i can’t sleep. all the excitement, anxiety, fear, thoughts is getting to me.
Have fun out there
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Good Luck and let us know how it goes
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Have fun. Tri hard.
good luck, season’s done for me up here in cold canada… =/
Turkey Tri here in SoCal? If so, I’ll see ya there!
remember to sprint past the little girl for at the finish for 20th place
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Good luck and have fun!!!
hey guys, i’m back home!!! I SURVIVED!!!
Ok, so quick background about me:
Age - 34
Played bball in HS but not naturally athletic. BTW, i graduated HS in '96 and was 5’10 and about 165 lbs. After 15 years, i was up to 195. After some life changing event in the past 12 months which resulted in depression, i lost weight. I was down to 170 last August. Since therapy is expensive, i decided to work out and challenge myself to a triathlon. Never would i have thought in a million years i would get into this. So i looked for a local short course and set myself for that goal. Mind you, i didn’t know how to swim prior to this. I learned how to swim off of youtube. So last Sept 25th, i did my first tri and i completed. The swim was the worst part of it. I was panicking and couldn’t do the stroke i practiced for. I ran in too fast, i couldn’t see bottom, i felt people’s feet and arms, my goggles were fogging, oh and it’s my first open water swim. But i never backed out and kept going. As soon as i finished, all i could think about is my next race and a better performance.
Fast forward to this morning:
The distance on this is 800m / 14 mile bike / and 4.5 mile run. This is my second tri in 2 months. Since swimming is weakest discipline, I concentrated on that during training. My best time was 18 mins 34 seconds in the pool for 800m without a wetsuit. I was feeling good about my swim since my first tri i did close to 11 mins on 350m. (Don’t forget, i don’t know how to swim). The announce water temp for the lake this morning was 58 degrees. I did some test swim and it was freaking cold. I couldn’t put my face down and exhale the way i practiced. I trained breathing every 4 strokes and unfortunately, i can only breathe on my left side. I was thinking i might have to breathe every 2 strokes because of the water temp. The horn sounded, this time, i stayed towards the back part of the my wave, walked to the water instead of running and calmly started swimming. I COULDN’T GET MY STROKE GOING AGAIN!!! The cold water and all the factors i knew were unkown in the past started coming back to me. Then, EVERYTIME I TRY TO DO MY STROKE, IT FELT LIKE I WAS GETTING DISORIENTATED. Like i was losing my sense of direction and bearing. So each time i put my face on the water and then turn my head to the side and breathe for a few strokes, it felt like my vision was spinning. Each time this happens, i go on my back and try to relax. There were even times when i’m on my back and look at the sky and feels like it’s somewhat spinning.
I just tried to relax as much as i could and finish. I did finish but it took every single ounce of my energy to do it. When i got out of the water, i was doing my best to keep my balance because i was walking like a drunk. Someone asked me if i was ok, and i said yes. But after i said that, i heard her tell one of the volunteers, “no he’s not”. The volunteer asked me to stop for 2 minutes until i get everything back in order. I did and went to my transition area. I quickly drank some gatorade and a GU Gel. Did my transition and off on the bike. My bike was decent but did horrible on the run with the combination of stomach and quad cramps and not having as much energy.
I’m thinking it could have been a nutrition issue or lack of sleep. Another could be that everytime i train it’s at night and so my body isn’t used to that much aerobic exercise at 8am. I don’t know the answer but i still want to improve. I won’t stop TRI’ing. I still look forward to my ultimate goal which is a HIM in 12 months.
Thanks for all those that have given tips. Another positive - Baby Shampoo works!!! Goggles never fogged the whole time. Oh and i made sure i had enough energy for the photographer’s action shot so i can still look decent. Lol
BTW, when i was racking my bike on T2, Macca was done getting dressed in jeans and was picking up his bike. A nice new red SHIV.
If you’re having fun trying, you’ll find a way to get it done. I look forward to reading your successful HIM race report next year.
I’ve read about people experiencing problems with the cold water in the inner ear. As most know, the inner ear handles balance so id postulate that the cold water is the problem. Solution: earplugs!
Dcrainmaker.com wrote a nice article about swimming in cold water.
Did you have a wetsuit?
I’ve read about people experiencing problems with the cold water in the inner ear. As most know, the inner ear handles balance so id postulate that the cold water is the problem. Solution: earplugs!
Dcrainmaker.com wrote a nice article about swimming in cold water.
Did you have a wetsuit?
Yes
Good job. That distance, hard to say why cramping…Stomach could be water you swallowed. If in cold water again, use wax (or any I guess) earplugs. Cold water in the ears gives some people vertigo type stuff.
Keep updated, what half are you doing ? (noticed another poster siad you were)
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.Edit: did not see previous post,so I guess just repeating
Good job. That distance, hard to say why cramping…Stomach could be water you swallowed. If in cold water again, use wax (or any I guess) earplugs. Cold water in the ears gives some people vertigo type stuff.
Keep updated, what half are you doing ? (noticed another poster siad you were)
Lol… not looking at a specific HIM yet. Right now, i need to get good at OWS. When i finished my first tri Sept 25th (memorable date for me). I immediately went home and said i’m going to do a HIM in 12 months. I wrote it on a piece of paper and put it on the fridge. That way, each time i want to grab a snack, it reminds me about my goal. At least it’s not bad that i did my second tri 2 months after my first.
I definitely know i won’t do any HIM or Olympic distance in a cold water until i become a decent swimmer.
Good goals…You can improve to a certain level pretty quickly from where you are at. You will have no problem swimming a half next year in 40 minutes if you want. Earplugs would of helped. Needed to get in the water sooner and dunked yourself, done some 50 yrd sprints…You’ll be OK by next year. Congrtats, post again, Happy Holidays Kenney
Good job dealing with what sounds like some pretty frigid conditions! You’ve got some great goals lined up, so keep it up!
Take this for what it’s worth.
In my first year (2010), I set out a goal of doing a HIM by the end of the year. I did it, but I think I would have had a funner time doing a bunch of sprints and oly’s and getting used to the sport.
In 2011, I only did a bunch of olympic distance races and had a blast. Now, I feel I’m ready to really go after the HIM.
See if there is a “beginner Triathlon” course in your area. With this kind of course, you can great some great instruction in how to do things PLUS a bunch of little things which make a large difference.