 steps out of the water. Then I kind of cleared my head and ran into transition. I'm glad that's over.
Official time: 16:07.7
Official time: 16:07.7
T1
I knew my swim time was slow but there were other green caps in transition with me and there were at least a handful of green caps coming out of the water still so I wasnt last. I shucked off my suit and got my cycling gear on. I knew my transitions was slow and I was really still trying to get my head clear from the swim. I didnt realize how slow until later. Wow time was standing still. Oh...I forgot to put on my Chest Strap for My HRM.
Official time: 5:01.2
Official time: 5:01.2
Bike
Running out to the mount line and I am off. Its a little chilly and the wind is not strong but makes the temperature feel worse then it is. I felt really good on my bike until about 6.5 miles. I took my GU and instantly became acutely aware that my right foot felt weird. Annoyingly weird. I could not get it out of my head. I couldn't figure it out. was it numb from my posture? Or Just really cold? I wasn't sure. As I was mentally wrapped up in this I lost concentration during a small hill climb and geared my bike to far and Derailed my freaking chain. I was really making good time too. I stepped off my bike and my right foot hit the ground and I couldn't tell I was standing on it. I think I was stopped for more then 2 minutes. I could not get the chain unjammed from the derailleur. I did finally manage to get it back on and then carefully pedaled up the remainder of the hill in a gear far to low. I crest the hill and there is the turn around at halfway. I try and make up time but my foot is jacked up. Im convinced its the cold now as no other parts of my body feel numb or anything. I must have gotten my sock wet. As far as performance goes I dont feel im doing too bad. I feel much better then Hickory Grove at halfway. I come out of the rolling hills and only have a few small hills left and all flat I decide to really crank and try and make up some lost time. The wind is not quite at my back but it is helping me a little. I pass few of the people who gained on me from the chain issue. I know Im still down. I make a turn as I'm approaching the intersections before heading back into the park and Im hit by a wall of wind. I'm only 2 miles from the finish and I approach this poor girl completely in arrow wearing almost nothing. A sports bra and some short Spandex Boy Shorts. As I passed her I told her I felt for her cause I know she was way cold. You could see how cold she was in her eyes. I later found out she swam in the same outfit no wetsuit. I hit the no pedal zone and preform a Perfect running dismount !!!
Official time: 52:45.2
Running out to the mount line and I am off. Its a little chilly and the wind is not strong but makes the temperature feel worse then it is. I felt really good on my bike until about 6.5 miles. I took my GU and instantly became acutely aware that my right foot felt weird. Annoyingly weird. I could not get it out of my head. I couldn't figure it out. was it numb from my posture? Or Just really cold? I wasn't sure. As I was mentally wrapped up in this I lost concentration during a small hill climb and geared my bike to far and Derailed my freaking chain. I was really making good time too. I stepped off my bike and my right foot hit the ground and I couldn't tell I was standing on it. I think I was stopped for more then 2 minutes. I could not get the chain unjammed from the derailleur. I did finally manage to get it back on and then carefully pedaled up the remainder of the hill in a gear far to low. I crest the hill and there is the turn around at halfway. I try and make up time but my foot is jacked up. Im convinced its the cold now as no other parts of my body feel numb or anything. I must have gotten my sock wet. As far as performance goes I dont feel im doing too bad. I feel much better then Hickory Grove at halfway. I come out of the rolling hills and only have a few small hills left and all flat I decide to really crank and try and make up some lost time. The wind is not quite at my back but it is helping me a little. I pass few of the people who gained on me from the chain issue. I know Im still down. I make a turn as I'm approaching the intersections before heading back into the park and Im hit by a wall of wind. I'm only 2 miles from the finish and I approach this poor girl completely in arrow wearing almost nothing. A sports bra and some short Spandex Boy Shorts. As I passed her I told her I felt for her cause I know she was way cold. You could see how cold she was in her eyes. I later found out she swam in the same outfit no wetsuit. I hit the no pedal zone and preform a Perfect running dismount !!!
Official time: 52:45.2
T2
What do I do in transition? Seriously I have no clue how I managed to burn almost 2 minutes in T2. I did have to move my Garmin from my bike to my wrist and I switched gloves and I grabbed a 2nd GU that I had to dig through my pack for OK I see BUT...I didn't have to switch shoes Or any clothes other then putting on a hat and gloves.
Official Time: 1:58.8
What do I do in transition? Seriously I have no clue how I managed to burn almost 2 minutes in T2. I did have to move my Garmin from my bike to my wrist and I switched gloves and I grabbed a 2nd GU that I had to dig through my pack for OK I see BUT...I didn't have to switch shoes Or any clothes other then putting on a hat and gloves.
Official Time: 1:58.8
Run
Do you know how hard it is to run with only one foot? Wow...My foot is jacked up! I was actually gimping along. Im really struggling to get my pace down while my foot doesnt seem to exist. The almost naked girls passes me. I realize the stupid feeling in my foot is all in my head and push it out and just focus on being smooth, light, and easy. I check my pace and breathing and try to get loose and stay focused. Finding my groove actually came pretty quickly. I felt however that I was struggling to maintain my pace. My foot was warming up and feeling was starting to come back. It was nice to see the groups along the way cheering people on and despite it only being 5K it seemed much shorter. I managed to keep my pace at 10 Min or faster the whole way which was a feat all its own. I have never until 4 days prior to this race ever done a sub 30 min 5K and it appeared as long as I could hold this pace I was going to pull this off in competition. My goal was to just keep pace and finish. I had put 2+ miles under my belt on the run when I began to realize my really was irritated. If it hadn't been cloudy and zero sun all day I would have guessed my neck was sunburned. Some girl had put a Lei around my neck and I thought Oh crap its causing the irritation so I pulled it off even though I only had it on for a few minutes. I just focused on hittign my pace and pushing out to the end.
As I come around the curve I see the crowd, and the cheering is louder, the finish line is right there and try and give it a really good speed boost but just dont have a lot left and only manage a real minor surge.
Official time: 29:49.8
Do you know how hard it is to run with only one foot? Wow...My foot is jacked up! I was actually gimping along. Im really struggling to get my pace down while my foot doesnt seem to exist. The almost naked girls passes me. I realize the stupid feeling in my foot is all in my head and push it out and just focus on being smooth, light, and easy. I check my pace and breathing and try to get loose and stay focused. Finding my groove actually came pretty quickly. I felt however that I was struggling to maintain my pace. My foot was warming up and feeling was starting to come back. It was nice to see the groups along the way cheering people on and despite it only being 5K it seemed much shorter. I managed to keep my pace at 10 Min or faster the whole way which was a feat all its own. I have never until 4 days prior to this race ever done a sub 30 min 5K and it appeared as long as I could hold this pace I was going to pull this off in competition. My goal was to just keep pace and finish. I had put 2+ miles under my belt on the run when I began to realize my really was irritated. If it hadn't been cloudy and zero sun all day I would have guessed my neck was sunburned. Some girl had put a Lei around my neck and I thought Oh crap its causing the irritation so I pulled it off even though I only had it on for a few minutes. I just focused on hittign my pace and pushing out to the end.
As I come around the curve I see the crowd, and the cheering is louder, the finish line is right there and try and give it a really good speed boost but just dont have a lot left and only manage a real minor surge.
Official time: 29:49.8
Race Summary and Results
Well there you have it my first Official Triathlon completed. 1:45:40.7
Im somewhat confused to my finish time because when I actually crossed the line the time above the finish read like 1:41 or 1:42 or something similar. I was in the first wave of swimmers so Im not really sure how the time got off. I know I wasn't penalized. Meh whatever.
This graphic shows the comparison to the other guys in my AG Its pretty obvious where my weak issues are.
Things for next year
Lots of swim training
Improve my 5k time to as close to 25 min as possible
Pedals & Shoes
Potentially a Gearing upgrade
Lose 15-20 more pounds by spring
