A Tri-ing experience

On Sunday, July 5th, I participated in my first ever triathlon and 2nd ever multi sport event. I felt pretty confident going into the event because my training has been going so well. I knew the bike and run wouldn't be a problem and I thought that as long as I focused on what i did in the pool, the swim wouldn't be so bad.

I woke at about 4:30 AM and grabbed some toast, a banana, and a cup of coffee. The race didn't start until 8:00 AM but I wanted to make sure I arrived as early as possible to make sure I wasn't rushed and adding any more pressure. I had loaded the gear bag the night before so all that was left was to put the bike on the car and hit the road. When I went outside, it was already misting. Hey... I was going to get wet eventually. I arrived in Decatur about 6:20 with plenty of time to spare.

I found the packet pick-up and proceeded to get all the "goodies". The race shirt is pretty awesome. We also received a water bottle coutesy of Spin City Cycles, and some kind of holder courtesy of ADM along with some other products from Hammer.

After unloading the car, I headed to the transition area where it was set up by color. I was green and right behind the blue (elite/pros which meant we would enter the water 2nd. I set up my transition area, chit-chatted with Jason and was getting the bike in the correct gear for the first hill just after exiting the transition. No warm-up due to pre-race meeting.

The swim waves went off in 3:00 minute increments with the elite/pros going off first. I was getting more and more nervous as the time went down. 5....4....3....2....1, we were off. The water was a bit chilly at 74. I hit the water and immediately froze up. Between the cold water, waves, nerves, etc. I gasped for every breathe that I could get a hold of. I struggled for the whole .7 mile swim just hanging on for dear life. I was breast stroking, side stroking, back stoking, HLSS. I was doing anything and everything to just make it through the swim. One bouy at a time. I felt like I had never swam a day in my life and I think I am a descent swimmer. All I have to say is Practice, Practice, Practice open water swimming. I did manage maybe 5 descent freestyle strokes the whole swim. I exited the water in 33:06.8 and in 207th place. OUCH!!! At this point, it was all about finishing the last 2 events strong and having fun.

I've learned that you don't necessarily need to be a good swimmer if you are a good biker and runner. Running is my strength and I should do descent on the bike even though I only have a road bike. The other place to make up time is the transition area (T1 & T2).

As I approached T1, I went over what I needed to do. Take your swim cap and googles off, put your sunglasses on, helmet, and shoes (no socks). Grab bike and go. I was out in 1:05.8. I had the 69th best T1 and my position after T1 was now 192. Picked up 15 spots.

Exiting the transition on the bike went smoothe. There was a BIG hill once you hopped on the bike so you needed to make sure you were in the right gear. I was and made it up pretty easy. Jason passed me somewhere in the first couple miles of the bike and that would be the last I would see of him. The bike was 19 miles on rolling terrain. The first 4-5 miles were pretty hilly. We had a head/cross wind on the way out so I knew I couldn't push it too hard. It seemed like I was passing people left and right. We hit the turn around and it was time to get down to business. I dropped a couple of gears and rode the wind home passing even more people. We hit the same hills as when we went out so it was a tough finish. I hopped off the bike at the dismount line. My bike time was 59:15.5, 100th best, and my position after the bike was 152. Another 40 spots picked up.

T2 was pretty slow. The bike rack and shifted and I couldn't get my bike under the rack. I also didn't have any "good" laces so I had to tie my shoes and put on socks. (I need some Zoots). I also needed to grab a GU that was in my bag. So far, I need to work on my open water swim and T2. I'll get the hang of these darn things. I lost 3 positions while in T2 with the 199th slowest T2.

I WAS ready for the run. I stopped at water stop #1, took my GU and drank. I was off. My legs felt pretty good but were a bit heavy. The run was 4.5 miles and I think they finally started feeling descent about .75 miles in or about the time Tracy D. went flying by me. I thought about staying with her but I didn't want to kill myself. I wanted to run my race, finish strong, and wanting more. The first 2 miles of the run was for the most part up hill which meant the 2nd half would be fast. As with the bike, when I finally hit the turn around I picked it up a bit. I felt myself getting stringer and stronger until we hit the final downhill before th finish. I spotted one guy that I thought I could pass. I hit the speed button and started an all-out sprint. The crowd was roaring as I got closer and closer to passing the guy but he must of felt the pressure and kicked it up a notch also. I finished right behind him. My run time was 34:09.8. 75th fastest run and I picked up 26 positions from T2.

My first triathlon was a treat but when you swim like I did, it can only get better in the future and the rest of the race. I was pleased with the way I held things together and finished. I finished wanting more... but only after a practice a bit in the open water. I'm looking forward to the Sprint here in Springfield in a few weeks. That's only a 500 yard swim if I have the same experience in the water.