Written for
www.trinewbies.com
Saturday August 10th
1/2 mile swim, 20 mile bike, 3 mile run
My wife and I drove down on Friday after work, checked into the hotel,
and went out for some fine cuisine at Applebee's (not many choices in
Goldsboro and the only Italian restaurants I saw had pizza in their
name.) But dinner was actually pretty good, had a couple beers as well
to supplement my carb intake:) Finished last minute preparations about
10PM, got to bed and proceeded a viscious cycle of sleep-awake-sleep-awake,
etc. Up at 5AM, out of the hotel at 5:45, and at the race site at 6:00.
It was an atypically beautiful morning, 55 degrees and not a cloud in
the sky. For some reason even though this was my first triathlon, I knew
it was gonna be a good day, good karma in the air.
Pre-race nutrition: Gatorade, coffee, water, bagel with peanut butter,
banana, and a Carboom 10 minutes before the start.
Warmed up on the bike for 10 minutes and then ran for 10 minutes.
Set up my transition area (not really sure what the big deal is about
transition areas as they all looked the same to me).
I was in the first swim wave starting at 7:30. Got in the water about
5 minutes before the start to get acclimated. Water was a nice temp,
probably around 78 and not nearly as murky as the water around here.
Lined up at the back of the pack and all of a sudden I was just
totally calm and really looking forward to getting started. I still
can't believe how calm I was before the swim start. It was like an
outer-body experience standing in the water at 7:30 AM with the sun
just coming up, totally peaceful, hard to explain. The horn sounded
and off we went. I instantly got into a nice groove, however we
suddenly came upon some thick seaweed but having read others accounts
of similar situations, I was prepared, didn't freak me out at all.
We were swimming a counter-clockwise triangle with big orange buoys
marking the way. Every time I sited I was right on target (by the way,
loved my new Aqua Spheres). Rounded the first buoy and to my surprise
realized that someone was actually drafting off of me! About every 10
strokes or so my toes would hit this guys hand. It didn't bother me,
in fact it was funny because I'm pretty slow. Rounded the second buoy
to head home and boom, there was the sun right in our faces. It was
tough going, very hard to see, just tried to stay parallel to the
shore as that was the way home. Also my arms started getting tired
but not too bad. Got close to the finish and when I sited to the
right I caught a glimpse of my wife on shore and gave her a wave.
She had stopped in the middle of her weekend long run to see my
transition and take pictures. Got out of the water onto a very
slippery boat ramp, headed to transition which was a whopping 50 feet
away, dried off, chatted with Holly, put on my gear (no socks or
gloves, good choice) and headed out on the bike.
Swim + T1 = 20 minutes
The bike course was very flat. Over the first few miles I gradually
got up to a 20mph steady speed and some of the guys from the second
wave were passing me but not too awful many. Was cruising along some
beautiful, scenic farmland feeling really good, a little queasy from
swallowing water but not too bad. At 10 minutes I took some water,
20 minutes some gel, periodically some Gatorade/water mix, another
gel at 45 minutes. It was an out and back course and the lead dude
passed me on the way back in about 15 minutes ahead of me. Got to
the turn-around and decided to step it up a bit. Got up to 22mph
and starting passing some people. Then a pack of 5 riders came by
me, drafting like a motha'. I thought about hooking up with them
but then realized that would defeat the purpose of why I'm out
there. Decided just to not let them get out of my site which I was
pretty well able to do. At about mile 18 I caught up to Ed in NC
(he had told me he would be out there on a blue Trek) and we talked
for the last 2 miles, very nice guy. Rolled into T2 feeling very
confident as my watch was reading total time of 1:17 and I was just
hoping to break 1:50. And of course, there was my wife taking more
pictures and rooting me on.
Bike time = about 57 minutes (59 minutes with T2).
Started the run and shortly after the leader passed me heading into
the finish, kind of has a way of humbling you real fast. Ran with Ed
for awhile but felt really good so I gradually picked up the pace. I
figured I was running about an 8 minute pace but hit the turn-around
in 10 minutes! I was like "what the heck, sub 7 minute average??"
I was passing some people and only got passed by 2 others, a guy and
the 3rd place girl. My right shin was very tight and I lost feeling
in my foot but just kept pressing it as there wasn't too far left to
go. Spotted a guy up ahead about 50 yards and decided to catch him.
I really picked up the pace near the end and caught him right at the
finish though I let him actually get ahead and go into the shute
first. We shook hands right after and congratulated each other on a
good run. I felt great, not winded at all. Saw Holly and got a big
hug and then several pictures. I still couldn't believe how fast I
ran but Holly said I was flying (it's all relative of course!). I've
heard that when you go from the bike to the run you often underestimate
how fast you're going because you're used to the speed of the bike
thus making the run seem very slow.
Run time 21 minutes
Total time 1:40.23 (winning time was 1:21)
Thoughts:
-
I had one of the best times of my life, thoroughly enjoyed it and
I hope I always have that feeling.
-
Swimming can be fun. Never thought I'd say that. But I definitely
have to get faster.
-
The volunteers really do appreciate it when you thank them and it
makes you feel good too. I think I talked to every single one both
on the course and around the transition area.
-
Drafting packs suck!! Now I'm not going for any awards but I can
sure see how this would really piss off better racers.
-
This website prepared me tremendously. Just from reading so many
different people's experiences I felt I was really prepared.
-
I really want my wife to get involved with this next season and
she seems eager to give it a tri.
-
Gloves and socks not needed on the bike, at least for this distance.
-
Things I really like: DeSoto race shorts and top, Yankz laces,
Aqua Sphere swim mask, Carboom.
Thanks to everyone who has ever offered advice, opinions, etc. This
site is THE BEST resource there is.
Sincerely,
Mike (veteran triathlete...haha)