Just did my first tri - Race Report
basicjim
Posts: 69 Member
I lived. I wasn't sure I was going to during the swim leg, but I did!
I was stressing pretty bad about this race as it was my first tri. I went out on Friday for packet pickup and had a chance to meet with Josh, the man behind Nomad Multisport. Josh stopped what he was doing and took the time to walk part of the course with me, show me T-2 and finish, and talked with me about some tips for my first tri. I drove the bike course, checked out T-1 and T-2, and checked out the run course. I even stuck my hand in the water and figured it wasn't really THAT cold and I would be okay without a wetsuit.
I woke up my reluctant wife early and we hit the road. I was VERY glad she was there. We picked up my chip at T-2/Finish, set up for T-2, and drove to T-1. I got my bike racked and gear set and then waited. There was good music and a great atmosphere at the start line.
The start was a 'jump off the dock feet first' start with mens sprint going first. I was one of the last into the water as I didn't want to hold anyone back! From looking at the video, I started swimming off course right away! I kept correcting but I swam WAY TOO FAST for the first 200. Remember here that this is my first open water swim, too! I hit the first buoy and started to panic. I was fighting the water and was tired and I though, "OH CRAP! I can't do this! I am going to drowned!"
Rather than take that option, I decided to slow WAY down and focus on form. Hip rotation, mostly. I finished the "out" part of the swim and felt MUCH better. On the "back" leg my tracking was WAY off. I should have been sliding closer and closer to the shore to exit, but I kept drifting AWAY from the shore. My goggles fogged and I had trouble seeing with the suns reflection. Finally, quicker than I expected, I was at the exit.
In my head before the race I was going to run over and be on my bike in seconds. The video my wife took shows the reality. I was freakin' tired after that swim! I walked over and got myself together.
Once on the bike, I felt like I was home. I didn't get passed on the bike (all the quick people were already gone!) and I even made up time on the bike.
I should have drank a little more on the bike, but I was fine.
The run was painful. I knew my legs weren't going to function right off the bike, but I figured after half mile or so I would hit my stride and be able to run my normal pace. Imagine my surprise when that ISN'T what happened. My legs felt lead the whole run. The stairs didn't help. My time wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be while I was running, but it sure wasn't what I had hoped.
All in all I am SO happy with my results. I was under 1:30 for my first tri and I have a bar set now. I have a goal to beat. I am not sure that I am going to be jumping up to Olympic distance right away like I planned, though! I may just spend a season or so at sprint!
Then again, I do have a few months before the Cleveland Olympic distance tri!
My wife videoed some so if you want to see a fat guy going through transitions, go here....
http://youtu.be/8tVSb2oSF_g
and if you want to see the writeup, with times and such... here ..... http://bit.ly/11tyCZB
I was stressing pretty bad about this race as it was my first tri. I went out on Friday for packet pickup and had a chance to meet with Josh, the man behind Nomad Multisport. Josh stopped what he was doing and took the time to walk part of the course with me, show me T-2 and finish, and talked with me about some tips for my first tri. I drove the bike course, checked out T-1 and T-2, and checked out the run course. I even stuck my hand in the water and figured it wasn't really THAT cold and I would be okay without a wetsuit.
I woke up my reluctant wife early and we hit the road. I was VERY glad she was there. We picked up my chip at T-2/Finish, set up for T-2, and drove to T-1. I got my bike racked and gear set and then waited. There was good music and a great atmosphere at the start line.
The start was a 'jump off the dock feet first' start with mens sprint going first. I was one of the last into the water as I didn't want to hold anyone back! From looking at the video, I started swimming off course right away! I kept correcting but I swam WAY TOO FAST for the first 200. Remember here that this is my first open water swim, too! I hit the first buoy and started to panic. I was fighting the water and was tired and I though, "OH CRAP! I can't do this! I am going to drowned!"
Rather than take that option, I decided to slow WAY down and focus on form. Hip rotation, mostly. I finished the "out" part of the swim and felt MUCH better. On the "back" leg my tracking was WAY off. I should have been sliding closer and closer to the shore to exit, but I kept drifting AWAY from the shore. My goggles fogged and I had trouble seeing with the suns reflection. Finally, quicker than I expected, I was at the exit.
In my head before the race I was going to run over and be on my bike in seconds. The video my wife took shows the reality. I was freakin' tired after that swim! I walked over and got myself together.
Once on the bike, I felt like I was home. I didn't get passed on the bike (all the quick people were already gone!) and I even made up time on the bike.
I should have drank a little more on the bike, but I was fine.
The run was painful. I knew my legs weren't going to function right off the bike, but I figured after half mile or so I would hit my stride and be able to run my normal pace. Imagine my surprise when that ISN'T what happened. My legs felt lead the whole run. The stairs didn't help. My time wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be while I was running, but it sure wasn't what I had hoped.
All in all I am SO happy with my results. I was under 1:30 for my first tri and I have a bar set now. I have a goal to beat. I am not sure that I am going to be jumping up to Olympic distance right away like I planned, though! I may just spend a season or so at sprint!
Then again, I do have a few months before the Cleveland Olympic distance tri!
My wife videoed some so if you want to see a fat guy going through transitions, go here....
http://youtu.be/8tVSb2oSF_g
and if you want to see the writeup, with times and such... here ..... http://bit.ly/11tyCZB
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Replies
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Congratulations!!! I still have time before my first tri (a sprint in September). My race report will probably be almost identical to yours
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It sounds like you had a great race. Congrats. All of the "issues" you being up are common. Hell, Ive been doing this three years now and still have dead legs on run and panic in swim. Your time is WAY faster than my PB too. Imagine how good you'll be with a few under the belt! Keep it up!!0
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Congratulations!!! I still have time before my first tri (a sprint in September). My race report will probably be almost identical to yours
Hopefully you won't go out too fast and panic on the swim! Good luck! When in Sept?0 -
It sounds like you had a great race. Congrats. All of the "issues" you being up are common. Hell, Ive been doing this three years now and still have dead legs on run and panic in swim. Your time is WAY faster than my PB too. Imagine how good you'll be with a few under the belt! Keep it up!!
Thanks! That means a lot coming from you. I have read all your race reports from your tri's and it's really helped me mentally prepare for this! I owe you a lot of thanks! You keep it up, too and keep up the writing.
Jim0 -
Congratulations!!! I still have time before my first tri (a sprint in September). My race report will probably be almost identical to yours
Hopefully you won't go out too fast and panic on the swim! Good luck! When in Sept?
September 7. I am a newbie swimmer, so panicing will most likely happen.0 -
Congratulations!!! I still have time before my first tri (a sprint in September). My race report will probably be almost identical to yours
Hopefully you won't go out too fast and panic on the swim! Good luck! When in Sept?
September 7. I am a newbie swimmer, so panicing will most likely happen.
My saving grace was form. Concentrate on form. Don't worry about speed or anything else. Form... and where your going. That helped edge out the panic!0 -
Thanks so much for sharing !!! *I've got my 1st sprint-trialthon on June 23rd*
The organizers have held some free seminars: "Triathlon 101" and "Transition 101". They were both great and very informative. They have also been offering practice group rides and runs on the course. Since it's in my home town, I sorta thought I knew the course well - was I wrong. So I'm glad I did the practice rides. It will be my 1st open water swim, so it will be interesting, but thanks for sharing your experience, so it will give me something to focus/think about. The night before is the walk-through and now I'll defintely be going. I think I've been armed with enough information to look like I maybe know what I'm doing :-)
I can't wait to see how it all happens in "real-time" and to cross that finish line !!!
*unitl then, the training continues . . .0 -
Thanks so much for sharing !!! *I've got my 1st sprint-trialthon on June 23rd*
The organizers have held some free seminars: "Triathlon 101" and "Transition 101". They were both great and very informative. They have also been offering practice group rides and runs on the course. Since it's in my home town, I sorta thought I knew the course well - was I wrong. So I'm glad I did the practice rides. It will be my 1st open water swim, so it will be interesting, but thanks for sharing your experience, so it will give me something to focus/think about. The night before is the walk-through and now I'll defintely be going. I think I've been armed with enough information to look like I maybe know what I'm doing :-)
I can't wait to see how it all happens in "real-time" and to cross that finish line !!!
*unitl then, the training continues . . .
I am sure you'll do great! That going through the course prior to was awesome.
I hope you learn from my mistakes!! :Facepalm:
Make sure to let us know how it goes. And I can't recommend highly enough having someone video for you! I didn't think it would matter to me but I keep watching that stupid video thinking, "Holy crap! I did a freakin Triathlon!!" Have someone video for you and put that dang thing up on YouTube.
Jim0 -
Reading this report from a fellow newbie is much appreciated! I just did my first mock tri on Sunday - untimed, but I had my Garmin. I had set some very unambitious goals for myself and I beat them, so that's something!
But, the swim was a disaster. We were in the pool, though my first tri will be technically open water - in a lake. In my first lap two women came right up on me from behind, and I tried to usher them past me, but they refused. That just made me nervous and I felt like I had to swim for my life so they didn't bump into me! I swam too fast, with bad form, and threw myself off. I didn't hit my stride until lap 13 of 16.
I think the swim would have been pretty bad anyway, though, because I always take forever to warm up. Usually I have to do 5x50 yards with breaks before I feel ready to go. I'm not sure how to resolve this problem! I just started swimming in January, and I have not been working on it as much as I should as a complete and total noob. Happily I felt great about the bike, and the run was a breeze. I felt like the bike gave me a "break" to prepare for the run.0 -
Congrats on your first Tri. I did my first sprint a couple months back, and just finished my 4th one of the season this past weekend. It's such a great feeling of accomplishment that first time you cross the finish line. It's also amazing that your first tri also included your first OWS, don't know that I could have done that.
Now you've got the bar set and can start working on chipping away at those times.
Congrats again!0 -
Thank you for posting this!!! Congrats on your first amazing triathlon!!! I am doing my first sprint Tri in August. I'm super nervous...but I purposely took time to train...to ensure that I felt "ready" (or as ready as you can be...ha ha). I watched my boss/friend in her first tri this past weekend. She too said the open water swim is terrible! LOL...she said lap swims in the pool do not prepare you!!! I'm lucky, and live in the town of my first tri...so I will be swimming in open water to try to get a little more comfortable.
My Tri coach has taught me some great drills to help build my legs up for transitioning between swim/bike/run. I've noticed a HUGE difference when I do little mock tri's on my own. I am more than happy to share them with anyone who is interested. The legs are still a little wobbly...but I can run a full 3-4 miles now after an 18 mile bike ride without a problem. Pace isn't perfect...but hey...I'm still running! LOL. I know that with a couple more months of training and such, my legs will get stronger and stronger!!!0 -
Congratulations on your first tri! Are you hooked?!!
The open water swim is actually my favorite part!! It is just so much fun (to me). I open water swim at least 1 - 2 times a week and this year the majority of my swim training will be open water. If you search for tri groups in your area (check running stores too) you should be able to find a group to train with and if you are lucky a clinic!
I'd love to hear your tips for those wobbly legs. Running is my least favorite part of the race so anything that can make me mentally stronger (and physically stronger) will be a huge help!0 -
Congratulations on your first tri! All in all, sounds like it was very successful. It's a great time for your first race. Just imagine what you'll be able to do with more experience and training.
A tip for the foggy goggles.....spit in them. Yes it sounds gross, but it works. I've tried many of the anti-fog products out there, but I've found that the spitting is the one thing that works.0 -
Thanks so much for sharing !!! *I've got my 1st sprint-trialthon on June 23rd*
The organizers have held some free seminars: "Triathlon 101" and "Transition 101". They were both great and very informative. They have also been offering practice group rides and runs on the course. Since it's in my home town, I sorta thought I knew the course well - was I wrong. So I'm glad I did the practice rides. It will be my 1st open water swim, so it will be interesting, but thanks for sharing your experience, so it will give me something to focus/think about. The night before is the walk-through and now I'll defintely be going. I think I've been armed with enough information to look like I maybe know what I'm doing :-)
I can't wait to see how it all happens in "real-time" and to cross that finish line !!!
*unitl then, the training continues . . .
Nashua Y Tri???0 -
Congrats! Glad it was a success!0
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Too funny that there are two other people from NH on this thread!0
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Seriously awesome to see so many people getting into the sport.0
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Congratulations! Triathlons are addictive! I did two sprints in 2009, then did an Olympic and 70.3 in 2010 and have been doing them ever since!0
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In the open water, I count to 10 when I get nervous, that seems to help me forget I am freaking out! Don't worry if you freak out...it happens to all of us! I have done 4 half Ironmans and still freak in open water! Enjoy it, there is nothing like your first tri!0
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Cool! Sounds similar to my first, which was 16 Jun - I'm officially hooked too!0
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Nicely done!!!
My second tri was my first OWS. I tried to dive in like the stud racers, and ended up with my goggles around my neck. I swam like a madman the first 500m and thought I was going to die the last 1K. Not to mention the morning sun burned holes in my corneas. Some very valuable lessons learned from that little escapade.
On a good note, I got better with time. And so will you. During the swim, I think "crocodile". There's a method for raising your head out of the water just enough between strokes (usually every 3rd to 4th stroke, for me) where you can target your next buoy. It's a handy little trick.
That was 2008. I've been racing tri's ever since, and grateful for every one of them. They're such endless fun.0
