Never again.... (long first tri report)

[alpinerabbit]

… will I have to feel like I am about to puke before the start. I was soooo nervous. I went to the portaloo three times in the hour before the start.

Aneways...

I slept like a princess the night before. I had swim class and that helped a lot, plus one (really just one) glass of wine
6:45 Breakfast: pumpernickel, butter, jam, soft boiled egg, tea. Grab equipment that was laid out the night before.
7:45 Cycle to the venue (15 minutes).
8:00 check in bike. Phew, some knobbies around so I am not the only one without a time machine.
Walk around expo for an hour. Ogle at fancy bikes*. Had coffee and a croissant that I could not down. Tested some isotonic beverage that was yucky.

The weather is clear, partly cloudy, and cool (about 20°C).
We had very little wind, some head but mostly tailwind. We were lucky: at noon, as the Oly race started, the wind became quite brutal with gusts from the side. Yuck.

Walk over to swim start (another trip to the loo) and try to calm down my breath, clattering teeth and rubber knees using a short meditation. I stood to the back and side...

Swim
9:50 Boom. The start. The lake is not cold at all. I pull past some swimmers and start freestyling, then some breast stroke, pull past some more. The swim was long. Very long. My goggles fogged up and I had to breast stroke a lot to catch breath and sight. I got into some tiny passing struggles and quite enjoyed it. But it was harder than expected.

Out of the water they grab your hands and pull you up. What took longest in T1 was getting my gloves on my wet, shaky and uncoordinated fingers but I am glad I used them.

Bike
2 rounds were to be done.
Off on the bike leg and I am spinning at 30-32 kph most of the time sometimes even 34, tops 37. This is going well! My breath goes easy but nevertheless my pulse is about 175. There was quite a draftfest going on and I tried not to profit too much - but there was not much you could do, quite a crowd. I was a good girl and finished almost a bottle of water, plus a power gel after lap one.

Take it easy the last ~1K into T2, hop off the bike - my computer showed only 17K or so, average 30kph!
I was back in transition in 38 minutes. On with shoes. Glasses stay on, I like running with shades.

Run
2 laps to run.
Legs were a bit heavy on the first half lap but I felt ok. I was afraid I might cramp as I had a beginning cramp towards the end of the bike. Breath was steady but HR high (180 almost). Third half-lap my legs are starting to feel good. I see some peeps I met in Spain and holler, and high five as the wife crosses me on the run. On the last turnaround my hair raises and I am enjoying myself. Passing some people who are huffing and puffing. Had a drink on both laps.
Last half lap I was able to up the speed based on my breathing rhythm and in I am!

Finish -
Did not forget anything so I don't think I will get DQ'd...
I know I am about at 1:15, much better than expected.
Find boyfriend, say goodbye to the folks I know, checkout bike, roll home to a thai lunch.

Total time 1.13.14
Overall rank 39/134
Age group rank 21/70
I was NOT last *happydance*

Swim 13.47 (50 overall/25 AG)
Bike 37.18 (36 overall/20 AG)
Run 22.08 (64 overall/35 AG) splits 11.27/10.41

I discussed with a girl next to me in the transition zones that the distances could no way have been 20K/5K. Not with these times.

Lessons learned: dunno about the gloves. Don’t fret too much. Power gel is not half bad. I did not litter, not even the top. The bike is the most important for ranking. I think I’ll do it again.


Yours truly

Alpinerabbitfish

*Record components are almost better than sex...

[crazycanuck]

Wahooooey AR!

Where was this tri that they pull you out of the water Don't you hate draftfests! Last time i checked, the bike course is not for drafting. I be the TO's had a great time handing out penalties or even trying to decipher who should be dinged!

I always have to go pee quite a bit before a tri or any event for that matter.

Good luck on your next one!

C

[Velobambina]

Congratulations! You did well, so treat yourself to something nice.

[colby]

Congratulations! Despite the jitters, you did great.

[Tri Girl]

CONGRATS!!!!

WOW- great race report! Sounds like you had a solid race!!! Sorry about the pre-race upset stomach- but it didn't seem to affect your performance at all! Wow- very nice!!!
Thanks for telling us all about it- I was wondering how it went!

Now rest up, take it easy the rest of the day- and be a bit lazy- you've earned it!!!!

One down.... many more to go. (see it's addictive, isn't it?)

[HillSlugger]

Great job. Be proud. You are a triathlete!

[roadie gal]

Excellent!! Congrats on your first! Your times sound very impressive.

[Tri'inMomma]

Congratulations!!! I get those "run for the portaloo" feelings before each race too ---- and sometimes before a ride/run with a new group! It's exhilaration I believe!

Your times are great! YAY TO YOU!

[btchance]

Great job!! I knew you would do great. As far as the nervousness goes, I don't think that ever goes away (sorry to tell you that ), but it does become more bearable (sp?) When's the next one

[HappyAnika]

Congratulations! You did great, far from last place! That's a great bike average (18.64 mph for us non-metric people).

[KSH]

You did a great job on your first race! Thanks for sharing!

[Lise]

Great job, Alpine!!! I've done 8 triathlons, 4 sprint, 4 Oly, and I wanted to puke before every one! The nerves, the nerves... ...but once I'm out of the water, I get to ride my bike, and things get better.

You did phenomenally, especially in such chilly conditions. Congratulations!

[Wahine]

Good job. You did really well.

You're right, the easiest place to make the most gains when you're talking about training, is on the bike. You had a great race and the next will be even better.

[RoadRaven]

I know that happydance, Rabbit!!!

Awesome day for you... and passing people as you near the end - that must be a huge psychological advantage!

So impressed!!!

[alpinerabbit]

Hi yall,

woo hoo here are my pics....




If I had run all 4K the way I cross the finish line, I mighta won. Alas I can't...

What else. Crazycanuck: They pulled you out the water because the bank is rather steep and there was carpet matting covering it. They were practicing for the next day's Ironman. (yeah see the Mdot over the finish line?!?!)

Oh yeah I forgot the story about the lady in transition - as you can imagine there's one bike next to the other and about a meter or less in between. The bike to my right had a towel down on its left side, as had the bike to my left, on its right side, and there was no space for mine, so I suggested to the girl to my left to move hers to keep the sequence. "of course I'll do that for you" she said in a condescending tone.

Future plans....?
I had a contact for a wetsuit but I don't think I want to do anything much over a sprint until at least next year. And I'll likely rent if needed.

Next one: http://www.schaffhauser-triathlon.ch/
This is a 2.5 K downriver swim (equals about 1K I'm told - ouch)
31K bike with 350m elevation (ouch)
7.6K run with another 50 elevation (ouch)
See you at the pool!!