Many friends and family members have asked me what doing a triathlon is like,
and triathletes like to hear about others' experiences too, plus I kind
of like writing about things (when I can get the time) so... I figured I
should start putting some of this down in words. Plus I have a really
bad memory and I may need this record at some point in the future...
like tomorrow. This first post is a race report from my first triathlon
of 2014, my second season, my fifth triathlon overall.
So here we go. First triathlon of my second season, the Early Bird,
entering both for sentimental reasons - the 2013 Early Bird Super Sprint
was my first triathlon - and for practical, this being the best
opportunity to get a practice race in before my Ironman 70.3 (or
"half-ironman") race a month from now in Syracuse, NY.
My approach to this race was simply as a learning opportunity. I debated
doing the Super Sprint, and would have if I hadn't had some great
discussions about it with my tri training partner. We weighed all the
pros and cons of doing the Super Sprint, Sprint or Long, and finally
settled on the Long because we haven't had much opportunity for outdoor
riding. The run length was the same for all three, the bike was 1, 2 or 3
laps respectively of an 11.8km course, and the swim was 500m except for
the Super Sprint which had only a 100m swim. I also came into this race
fighting a cold - I had a sore throat, lots of congestion and was
taking cold medicine to control it.
Pre-race was pretty easy. 6am alarm for an estimated 9am race start. I
ate a full breakfast for the first time before a race, something that I
think I will want for Syracuse, given the length of that race. I ate a
banana, a bowl of oatmeal with raisins, an orange, a glass of apple
juice and a coffee (the first time I tried coffee before a race too). As
I was preparing my breakfast I was trying to reach my tri partner since
we were carpooling, and we usually check in by text message first, but
she was not answering. At 6:20 I finally called her... and woke her up!
I'm sure she felt a little stressed but really we still got away at a
reasonable time and were parking on site by 7am. Check-in, T-zone setup
and getting inked (numbers, age, race entered, written on various body parts in
black marker) were a breeze (though I do need to remember that I need my
race bib with me to get my timing chip so I don't have to run back for
it - d'oh!). Thanks to a friend for picking up our race kits for us the night
before, so that saved a step. We were outside the Carleton University pool by 8:15 I think,
and chatted with other OTC (Ottawa Triathlon Club) members for a while.
Our race was set to begin at 8:30, but with the staggered start I knew I
would be going around 9:00. There was lots of time for a final bathroom
break and a little warm up in the dive tank - just a couple short
lengths to theoretically get the body used to the feeling of swimming so
it is less of a shock when you start the race. And there was lots of
time for chit chat on deck as the race began, and observe earlier swimmers, some so smooth and some clearly struggling. I even observed a couple of people who had to stop to rest... The start went one
person at a time, from the fastest on down. It seems to take an eternity
to get to the start line this way, and then at the end your turn comes way
to quickly. But come it did and in I went.
The "highlight" of the whole day was about 4 minutes into the swim, between the 100 and 200m marks, when I finally got
to experience my first semi-panic attack in the water. I'd heard
about these, and was prepared for it to happen to me sometime, but
it still catches you off guard. Triathlon swim starts are very stressful, but I didn't think it would happen in a pool swim! The swim was in a 50m pool and so, as
with any lane swim, it can be crowded and you are fixed in the space
that you have. They space everyone 12-15 seconds apart to start, but
since racers self-seed you often end up passing or being passed at
some point. So, I had sprinted to pass a slower swimmer halfway through a length, which
spikes your heart rate, and after the turn and another half length or so realized that my
breathing had not returned to normal and my body was getting low on
fuel - in fact I was near hyperventilating, which is not a good thing when
you have your face under water most of the time. I managed to finish
that length (50m pools seem damn long at times) and then there I was, that person resting at end
of the lane. It took a full minute for me to start to feel
better,
and then another 30 seconds to really get my breathing under control
and feel ready to resume. But the interesting thing for me was that
my mind was calm through the whole thing, so I hesitate to call it full on "panic". It was simply my body not able to relax no matter what I told
it. I got into a state where I could find no way to recover by relaxing
and slowly bringing my heart rate down - it just wasn't happening. If I
had been in an open water swim I would have found some space and flipped
onto my back for a minute or until I relaxed, so knowing how it feels
now, and knowing what I would do in an open water race, I am glad that I
experienced it. Anyway, I got moving again, and my final 300m felt
really great, smooth, in control and like I could keep going. So I'd
call my swim a qualified success, and indeed a great learning opportunity. So
there - I'd already met my race objective! And I'm glad I didn't opt for
the 100m swim or I would have missed all the fun.
There is a long run up to the transition zone from the swimming pool
(500-600m), and it's pavement and gravel all the way, so after dashing
out of the pool it was important to remember which tree I stashed my
shoes under! I had company for the jog as I had ended up exiting the
pool right behind another OTC member who had placed her shoes next to mine. I think that helped settle
me down too. I got into the T-zone feeling refocused. My transitions are still very slow and methodical. I'd
rather take an extra minute and get it right than shave off a minute and
forget something important, and in Syracuse that minute or two won't
mean much in 6-8 hour race. If I settle on Sprint distances as my prime
events though I will need to do some serious backyard transition
training!
The bike ride was pretty uneventful. It was fairly flat (three times
around the loop of Colonel By between Pretoria Bridge and Hogs Back).
There was a slight wind out of the northwest I think, so you could feel a
headwind at times, but nothing too bad. The great thing about these
loops is you get to see your friends many times going back and forth, so
lots of opportunities for waves, thumbs up, nods, and for those with
enough breath to spare, cheers! It really does help - not just helps the
time go by but is really quite motivational. Due to my "issue" in the
pool and my slow transition, I was a couple minutes behind my tri
partner so I passed the time counting how many minutes she was ahead of me
at each turn-around. It was actually amazing how closely matched we
were, but she really impressed me by adding 58 seconds to her lead on me
over the course of the bike ride (which took around an hour and 15
minutes). I felt strong and pushed myself pretty hard. I wondered at
times if I was pushing too hard but my lap times were a minute or two
slower than what I had hoped so I kept pushing. And I'm glad that I did!
I felt like I still had lots in me when I finished, so it's nice
knowing I could have gone harder still. I am planning for there to be lots
more races for me to do that. I'll just add a note about nutrition: I
ate half a pack of Gu Chomps energy chews (been testing them out as they
will be available on the Ironman course, even though I prefer the Honey
Stinger chews as they are softer) and drank one bottle of Powerbar
Ironman Perform (again something I am testing since it will be available
on the course in Syracuse). No GI (gastro-intestinal) issues on this
day! Oh, and my average speed was the same as last year, even with doing
three laps instead of one.
I was quickly through T2, dumped the bike and gear, slipped on my
running shoes and run hat, two more sips of drink from the extra bottle I
kept in transition, and I was off! I've had mixed experiences with the
transition from bike to run before. It is incredibly hard on the legs,
and even the rest of the body doesn't appreciate the sudden change from
round-and-round to up-and-down. The worst experience was my second tri
last year in Smiths Falls where I had such bad calf cramps in the early parts
of the run that I had to stop and stretch a few times. But no issues
this time! I kept my cadence quick and my stride length short and I felt
great. I really expected it to get harder than it did. The run is an
out and back, so I gave my tri partner one final cheer as she headed in on the
home stretch (she crushed her run - amazing!) and I skipped the
water station at the halfway mark. Despite the longer distance swim and
bike my run time was a minute faster than the Super Sprint last year,
and best of all I felt like I could keep going at the end so I finished
strong.
My total race time was just over 2 hours. It was not a great result in
terms of placing, but I wasn't really going for that. I could easily see
room for improving my time in a couple areas if this had been an A
race, and I could have moved up above mid-pack. I'm not looking to win,
I'm looking to learn and improve. Because of the much longer race coming
up, more important to me in this race than my time was my feeling of
endurance, and that was there. It was a great feeling to know that I
could have kept going, on the run, on the bike, and even the end of the
swim felt strong.
So this was my longest triathlon to date, but it almost feels
inconsequential to say that with the big jump to the 70.3 coming up so
soon. I am writing this two days later and I took yesterday off, but today I organized a group ride with five other OTC members into the Gats, a 75 km round trip from my house and finished with a 4 km brick run immediately after the ride. And tonight it is back to the OTC studio for our regular 2 hour workout!
Ironman Syracuse 70.3: 34 days
