Hi Fellow Triathletes!I thought I would share my thoughts with you all from this past Sunday'srace.
First, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation and thanks to ourfearless leader Lloyd! I would not be a triathlete finisher todaywithout his always positive outlook, motivation, knowledge and quietencouragement [although not so quiet on race day! :)]. Oh yes, he has acow bell and he is not afraid to ring it!
Overall I will say the race was an amazing experience! I'll give you myrundown by sport. Just before you enter transition to rack your bikeand set up your things, you will probably be body marked. Don't put onsuncreen until after you are body marked and let it dry for a bit beforeyou do. We did get sun so suncreen is beneficial! (I didn't put any onmy face for fear it would sting in the water or while I sweated)
SWIM:After my first practice open water swim, this was the sport that I wasthe most anxious and nervous about. Race day did not prove to be muchdifferent for me from the practice swim. For me, open water is verydifferent from lap swimming in the pool. I think my difficulties aremental in nature and I can overcome them in the future. I would suggestjust practice, practice, practice! I did stay in the back, left-handcorner of our swim wave and that helped prevent me from getting knockedaround at the start. And, don't get discouraged if you see your fellowswim heat triathletes way up ahead as you keep at it in the water. Myswim heat wore flourescent pink caps and most of those caps got far infront of me.....and then most of the yellow caps passed me....and then afew orange caps also passed me. :) But, that's okay! Keep plugging awaybecause the finish line DOES come! Although I didn't need it, pleaseremember that the race allows you (our race did at least) to hang on tothe surfboard/kayaks along the race route if you need to rest. You justcan't move forward while hanging on. As Lloyd told us, don't try andsprint for the finish. Your legs will thank you when it's time to comeout of the water and run to transition. And swim until you can't swimany longer when you reach the finish because volunteers are there tohelp pull you up and get your land legs back.
TRANSITION 1:A lesson learned for me is to reduce my transition time. As wewitnessed the pros, the only thing they put on in transition was theirhelmet! Their bike shoes were already clipped onto their pedals and theyran with their bike barefoot to the bike mounting spot. Not sure howthey had the coordination to mount the bike and get into their shoes butthen again, that's why they are pros! If you can get the elastic lacesand locks for your shoes, that helped me out to not have to tie myshoes. If you can, bring something identifiable to tie to the end ofyour bike rack. It will help you to identify your row when you arerunning in from the swim. Someone in our row had brought an orangeconstruction vest to tie to our rack end. Others broughtballoons/flags.
BIKE:I thought the bike course was great! We did have a few small hills butit was mostly smooth. You may have a pre-race meeting where the USATrules on blocking and drafting are explained to you. Don't let it freakyou out! All you need to remember is stay to the right! That allowsothers to pass you. If you come within 3 bike lengths of someone infront of you, you need to pass them. It sounds like a huge distance andit made us nervous pre-race but it was easy on race day. If you comeupon someone, just pass them. As Lloyd told us, don't sprint to thefinish. Take your bike down to a lower gear and spin your legs for thelast bit of the race as you approach the dismount line. Your legs willget used to that motion that you will need for the run. And smile forLloyd's camera as you pass by him on the course. :)
TRANSITION 2:This was quicker for me since there is less gear to put on for the runportion. As Lloyd suggested, eat your gu or shot blocks or whateverfood you will eat to sustain you, in the transition area. I did sobefore the bike but then I attempted to run and eat gu and then swallowsome water at the beginning of the run route and I was choking andflailing about for all the spectators to see. :)
RUN:This was hard but not insurmountable. It was the hottest part of thecourse and the day. We were basically in full sun. I wore a hat andthat helped not have the sweat going down my face. We had a course thatwent out 1.5 miles and back. Give yourself a point that is a goal thatyou will run to (if you think you may walk a portion of it). For me, Iheard that we would get ice cold towels at 1.5 miles so that we couldwipe off and look pretty for the finish line camera. So, I chugged alongand kept telling myself I was going to make it the first half and get mytowel. Well, literally the woman in front of me got the last towel!! Nojoke. Oh well. :) I walked a couple of minutes and drank some gatorade.Stay hydrated!! I ran the rest of the way and Keanne and Lloyd wereawesome, crazy, cheering fools at the finish line. We were told therewould be a food tent at the end but by the time I finished and cheeredothers on, all the food was gone! So, bring some food for the end justin case they run out because you will be ravenously hungry.
As one of the spectators signs said, If it were that easy, everyonewould be doing it! Be glad you even embarked on this journey and behappy that you crossed the finish line!!
If anyone has any more questions for me, please feel free to e-mail me!I hope to be there at IronGirl to cheer the next set on!
Cory
First, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation and thanks to ourfearless leader Lloyd! I would not be a triathlete finisher todaywithout his always positive outlook, motivation, knowledge and quietencouragement [although not so quiet on race day! :)]. Oh yes, he has acow bell and he is not afraid to ring it!
Overall I will say the race was an amazing experience! I'll give you myrundown by sport. Just before you enter transition to rack your bikeand set up your things, you will probably be body marked. Don't put onsuncreen until after you are body marked and let it dry for a bit beforeyou do. We did get sun so suncreen is beneficial! (I didn't put any onmy face for fear it would sting in the water or while I sweated)
SWIM:After my first practice open water swim, this was the sport that I wasthe most anxious and nervous about. Race day did not prove to be muchdifferent for me from the practice swim. For me, open water is verydifferent from lap swimming in the pool. I think my difficulties aremental in nature and I can overcome them in the future. I would suggestjust practice, practice, practice! I did stay in the back, left-handcorner of our swim wave and that helped prevent me from getting knockedaround at the start. And, don't get discouraged if you see your fellowswim heat triathletes way up ahead as you keep at it in the water. Myswim heat wore flourescent pink caps and most of those caps got far infront of me.....and then most of the yellow caps passed me....and then afew orange caps also passed me. :) But, that's okay! Keep plugging awaybecause the finish line DOES come! Although I didn't need it, pleaseremember that the race allows you (our race did at least) to hang on tothe surfboard/kayaks along the race route if you need to rest. You justcan't move forward while hanging on. As Lloyd told us, don't try andsprint for the finish. Your legs will thank you when it's time to comeout of the water and run to transition. And swim until you can't swimany longer when you reach the finish because volunteers are there tohelp pull you up and get your land legs back.
TRANSITION 1:A lesson learned for me is to reduce my transition time. As wewitnessed the pros, the only thing they put on in transition was theirhelmet! Their bike shoes were already clipped onto their pedals and theyran with their bike barefoot to the bike mounting spot. Not sure howthey had the coordination to mount the bike and get into their shoes butthen again, that's why they are pros! If you can get the elastic lacesand locks for your shoes, that helped me out to not have to tie myshoes. If you can, bring something identifiable to tie to the end ofyour bike rack. It will help you to identify your row when you arerunning in from the swim. Someone in our row had brought an orangeconstruction vest to tie to our rack end. Others broughtballoons/flags.
BIKE:I thought the bike course was great! We did have a few small hills butit was mostly smooth. You may have a pre-race meeting where the USATrules on blocking and drafting are explained to you. Don't let it freakyou out! All you need to remember is stay to the right! That allowsothers to pass you. If you come within 3 bike lengths of someone infront of you, you need to pass them. It sounds like a huge distance andit made us nervous pre-race but it was easy on race day. If you comeupon someone, just pass them. As Lloyd told us, don't sprint to thefinish. Take your bike down to a lower gear and spin your legs for thelast bit of the race as you approach the dismount line. Your legs willget used to that motion that you will need for the run. And smile forLloyd's camera as you pass by him on the course. :)
TRANSITION 2:This was quicker for me since there is less gear to put on for the runportion. As Lloyd suggested, eat your gu or shot blocks or whateverfood you will eat to sustain you, in the transition area. I did sobefore the bike but then I attempted to run and eat gu and then swallowsome water at the beginning of the run route and I was choking andflailing about for all the spectators to see. :)
RUN:This was hard but not insurmountable. It was the hottest part of thecourse and the day. We were basically in full sun. I wore a hat andthat helped not have the sweat going down my face. We had a course thatwent out 1.5 miles and back. Give yourself a point that is a goal thatyou will run to (if you think you may walk a portion of it). For me, Iheard that we would get ice cold towels at 1.5 miles so that we couldwipe off and look pretty for the finish line camera. So, I chugged alongand kept telling myself I was going to make it the first half and get mytowel. Well, literally the woman in front of me got the last towel!! Nojoke. Oh well. :) I walked a couple of minutes and drank some gatorade.Stay hydrated!! I ran the rest of the way and Keanne and Lloyd wereawesome, crazy, cheering fools at the finish line. We were told therewould be a food tent at the end but by the time I finished and cheeredothers on, all the food was gone! So, bring some food for the end justin case they run out because you will be ravenously hungry.
As one of the spectators signs said, If it were that easy, everyonewould be doing it! Be glad you even embarked on this journey and behappy that you crossed the finish line!!
If anyone has any more questions for me, please feel free to e-mail me!I hope to be there at IronGirl to cheer the next set on!
Cory
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