My first triathlon: the bad, the good, and the ugly

[HillSlugger]

Today I did my first ever triathlon, the 3 Sports Triathlon in Richmond, VA.

We went to bed last night at 10:30pm, getting up at 4:30am this morning. In between I know I got some sleep, but I don’t know how much. I’d start thinking about and visualizing my transitions and I’d start to get nervous.

Breakfast: a big bowl of Cheerios. Then out the door at 5am. I didn’t really need to be there before 6am, but Michele had volunteered and needed to be there by 5:30 to help hand out timing chips.

In the transition area racks were assigned by bib number. I found my rack and since I was the first there I was able to take the primo spot (if only I knew what that was). Taking the lay of the land I noticed that there was about two feet between one end of the rack and the next rack. So, I racked my bike at this end and used the area between the racks to lay out my stuff.

By 6:40 it was time to go to the pre-race talk, and then vacate the transition area. The race start time was 7am, but with bib number 211 my start time was 7:45. I killed a lot of this time watching the early swimmers do their thing. Lots of piling up and passing. Around 7:25 I went off to pee and get on my swim cap and goggles. Then, time to line up. When it was my turn I was lucky because it was time for a planned swim gap so I got to head in with nobody right in front of me. Immediately, though, my pace felt slow and by the second lane there were swimmers wanting to pass. In the pre-race talk we were instructed to hold up at the lane end after being tapped to allow the passer to go by. It felt like I had to do this almost every lane. It was impossible for me to stay composed and stroking efficiently. It was a long 300m. I’d been doing 300m in under 6 minutes and had hoped to repeat that here. Nope. I hauled myself out of the water in 7:20.

Then I was into the long jog over to the transition area. I had a slight problem finding my stuff but then got down to the job of getting ready to ride. A short jog later I was mounting up and riding out (T1: 4:08). I drove the bike route yesterday and knew that it had no hills, only mild rises and dips. So, it was time to spin it up and drop the hammer. I was passed by about 6 people and passed only about 3. 12 miles disappeared pretty quickly at an awesome (at least for me) 17.9mph pace, a personal best.

Then, off the bike and back into transition. Rack the bike, off with the helmet and biking shoes, and one with the running shoes and out to the run. (T2: 2:32). It didn’t take long to know that my legs were toasted. My goal of no walking wasn’t going to happen. The “run” turned into a long, hard, painful, disappointing slog. I hit the halfway turnaround and thought that maybe I could run the whole way back. Nope for this, too; a little way in I found myself falling. I have no idea what happened! I picked myself up right away, basically unhurt, but did some more walking. Then, I ended up running the last few 10ths with my thigh muscles basically in spasm down by my knees. The final damage: 3.1 miles in 34:27. Yuck! Ugly!

My official total time: 1:28:18

I know that this was my first triathlon and just finishing was a huge accomplishment. I am a triathlete! However, I can’t help but be a bit disappointed in my performance. The swim was a bit off from what I had hoped, but the ride was great and I made back my lost time. The run was horrible, far worse than any run or brick I’ve done. I was betrayed by my legs. I’m sure the 4 weeks I lost to my sprained ankle had a lot to do with this.

Next up for me is the Iron Girl Triathlon on August 22. It’s a far harder route. I’ve got a lot of hard work in front of me.

Swim: 00:07:20 143/196F AG 7/8
T1: 00:04:08 178/196F AG 7/8
Bike: 00:39:53 74/196F AG 5/8
T2: 00:02:32 192/196F AG 8/8
Run: 00:34:27 160/196F AG 7/8
Total: 01:28:18 140/196F AG 7/8

[crazycanuck]

YAAY!

You finished!

C

[Velobambina]

That's great! I hope you celebrated your accomplishment! :-)

[Skeezix]

Congrats on finishing! Woo! Triathlete!

I completely understanding being disappointed about the running portion, it's the part I've got the most trouble with too.

Good job on the personal best on the bike! That is pretty kickass!

[divingbiker]

Congratulations, Nicole. I know you're too competitive to be satisfied with being a back-of-the-pack triathlete, but you're out there doing it. You'll have a great time at the Irongirl, and the open water swim will be a completely different experience from a pool swim.

[Tuckervill]

Hey, I've never ever had an aspiration to be a runner. In the Army, I hated running, and almost always dropped out of the formation and it sucked because I was punished for it. I like to swim and I'm good at it, and I like to bike. I have repressed my competitive side since childhood, and don't intend to let it out of its box any time soon.

But when I read reports like yours about how you fought and struggled and trained and overcame to finish, and then have the grace to post about even the hard parts, it almost makes me want to TRY IT! Not today, but I *almost* can envision a time when I might be persuaded to try it.

So, keep on keeping on, because you are definitely inspiring.

Karen

[HillSlugger]

Congratulations, Nicole. I know you're too competitive to be satisfied with being a back-of-the-pack triathlete, but you're out there doing it.

Sure, I'd love to end up on the podium some time (in my dreams perhaps) but where I place in the pack really isn't important to me. What is important is doing my best. If I do my best and get beat, so be it. The swim wasn't my best, but swimming is still new to me, I was near the limit of my distance ability, and I just couldn't perform under the circumstances. So be it. It's the run that upset me. I wasn't anywhere near what I know I'm capable of.

Did I have fun? It's hard to call this fun. I still don't consider swimming or running fun, but I'm always excited to see myself improving. When I sprained my ankle during the 5k race it certainly wasn't fun but I still did really well, posting a PB by a huge margin. That was exciting. My bike result yesterday was exciting. The run just sucked! It certainly wasn't fun. It kinda tossed a wet blanket over the whole experience.

Yeah, I'm feeling a little sorry for myself, but tomorrow it's back to the pool! Iron Girl is in 4 weeks! No rest for the weary

[eclectic]

MANY, MANY, MANY CONGRATULATIONS ! ! ! ! !

You did it! and you did great
Your first run sounds like mine not very much fun. The next one will be better - at least it was for me in the running department.
Great job on the bike.
Swimming in a group is a whole new experience, I have decided I like open water way better than pool swims, eventually everyone finds their pace and spreads out some. In a pool swim you keep running into the same people over and over and over again, if not one direction than the other

Have fun and good luck training for your next one

[HillSlugger]

From pool to T1:


Heading out to the ride:


Heading out to the run:


Finishing:


"Mighty Me"

[Tuckervill]

Nice biceps!

Karen

[wildstreaktn]

Way to go!!!You finished despite having an ankle injury and you kicked a** on the bike.I commiserate with you on the run,it is my least favorite discipline as well.You did a great job and you should be proud!!!

[leulamax]

Great job!
I am in a tri group in SW Virginia. I know a number of people that did the Richmond tri last weekend, and they had a ball. When I saw your pictures, one of the kids in our group was in your swim to bike transition picture! Small world.....

[teigyr]

You did it though and you learned from it. I think your cycling time was incredible and maybe that's what trashed your legs? That and maybe all the excitement.

My first one, a sprint, is in September. I am less prepared than you but have come to the conclusion that I am not doing it as a race. My goal is to run without walking....but maybe I'll have to have a contingency goal so I don't beat myself up when I walk

[HillSlugger]

You did it though and you learned from it. I think your cycling time was incredible and maybe that's what trashed your legs? That and maybe all the excitement.

My first one, a sprint, is in September. I am less prepared than you but have come to the conclusion that I am not doing it as a race. My goal is to run without walking....but maybe I'll have to have a contingency goal so I don't beat myself up when I walk

One of my goals was no walking. Didn't happen. I'll never know "what if" I had held back on the ride but if I still needed to walk the run I would have been really upset.

The disappointment has faded and the reality of what I accomplished has started to shine.

The Iron Girl triathlon is going to be much harder. My focus with this one is just to finish.

[Tri Girl]

YIPPEE and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

You did a fantastic job, and this is just the first of many to come! You should be very proud of yourself. Now that you know the drill- they'll be much smoother. In sprints I still haven't figured out how hard to push myself- sometimes I push too hard and peter out on the run- sometimes I don't push hard enough and finish with lots left. It's hard to get it down. In oly and longer distances it's much easier for me because I can settle into a rhythm.

Love the pictures- thanks for posting them!
Pat yourself on the back and get ready for the next one- you're going to do GREAT!!!!