Chelan, WA
US
World Endurance Sport
81F / 27C
Sunny
Triathlon - Sprint
Total Time = 9h
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = /
2004-07-11
Chelan, WA
US
World Endurance Sport
81F / 27C
Sunny
Triathlon - Sprint
Total Time = 9h
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = /
Pre-race routine:
Got up and packed the tent. No shower because the shower in the campsite didn't work, so I just did my best with the sink. Went into Chelan and located the park again, as we'd done last night. Found a restaurant that was opened that served oatmeal and had a nervous breakfast of oatmeal, a biscuit, and tea.
Got to the site and racked my bike. Laid out all my gear with a pile for run
and a pile for bike. Rested. Chatted with some ladies around me. I wish I'd
gotten in the water and taken a swim. I should have done that. It was stupid
not to.
Event warmup:
Stretched a little bit. Watched the My Next Triathlon people take off.
Swim
Comments:
This was absolutely horrible. I got into the water and panicked immediately.
I have no idea why. I rolled over onto my back to calm myself and catch my
breath, but it never happened. I ended up either doing a crawl, head up (which
was getting me NOWHERE) or the backstroke. Every time I'd go onto my back I'd
get way off course. I had to stop and hang onto the kayak a few times because
I simply could not calm myself. My breathing was ragged and painful. My heart
rate was through the roof. I was the very last one out of the lake...very last
one. I was even after a poor lady who swam quite a few yards in the complete
opposite direction.
What would you do differently?:
No wetsuit. I think the feeling of constriction started the panic attack. I'd stay at the back of the pack like I did this time, but would not let myself get freaked out. Swim the course ahead of time.
T1
Comments:
T1 went fine. I fought back tears. I was the last one in the transition area. My poor bike looked so lonely. Roy peeled my wetsuit off and helped me with shoes/socks. I put on my shorts, but sat on a towel while putting on shoes and socks, to soak up water. I didn't drink. I should have, but it was fine.
What would you do differently?:
Not wear the damn wetsuit.
Bike
Comments:
I'm not sure what my rank was. I didn't come in last. I passed up probably 12 or so people on the bike part. My bike is a cheap Schwinn so I knew my speed wouldn't be great and I was just hoping for at least 12 miles an hour, so was actually kind of pleased with a pace of about 14. There were two complete stops where we had to wait for traffic, and I had to dismount to hydrate at the turnaround. I spent the first mile talking myself down from the ledge that the swim put me on. I then really tried to focus on being grateful for being there, enjoying the scenery, and praying for people who were dealing with things WAY worse than my stupid bad swim.
Had one PowerGel-chocolate. YUCK! I think if it weren't so hot, it would have tasted good, but it was too sticky tasting. Still, it got me through and did not cause stomach upset.
I kept singing the song, "Accentuate the positive" in my head to help me come to grips with the swim. It really helped. I also "woo hooed" people as we went, and called out thanks to the course helpers, and encouragement to the bikers I passed. I figured if nothing else, I was going to have a good attitude even if I didn't have a good time.
What would you do differently?:
Hmmm, probably nothing at this point. It was, overall, a good bike. If I were to continue to do triathlons (very very iffy at this point), I would get a better bike.
T2
Comments:
T2 went fine. I swapped my bike shorts for running shorts because it was so hot. I remembered to grab the medal I bought for Roy so I ran with it in my hand.
What would you do differently?:
Drink more water, but overall it was fine.
Run
Comments:
Good run. Legs were heavy to start, but that worked itself out quickly. Breathing
was hard as I had congested myself with the panic attack, but I just went with
it and put it out of my mind. Switched from "Accentuate the positive" to "We
are the Champions" going through my head because we are...we are all champions
for doing a triathlon. The first mile seemed long, but my time was astounding;
about 8 minutes. Blew me away as I am a slow runner, and I'd used my legs SO
much on the swim that I was afraid I'd have nothing left. I do think I lost
time in the second and third miles, but I'm not sure. I don't know my official
splits.
What would you do differently?:
Nothing. I felt good about the run, even though I was running with Roy's medal in my hand. I high fived the kids who were running as I came back in, called out encouragement to people, "woo hoooed" a lot of people, thanked the people on the course cheering for us. It was really great.
Post race
Warm down:
Ran across the finish line and someone put a medal around my neck. I thanked her. Roy was cheering and taking pictures. The lady took off my timing chip and I went over to Roy and started to cry. He hugged me and told me he was so proud of me. I was crying because I did it. I'm not proud of the swim, but I AM proud that I didn't quit. I didn't get out of the water. I didn't walk the course (which was an option I was given) and I didn't come in last. Grabbed some water and gatorade and walked around a lot in circles. Ate a few orange slices and a few pieces of banana. Cheered on runners as they came in.
What limited your ability to perform faster:
Mainly the swim due to really using up my oxygen and ripping my poor lungs with the panic attack. If I am going to do another one, I am going to need to swim a lot more. Right now I swim twice a week and I know I *can* do it, as I've swam three times this course length. No more wetsuit. It hindered me too much.
Event comments:
Overall I think things went well. I would have liked more water stations. At one point on the run there were only about 4 cups of water on a table I ran by and the two ladies were just sitting there visiting. Other races people hand you the water, you don't have to run up to a table. I expected more activities after, although I did not stay for the Beach Party. There also needed to be more food for the price we paid. All there were were orange slices and bananas, and not enough gatorade. I'm not sure I'd do a "My Next Triathlon" with this group as I felt it was overpriced, and the post race support wasn't there. They needed some good carbs to eat as soon as you came off the course. But overall things were fine. The swimming help was astounding. I am SO thankful to the guy in the kayak.
Swimming
00:25:00 | 400 meters | 6m 15s / 100meters
Water temp: 70 / Current: Low
Age Group: /
Overall: 100/
Performance: Bad
HR was through the roof. Breathing was horrible, ragged, and shallow.
Suit: Black speedo and wetsuit
Course: Simple point to point course along the shoreline.
Start type: Wade Plus: Shot
Water temp: 70 Current: Low
200M Perf. Bad Remainder: Bad
Breathing: Bad Drafting: Bad
Waves: Below average Navigation: Bad
Rounding: Bad
T1
Time: 00:00
Overall: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off: No
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: Yes
Getting up to speed: Good
Overall: Good
Biking
00:49:00 | 12 miles | 14.69 mile/hr
Age Group: /
Overall: /
Performance: Good
Time is an estimate, but I think that's about right. I'll know later. HR average
was about 154, a little higher than normal I think due to the swim.
Wind: Some
Course: Rolling hills out and back along a highway and alt state route highway.
On the way out Lake Chelan was on my right, and a winery on my left. Beautiful
course! Absolutely breathtaking. After the swim my goal was to settle down
and enjoy the rest of the trip.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Average
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Not enough
T2
Time: 00:00
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Average
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:27:00 | 03 miles | 9m min/mile
Age Group: /
Overall: /
Performance: Good
Again, time is approximate. I know my first mile was a little over an 8 min
mile, so for me that was great. HR stayed at about 160 or so, on average. I
didn't use the timing feature of my HRM because I didn't want others to be
bothered by the beeping.
Course: Straight out and back through a neighborhood, into town. Some light
hills, last one coming in. I love running hills on the way IN to a race! Yeah!
Actually I just tell myself "You're good at hills. No sweat." It
may not be true, but I believe hills are 3/4 mental, 1/4 physical. So I just
say "You're good at hills. No sweat." the entire time.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3