I…need…to…learn…to…SWIM.
It began in earnest Sunday. I finished my first triathlon (sprint distance) on the way to what I hope is an Ironman distance event in the next 24 months.
White Lake (NC) was a great event. Set-up, Inc hosts a half-tri on Saturday followed by a sprint on Sunday. As a newbie I opted to begin my tri-life with a sprint distance event. Good decision. Before I discuss my race experience I have to share two “race day” memories which will always stick in my mind.
The first thought is the significant amount of athletes who competed in both the half on Saturday and the sprint on Sunday. Many of these folks were wearing around their “I did an ironman” jackets and hats so I guess its not that big a challenge for them. I suppose if you are pretty fit you could both races by hammering on Saturday and going easy on the Sunday sprint. I’d like to be able to double up like that…and to have completed an event that allows me to own the jackets and hats. PS – a few of the folks who placed in the sprint had also competed in the half the day before. Wow.
The second is a race experience shared with me by one of the athletes who is friends with my tri friends. At the end of our race he was telling us about his ride on the half tri the day before. On a clear, sunny day he was hammering away about half way through the ride. He was within 10 yards of making a calculated pass when brownish yellow specks began slowly sprinkling his glasses. After looking around and seeing no place from which water could be leaking he noticed what appeared to be water dripping off the seat of the rider in front of him. Apparently, in contrast to most male riders, she didn’t stand up to give warning of her need to relieve herself. This is a lesson for all of us.
Now to my performance. Again, it was a great event and I had a great amount of fun for my first triathlon. I started in the men’s novice wave. My starting wave was second from last - followed by Athenas and women’s novice. We started 36 minutes after the elites.
1) 750 meter swim – the good news (“good” in the sense that I have left much room for improvement next time) is that the lake was choppy, my start wave was filled with panicked and wild-armed rookies, I didn’t wear a wetsuit and I finished the swim only 6 minutes behind my (also novice) training partner who grew up on the ocean and is a decent swimmer. Six whole minutes lost in 750 meters you say? Yes, after training with swims of this distance only twice (all pool), I could only muster about 75 meters of freestyle in the 750 meters of swim. The rest was backstroke and poorly executed breast stroke due to bodies, chop and general mental anguish. My “anguish” never turned to panic. Instead it acted as almost pure frustration at watching all the more efficient swimmers pass me by. I finished in 22 minutes. 330th place out of 374 in the swim. Plenty of room for improvement if I can just learn to swim.
2) 15 mile bike – after only about 70 miles of training rides (18 miles longest) over a month I did pretty well (for me) in the 15 miler. After flailing in the lake I spent most of my bike ride passing those who had passed me easily in the swim. I was a two lap ride so it was hard to measure if I was making up time on the field. Ride lasted 41 minutes. 189th place of 374 on the bike.
3) 5K run – finally, something I do well. I have come to this sport from my 4 marathon experience and having grown up as a lacrosse player. Running comes fairly natural to me…even with two reconstructed knees and two additional knee surgeries. Finished in just under 20 minutes. 29th place out of the same 374 in the run.
4) Transitions – did fine. Couldn’t get my shirt on but besides that felt like I did good work. Middle to upper middle of pack. My bike was parked in the waaaay back due to my novice status.
5) Winning race time 1:03:47, My time 1:26:40.
Conclusion – MORE TIME IN THE POOL. PRACTICE OPEN WATER SWIMS. GET A WETSUIT. PRAY FOR CALM CONDITIONS. BIKE A LITTLE MORE. KEEP RUNNING 30 MILES PER WEEK. Easy, right?
Also, special thanks to my wife and daughter for the 5AM wakeup and 2 hour drive necessary to come see me “compete” in my first tri. And congratulations to all of my competing friends from the Finley YMCA in Raleigh, NC. We had a bunch of top finishers in the novice category in the sprint and had some great placements in the half as well. Great job!
White Lake (NC) was a great event. Set-up, Inc hosts a half-tri on Saturday followed by a sprint on Sunday. As a newbie I opted to begin my tri-life with a sprint distance event. Good decision. Before I discuss my race experience I have to share two “race day” memories which will always stick in my mind.
The first thought is the significant amount of athletes who competed in both the half on Saturday and the sprint on Sunday. Many of these folks were wearing around their “I did an ironman” jackets and hats so I guess its not that big a challenge for them. I suppose if you are pretty fit you could both races by hammering on Saturday and going easy on the Sunday sprint. I’d like to be able to double up like that…and to have completed an event that allows me to own the jackets and hats. PS – a few of the folks who placed in the sprint had also competed in the half the day before. Wow.
The second is a race experience shared with me by one of the athletes who is friends with my tri friends. At the end of our race he was telling us about his ride on the half tri the day before. On a clear, sunny day he was hammering away about half way through the ride. He was within 10 yards of making a calculated pass when brownish yellow specks began slowly sprinkling his glasses. After looking around and seeing no place from which water could be leaking he noticed what appeared to be water dripping off the seat of the rider in front of him. Apparently, in contrast to most male riders, she didn’t stand up to give warning of her need to relieve herself. This is a lesson for all of us.
Now to my performance. Again, it was a great event and I had a great amount of fun for my first triathlon. I started in the men’s novice wave. My starting wave was second from last - followed by Athenas and women’s novice. We started 36 minutes after the elites.
1) 750 meter swim – the good news (“good” in the sense that I have left much room for improvement next time) is that the lake was choppy, my start wave was filled with panicked and wild-armed rookies, I didn’t wear a wetsuit and I finished the swim only 6 minutes behind my (also novice) training partner who grew up on the ocean and is a decent swimmer. Six whole minutes lost in 750 meters you say? Yes, after training with swims of this distance only twice (all pool), I could only muster about 75 meters of freestyle in the 750 meters of swim. The rest was backstroke and poorly executed breast stroke due to bodies, chop and general mental anguish. My “anguish” never turned to panic. Instead it acted as almost pure frustration at watching all the more efficient swimmers pass me by. I finished in 22 minutes. 330th place out of 374 in the swim. Plenty of room for improvement if I can just learn to swim.
2) 15 mile bike – after only about 70 miles of training rides (18 miles longest) over a month I did pretty well (for me) in the 15 miler. After flailing in the lake I spent most of my bike ride passing those who had passed me easily in the swim. I was a two lap ride so it was hard to measure if I was making up time on the field. Ride lasted 41 minutes. 189th place of 374 on the bike.
3) 5K run – finally, something I do well. I have come to this sport from my 4 marathon experience and having grown up as a lacrosse player. Running comes fairly natural to me…even with two reconstructed knees and two additional knee surgeries. Finished in just under 20 minutes. 29th place out of the same 374 in the run.
4) Transitions – did fine. Couldn’t get my shirt on but besides that felt like I did good work. Middle to upper middle of pack. My bike was parked in the waaaay back due to my novice status.
5) Winning race time 1:03:47, My time 1:26:40.
Conclusion – MORE TIME IN THE POOL. PRACTICE OPEN WATER SWIMS. GET A WETSUIT. PRAY FOR CALM CONDITIONS. BIKE A LITTLE MORE. KEEP RUNNING 30 MILES PER WEEK. Easy, right?
Also, special thanks to my wife and daughter for the 5AM wakeup and 2 hour drive necessary to come see me “compete” in my first tri. And congratulations to all of my competing friends from the Finley YMCA in Raleigh, NC. We had a bunch of top finishers in the novice category in the sprint and had some great placements in the half as well. Great job!
posted by Lucky at 7:36 PM
2 Comments:
Lucky,
It was nice to meet you this weekend. I know how you feel about the swimming; I had a lot of work to do just to get to "middle of the pack". Keep after it. I would suggest you see Jeff Fairbrother at the Y- he is a great teacher with a lot of patience and follows the TI method. Nice blog start, keep it up.
BUT JEFF IS STRICT AND WILL MAKE YOU WORK HARD
Post a Comment
<< Home