Heading for T1 after the swim
Putting on the Wetsuit Pre-race
Such an intense look as I leave for the run
Me and my little plaque...big smiles
Walking the bike back to the car with dadAfter weeks of anticipation, I finally opened the 2008 triathlon season officially Sunday with my first sprint tri of the summer. It felt like it took forever for the first one to come along, probably since this is the first season I’ve been 100% focused on tri training and not some other athletic endeavor. Also, since my training has been more focused and organized, I was eagerly waiting for a tri to really get a chance to see the progress of my efforts. The race was Tri-for-Joe at the Coney Island fun park in Cincinnati, OH and it basically went as follows…
I woke up at 5:15 AM after only about 5hrs of sleep. To preface, I was attending a wedding my fiancée was in on Saturday afternoon in Northwest Ohio about 2.5 hrs from Cincy…I didn’t get back from that until almost 11 and still had to get my stuff together so I wouldn’t be a wreck in the AM. I had a breakfast of Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal + Cinnamon Cheks cereal (not the best I know, but in desperate need of a grocery run so I improvised). Yes, I like to mix my cereals. Then I packed up and headed out the door. Had to make a stop at Walgreens on the way to the course to pick up Vaseline and got a Clif bar while I was there. I realized the night before I was out of body glide, so I’m sure I looked odd buying those two items at 5:45 AM.
I arrived at the course at 6:15 and picked up my race bag. Then I headed straight back to my car for cover since I thought hell was about to break loose. There was a dark cloud overhead and the winds were wreaking havoc at the course, and I was not dressed for those conditions. Luckily by 7, the clouds were clearing, there was little to no wind, and very little rain had fallen…very lucky. I setup my transition area, getting a prime spot since I arrived early and then waited for my fans (parents) to arrive. I knew I was ready, but still had to convince myself that everything was setup properly in transition and I wasn’t forgetting anything about 5 times as nerves were setting in.
When my parents arrived I joked around with them while hanging out at the pre-race meeting. They initially announced the pool temperature at 54 degrees (brrr!). Apparently that was a premature measurement and the pool was actually a very warm 61 by race start, haha. Even though it was a (open water style) pool-swim, I was glad to have my wetsuit as most participants did. My heat was the last to go, so I got to size up the field and watch the other waves taking off as I hung out in the warm-up area trying to adjust to the water. Finally, the Clydesdales were up to take our turn on the 700m course. We took off into the water and ran in the shallows until I saw the guy in front of me begin dolphin jumping, so I decided to do the same, only to realize I was still in 2-3 ft water. I tried swimming (and pushing off the bottom on my down stroke) until I realized people were walking past me in the water, so I got up and joined them. Soon, the water deepened to a swimmable level. As ridiculous as the course looked, it wasn’t as cluttered as I expected and I was able to move pretty freely. I also got a lot of work in on open water turning. After my second lap, I couldn’t tell where I was compared to my division, but felt I had posted a pretty good time…it ended up being 11:16, 1st one out of the water. I’m not that fast in reality, so the course must have been a little short, but I was moving pretty quick (YAY for wetsuits).
Off to T1 where I was worried having never removed a wetsuit before in race situation. I had the top half off during the run to T1, then I had to sit down to pull the legs off, but had no major issue…1:40 later (also fastest in div), I was off on the bike.
I hadn’t scouted the bike course specifically, but new it was flat and fast from knowing the general area. My real focus was spinning a high cadence and keeping my legs feeling fresh. I also planned to alternate Infinit and water every 3-4 miles throughout the bike. The course was flat and the winds were low and I felt like I was flying…it helped that we were the last heat to take off so I had plenty of people to pass. Unfortunately some were not versed in how to ride in a tri and were socializing with one another blocking the already narrow route, so I had to do some navigating. I finished the ride passing the entire time, having never been passed, so I knew any Clydesdale ahead of me was ahead of me after the swim. My CPU said I averaged just over 22mph on a 17.6 or so mile course. The course was supposed to be 18.6 miles, so my official results have me at 23.1 mph (they flatter me), once again 1st in my division.
T2 was pretty straightforward, rack the bike…switch shoes…grab water…put on race belt as I headed out to the run. In and out in 0:45 (2nd in div).
The run was a 5k through the park and parking lots, not a lot of great scenery, but it was flat and open. Since it wasn’t too hot it was pretty comfortable. I felt a little uneasy the first mile since I drank too much liquid in T2 and it was sitting heavily on me. I took it easy until the discomfort was manageable and then pushed the pace, knowing there wasn’t much left. I had noticed when I racked in T2 there was only 1 bike on the Clydesdale/Athena racks, so I had to be near the front of my division and knowing that running is my strong leg, I wanted to catch that other bike (who apparently I was already ahead of). I continued slightly increasing the pace until the finish…I didn’t have much of a kick left in me so I must have pushed pretty well throughout the race. Finished the 5k in 20:18, which I suspect was also slightly a short course. I felt like I was pacing like 6:50s, not the 6:33 they had me at.
Either way, I finished and got some delicious chocolate milk at the line and waited for results with the family. I knew I had placed, so was already happy. It was only later I found out I won the Clydesdale division…by almost 6 minutes! I assumed there were errors, so waited for the official results to be posted today to write the RR. I took home my plaque very satisfied with the day’s accomplishment.
Final stats:
Swim: 11:16 (1st in AG)
T1: 1:40 (1st in AG)
Bike: 0:48:21—“23.1 mph avg” (1st in AG)
T2: 0:45 (2nd in AG)
Run: 20:18—“6:33/mile” (1st in AG)
Total: 1:22:20 (1st of 21 in AG, 40 of 437 males, 839 total)…only 11min out of 1st place overall, haha.
Sorry for the long RR, I’ve just never won anything athletic individually like this, so I’m ecstatic. Pretty excited to push on in my training. Next tri in 4 weeks, RR to follow. Here are some pics, my mom was on top of things and got the pictures to me right away...
I woke up at 5:15 AM after only about 5hrs of sleep. To preface, I was attending a wedding my fiancée was in on Saturday afternoon in Northwest Ohio about 2.5 hrs from Cincy…I didn’t get back from that until almost 11 and still had to get my stuff together so I wouldn’t be a wreck in the AM. I had a breakfast of Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal + Cinnamon Cheks cereal (not the best I know, but in desperate need of a grocery run so I improvised). Yes, I like to mix my cereals. Then I packed up and headed out the door. Had to make a stop at Walgreens on the way to the course to pick up Vaseline and got a Clif bar while I was there. I realized the night before I was out of body glide, so I’m sure I looked odd buying those two items at 5:45 AM.
I arrived at the course at 6:15 and picked up my race bag. Then I headed straight back to my car for cover since I thought hell was about to break loose. There was a dark cloud overhead and the winds were wreaking havoc at the course, and I was not dressed for those conditions. Luckily by 7, the clouds were clearing, there was little to no wind, and very little rain had fallen…very lucky. I setup my transition area, getting a prime spot since I arrived early and then waited for my fans (parents) to arrive. I knew I was ready, but still had to convince myself that everything was setup properly in transition and I wasn’t forgetting anything about 5 times as nerves were setting in.
When my parents arrived I joked around with them while hanging out at the pre-race meeting. They initially announced the pool temperature at 54 degrees (brrr!). Apparently that was a premature measurement and the pool was actually a very warm 61 by race start, haha. Even though it was a (open water style) pool-swim, I was glad to have my wetsuit as most participants did. My heat was the last to go, so I got to size up the field and watch the other waves taking off as I hung out in the warm-up area trying to adjust to the water. Finally, the Clydesdales were up to take our turn on the 700m course. We took off into the water and ran in the shallows until I saw the guy in front of me begin dolphin jumping, so I decided to do the same, only to realize I was still in 2-3 ft water. I tried swimming (and pushing off the bottom on my down stroke) until I realized people were walking past me in the water, so I got up and joined them. Soon, the water deepened to a swimmable level. As ridiculous as the course looked, it wasn’t as cluttered as I expected and I was able to move pretty freely. I also got a lot of work in on open water turning. After my second lap, I couldn’t tell where I was compared to my division, but felt I had posted a pretty good time…it ended up being 11:16, 1st one out of the water. I’m not that fast in reality, so the course must have been a little short, but I was moving pretty quick (YAY for wetsuits).
Off to T1 where I was worried having never removed a wetsuit before in race situation. I had the top half off during the run to T1, then I had to sit down to pull the legs off, but had no major issue…1:40 later (also fastest in div), I was off on the bike.
I hadn’t scouted the bike course specifically, but new it was flat and fast from knowing the general area. My real focus was spinning a high cadence and keeping my legs feeling fresh. I also planned to alternate Infinit and water every 3-4 miles throughout the bike. The course was flat and the winds were low and I felt like I was flying…it helped that we were the last heat to take off so I had plenty of people to pass. Unfortunately some were not versed in how to ride in a tri and were socializing with one another blocking the already narrow route, so I had to do some navigating. I finished the ride passing the entire time, having never been passed, so I knew any Clydesdale ahead of me was ahead of me after the swim. My CPU said I averaged just over 22mph on a 17.6 or so mile course. The course was supposed to be 18.6 miles, so my official results have me at 23.1 mph (they flatter me), once again 1st in my division.
T2 was pretty straightforward, rack the bike…switch shoes…grab water…put on race belt as I headed out to the run. In and out in 0:45 (2nd in div).
The run was a 5k through the park and parking lots, not a lot of great scenery, but it was flat and open. Since it wasn’t too hot it was pretty comfortable. I felt a little uneasy the first mile since I drank too much liquid in T2 and it was sitting heavily on me. I took it easy until the discomfort was manageable and then pushed the pace, knowing there wasn’t much left. I had noticed when I racked in T2 there was only 1 bike on the Clydesdale/Athena racks, so I had to be near the front of my division and knowing that running is my strong leg, I wanted to catch that other bike (who apparently I was already ahead of). I continued slightly increasing the pace until the finish…I didn’t have much of a kick left in me so I must have pushed pretty well throughout the race. Finished the 5k in 20:18, which I suspect was also slightly a short course. I felt like I was pacing like 6:50s, not the 6:33 they had me at.
Either way, I finished and got some delicious chocolate milk at the line and waited for results with the family. I knew I had placed, so was already happy. It was only later I found out I won the Clydesdale division…by almost 6 minutes! I assumed there were errors, so waited for the official results to be posted today to write the RR. I took home my plaque very satisfied with the day’s accomplishment.
Final stats:
Swim: 11:16 (1st in AG)
T1: 1:40 (1st in AG)
Bike: 0:48:21—“23.1 mph avg” (1st in AG)
T2: 0:45 (2nd in AG)
Run: 20:18—“6:33/mile” (1st in AG)
Total: 1:22:20 (1st of 21 in AG, 40 of 437 males, 839 total)…only 11min out of 1st place overall, haha.
Sorry for the long RR, I’ve just never won anything athletic individually like this, so I’m ecstatic. Pretty excited to push on in my training. Next tri in 4 weeks, RR to follow. Here are some pics, my mom was on top of things and got the pictures to me right away...
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