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Posts Tagged ‘sprint tri’

Q&A with a First Time Triathlete

Posted in Race reports, Racing, Triathlon, tagged , , , , , on December 4, 2012| 4 Comments »

I cornered my husband for an interview about his experience at HITS Palm Springs 2012 on Sunday. He did his first sprint triathlon and came in 6th of 12 in his 40-44 age group and 91st of 238 overall!

A newbie crosses the line to become a triathlete!

A newbie crosses the line to become a triathlete!

Swim: 00:19:12.982 (130th of 238)
T1: 00:03:18.792
Bike: 00:41:51.931 (105th of 238; 17.77 miles per hour)
T2: 00:02:07.115
Run: 00:26:03.499 (81 of 238 — best segment! 8:24 pace, 7.14 mph)
Finish: 01:32:34.319

1. Congratulations on your first triathlon! How do you feel 36 hours later?

Sore! Accomplished. Proud of wife because of her triathlon adventures and her super fast times!

2. What was the farthest race you had run before doing a triathlon? What was your experience with cycling and swimming? What did you work on most as you prepared for the tri?

I had done a few 5K races. The longest run for fun I’d ever done was 9 miles. I’d never competed before on the bike or swimming. At first I had to see if I could even do the swim — swim that half-mile distance. I did a couple of weeks of swim tryouts and I realized I could do it. Then I got out Your First Triathlon and started following one of the training plans from that.

3. What surprised you about the training?

Nothing really surprised me. I knew what to expect from watching you train. It turned out about like I expected — you have to commit to it, you have to prioritize the training over other things. It put a dent in some of my other activities like music, and I quit yoga and Pilates in order to spend the time on training.

4. What surprised you about the triathlon itself?

The swim. The swim start was unmanageable. I was on the verge of having to float for a while to catch my breath. In the pool it was no big deal. I could get my groove, I could push myself to the limit and back off when it got to be too much, and never break my stroke. But when you’ve got hundreds of bodies interfering with your kicking, and splashing you, and going out of the gate so fast, it interferes with your stroke and your breathing and it’s hard to get back to your pace. After about 100 or 200 yards I had a moment of worry that it might be the end of my race and I could not keep on going. So I flipped over on my back and did backstroke for a while, then I floated on my back while I kicked my legs to catch my breath. After a while I was able to flip back over and complete the swim at my normal pace.

My dead legs on the run surprised me too. I got a decent time for the run — 26:03 — but I would have estimated it was 30 minutes based on the way I felt.

5. Do you feel like just from doing this triathlon, you’ll be better prepared for the swim start next time?

Yes, for sure. There’s some nervousness at the start of the race that freaks you out a bit. Having all those people around you makes you freak out.

I think that there are a few other things that could help. Practicing a shore start at a lake. Also practicing swimming through surf waves would be a good way to try that out because you have to put out a lot of exertion right through the start and then come back and get your groove.

6. What did you learn from doing your first tri? What do you wish you had known before going into the race?

I wish I had had some more coping skills for the swim start. I also need a tri kit for the bike because I was the only shirtless bike rider out there, to the point that I worried that it was against the rules. [It wasn’t].

7. What did you think of the HITS Palm Springs organization? Would you do the race again?

I think they did a great job. They did a better job than last year [the first year of the series, when I did the Olympic distance race]. It’s a really great venue and the organizers are really nice people. They’re cool and they care a lot about the racers and the sport and it comes through in their attitude. I would definitely do the race again.

8. What’s your advice for someone considering signing up for a triathlon?

Try out each of the pieces to see how it feels. Try out running, try out swimming, try out biking and see how it goes. The likelihood is that will give you the confidence to do it. Then pick a training plan and stick to it. Be honest with yourself about the time commitment and the discipline it takes to stick to that plan. The success of the triathlon is in the training for the race; the race is just an indication that you trained well. [I totally agree!]

9. What are your goals now that you’ve successfully completed a sprint?

Don’t overeat. Keep up the training. Sign up for another one at some point!

Thanks Mike! I am very proud of you for challenging yourself with the training and race and I’m glad it went so well!

Any other triathletes out there? What was your first triathlon like? What advice would you give someone who is considering signing up for his or her first tri?

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SheROX San Diego 2012 Sprint Triathlon Recap

Posted in Race reports, Racing, Triathlon, Women, tagged , , , , , , on October 22, 2012| 4 Comments »

When my alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. on race day, I woke to the sound of rain dripping down the hotel gutters. Darn it, my Twitter chant of “Rain rain go away, I have a tri in Mission Bay” did not work! I made oatmeal with hot water from the hotel coffee maker, then made actual coffee with the coffee maker. I had about half an hour to eat, get in my tri kit, and get out the door. Transition opened at 5 a.m. and I wanted to be there on time. I managed to be about 20th in line as we waited in the drizzle for transition to open, which it finally did around 15 or 20 minutes late.

I hustled to find the two long bike racks designated for wave 9, and snagged one of the prime spots at the end of the rack. I hooked the nose of my bike seat on the rack as directed, then set up my bright pink towel to the left, carefully laying out my bike shoes, sunglasses, and running shoes under the plastic SheROX expo bag so they wouldn’t get wet. Then I set about walking the routes I would take through T1 and T2. Wave 9 did not have a prime location but I had no trouble navigating transition and again this year I was impressed with how well the organizers set it up. Satisfied that I had the drill down, I drove back to the hotel to pick up my cheering section. My three girls were none too happy to be up at 6 a.m., but they were troopers as always, ready and waiting in their bright pink SWIM, BIKE, and RUN t-shirts. Unfortunately, the hotel cafe was not open at that hour like it was last year, so the troops had to get by on leftover California rolls and the Luna bars we’d snagged at the expo. Oops. Plea to race organizers: invite some food trucks to come to the race — my family loved the food truck at Nautica Malibu!

We high-tailed it back to the race start, just in time before the parking closed at 6:30. I had plenty of time to get to the race start and chat with a few nice women who had questions about the swim course or needed help zipping up a wetsuit. I think triathletes in general are a friendly, helpful bunch of people, and yet the vibe is even more welcoming at an all-women event like SheROX. Really perfect for beginners. That’s not to say that the ladies aren’t competitive. Just like last year, several of the women in my wave “drifted” several feet out past the starting line. Last year I didn’t say anything because those ladies were only harming themselves. This year it took everything I had to restrain myself from yelling at the women who “drifted” right out in front of me. So not cool.

Starting line at SheROX swim

That’s me, third to the left of the white buoy, trying desperately not to yell at the cheater cheater pumpkin eaters.

Still, I love an in-water start, and the start went well for me. The rain had stopped and the saltwater in Mission Bay looked as smooth as glass. If anything, I went out too strong and paid for it later. By the end of the swim, my lips looked blue from hyperventilating. When I practice swimming in the pool, I breathe every three strokes. Out in open water, I need to breathe every two. Obviously what I need to do is practice breathing every two strokes in the pool, as well as get in more open water swims in training. Still, I was pleased with the results:

2011 1500m swim: 14:44
2012 1500m swim: 14:24 (-20 seconds)

T1 went smoothly. I skipped putting on socks to save time and I didn’t miss them on the bike or run. No sunscreen, no drink of electrolytes. Just in, out, boom.

2011 T1: 3:22
2012 T1: 2:18 (-1:04) (my best T1 out of 4 races to date!)

As I’ve said, the bike is my favorite part of any triathlon and SheROX was no exception.

SheROX bike course

As always, smiling on the bike (in spite of whatever weird thing was going on with my bike helmet strap)

The bike course seemed more crowded than the year before and I later learned there were 684 competitors, nearly 90 more athletes this year than last. Not particularly large for a race, but noticeable for me when I’m passing people on the bike (and they are passing me on the run!) It started to drizzle again as I made my second loop on the bike course. The road had never dried up from the morning anyway, and the rain did not bother me, but I am not willing to risk life or limb, so I took it a little slower in the turns on the course.

2011 20K bike: 37:55 (19.67 mph)
2012 20K bike: 38:26 (+ 31 seconds)

Transition two was fine. Part of the reason T1 was faster this year was that I saved putting on my race belt until T2. That doesn’t account for all the difference though.

2011 T2: 1:21
2012 T2: 2:18 (+ 57 seconds)

The run was tough for me. I had hoped to improve on my run time by a lot, given all the half marathon and marathon training I’d done in the past year. But of course, running 20 miles three days before for my current training, and not tapering for this race, meant my legs just didn’t have it in them.

SheROX run course

Still happy to be on the run

2011 5K run: 26:38
2012 5K run: 29:04 (+2:26)

I was happy to finish, and happy to see my family at the finish line. They, starving at this point, were happy to see my race finish line treats — muffins and juice box and banana and orange.

SheROX finish

Not sure I even accomplished the goal of getting a better finish line photo. I tried to finish strong and not do anything goofy, but I pretty much look like I want to punch someone.

2011 sprint tri final results: 1:23:57
2012 sprint tri final results: 1:25:53 (+1:56)

So, faster on the swim and T1, slower on the bike, T2 and the run. It’s the run that bums me out. You know, before I started training for the marathon, I had already signed up for Nautica Malibu and SheROX. I asked a more experienced runner if I should bow out of the triathlons, and she said yes. She said I should just write off those triathlons and focus on the goal race. Now I have to grudgingly admit, she was right. It’s possible that overtraining for the triathlons and the marathon led to the plantar fasciitis and groin injury I’ve been battling. And it’s clear that running 20 miles and not tapering before the triathlon results in less than optimal performance. It helps me to go through the race and analyze what happened (not making excuses, but learning from the experience). After getting over the initial disappointment of not getting a PR, I am pleased overall and more than ready to focus all my attention now on these last three weeks of marathon training. Santa Barbara International Marathon, here I come!

Did you race SheROX or elsewhere this weekend? How did it go?

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