My First Triathlon Report

[wtpclc]

Tri Del Sol Triathlon
0.5 mile swim
18 mile bike
4.5 mile run

Yes, I know I am such a slacker only starting with a sprint, not like laxdf.

Friday night we went to scope out the area just to get a feel for things. The race was held at a beautiful YMCA Camp.

Exit of the Swim:

Chute to Transition from swim:

Transition area:

Chute to Run:

After scoping out the park, we drove what we could of the run and bike courses. OMG. I have never seen such hills. There was one ~1/4 mile flat spot on the bike out and back. Everything else just rolled from on hill to another. One hill was a half mile long. Yikes! Kind of wish we hadn’t driven the course.

We went back to town and had dinner. I realized I did not have the skirt I wanted for the bike and run and Scott wanted to get a race belt, so we went to the sponsor’s shop after dinner. Got and awesome Nike tank that is the softest thing I’ve ever felt too. Yay for me. Then, we headed to the hotel. The butterflies were mounting

I have been pressing Scott for a few weeks to do this even on his own. For those of you who don’t know, Scott and I train and race together. I have only raced alone twice, that was for Minnie. This just seemed so impractical, though. Was he going to treat water while he waited for me. I swim a good 5 min slower than him. Yes, you could wait at the transition area, but we could not bike together or we would be drafting or blocking. He finally agreed that he’d like to go on his own, but felt awful making me do my first event alone. I told him that I wanted him to and then proceeded to silently kick myself as I was more and more scared. He had always wanted to do a tri, though, and I was just doing it so that he didn’t one up me. Bad, me. So, I did not want to hold him back.

 

[wtpclc]

Saturday morning came and we headed for the race. I must admit to being a bit giddy about getting inked. However, I was not as bad as the girls behind us in line that discussed getting re-inked after the race so there numbers would last longer. The pix make me realize how much I need to work on my weight, but here you go.

We played with our space in the transition area forever as things started to fill up:

We are anal about getting to races early anyway, but I think it really pays off for a tri. I would have died if I was one of the people wandering around looking for a spot.

Before we knew it, it was time to wander down to the water. The national anthem was sung (very cool) and then myTeam Triumph went off. I believe Team Triumph is a local group and this was their first event.
“myTEAM TRIUMPH is an athletic ride-along program created for children, teens, adults and veterans with disabilities who would normally not be able to experience endurance events such as triathlons or road races.”
If you want to know more, here’s a link. http://myteamtriumph.org/
Very cool to see Captains (athletes) and their angels (more experienced athletes similar to TnT coaches) head off pulling their passengers in the water. Wow.

 

[wtpclc]

Then, the regular waves started. We opted to be in the beginner wave, as Lynne’s stories of being caught in a washing machine had me a bit scared. So, we were the very last heat. Before I knew it, though, it was time to get in the water.

My apologies to Mike, as our water was 78 degrees. It actually felt too warm to be, but that’s ok. I can deal with that. I would have thought the people in wet suits would have died of heat, though.

I started off with a bang. Swam to the first float. Not a good thing, as I swam hard and was out of breath already. I can’t do the crawl when out of breath, because I can’t get enough air. So, I mostly did a side stroke. I figured I was moving, so that was ok. There were only 2 people behind me, though, and I was way behind the others. So, I did a darn fast side stroke. I was breathing hard the whole time. About half way, I looked at my watch and saw that I was going about 5 min faster than in practice. Woo hoo. I even passed someone at the end.

The volunteers were great. They were cheering from the docks and the shore and that just did wonders for me. Ran up to T1 (Transition 1). Here’s the first bad point. This is probably standard, but the port-o-jons are outside the transition. I always have to pee after I swim. No way I can be hydrated to run and not have to. So, I slid into my shoes (I love my lock laces) and ran back out to the p-o-j. Had to veer around non-participants, though, and it was a pain. So, I had about a 6 min T1. Oh well, not much I could do about that. Heck, in practice it was closer to 10, so that was good.

Luckily, I had read Mike’s report that there was a certain are you could mount at, must have forgotten that form the books I read. I saw the sign and got on my bike. A man pointed at me on the way out of the park, so I spent a mile wondering what I had wrong. Never did figure it out. Again, on the way out, there were tons of people cheering. I knew there would not be many along the course, though, because it was a very rural area.

Sadly, the 2 people behind me passed me in the first 2 of the 18 mile bike. So, I was DLF. Didn’t think it would happen so fast, but that’s ok. If somebody has to be last, at least I know that there’s no shame in it. The hills were killer, but I was happy with my pace. It was about 2 mph faster than practice. I didn’t realize that 13.7 mph was slow as molasses for a biker, though. That’s ok, I was having fun. Somewhere along the way, I realized I did not have my race belt. That was ok, though, we did not need our numbers while biking. With such a hilly course, I was pleased with having a consistent pace that was well above what I trained at.

I saw Scott a mile or 2 from the turn around. I tried to be extra peppy because I was afraid he would worry about me when he saw I was last. I did not want him to give up his race and be last with me. I knew I would finish and I was fine with that.

At the turn around, I realized that my Gu was in my race belt. Bummer. So far, the Cytomax was holding me, but it left me a bit scared. If my blood sugar drops, I’m done.

About a mile after the turn around, a volunteer on a bike caught me (like I was standing still of course). He was there to distract me. While I was just fine (maybe I wasn’t working hard enough, but I was so afraid that I’d have no legs left for the run), the distraction was appreciated. About 3 or 4 miles from the end, he said he was going to turn off and go home at the next intersection. I thanked him profusely. He said he’s stay and enjoy the ride with me if I wanted. While I said I’d be fine, I told him I would not mind the company and he stayed. Very cool. I should also note that all volunteers at intersections and many other bikers were incredibly supportive of me.

Now, those of you who know me, know that Scott and I love to stay to the end and cheer all the people behind us. I know what the support means. And, while we are by no means fast, we are around mid pack at WDW. We tend to be bottom 10 to 25% at smaller races, but still in the race. It was hard being on the other side, even though the support was great. While I have the utmost respect for the people towards the back, I didn’t realize how mentally tough it was to be back there. Mind you, I was miles behind the next person.

The volunteer that biked with me told me I really needed a new bike if I did more. Of course, we knew that, but just could not afford hundreds or thousands of dollars for a bike when we did not know if this would be our only tri. I like to think that I might have been a little closer to the back of the pack if I had a road bike, though.

 

[wtpclc]

About a mile before the end, I saw Scott. I told him I must be first because the pace car was with me. I was so worried that he’d be worried when he saw how much farther back I was. Then, the volunteer and I realized that he was not on the course. However, we knew that he would meet it shortly and I was pretty sure I could see his mistake. Had me a bit worried, though.

Anyway, said goodbye to my new friend and got to transition and did not see anyone. Was pretty happy that I picked up my average pace almost 0.5 mph in the lst 3 or 4 miles. Pretty cool.

The crowd was still great, though. Hard to see runners finishing/finished and know I had a ways to go. Not a lot of fun when participants are mulling around T2 and I had a race to run yet. Still, the volunteers at the water station impressed me by how quickly they went out of their way to make sure they had beverages for me when they realized I was still racing.

So, I watered my head and drank some gatorade and down the cute I went. Not a soul at the bottom of the chute. It T’d into a gravel drive and there was a path across from it. I knew we took a path to a small back road, so I went to the path. Went a little ways and the path split. Debated, ran back to look for clues and back again.
This is when I almost went DNF. I hated the fact that the volunteers out there were waiting for me and I didn’t even know where to go. Darn it, though. I was a measly 4.5 miles from finishing a tri, I was not going to let this get me. SO, I went back and picked a path. I knew that if I ended up on a road, I could find the course. Got to a camp fire area and several paths radiated out. ????? Picked one. It ended up ending at a T. I went towards the road, as I did not want to wander lost in the woods. Ended up about a ¼ mile up from the chute in a parking lot. Just headed for the road. Felt like an idiot while people were wandering back to their cars, knowing I was in the wrong place. Too humiliated to ask for directions at that point. (Not my fault, I know, but you can’t help but just feel embarrassed).

Finally, I got back on course. I actually saw another runner in the distance. Yay. There was a sheriff’s car there. The guy says, “Are you a runner?” Polite me wants to say something witchy, but went with, “Yes, I should be the last one.” He gets this authoritative, scolding tone and informs me that “You came out of the wrong spot.” Yeah, that was it for me. I just told him there was no one there to tell me where to go, put my arms in the air and kept running. Until, the humiliation really hit. I about broke down. There was a small hill so I walked it while trying to get the tears and hyperventilation stopped. I was so worried that they’d take me off the course if I walked, even though there were no time limits. This is where I decided that I’d train with Scott, as I enjoyed the training, but this would likely be my one and only tri. I am just not made for this kind of event.

Just as I was almost back together, a volunteer in apace car drove by and yelled good job. I was so upset, that all I could do was sneer at him. Still hope that it didn’t look half as bad with my sunglasses on. He could likely see the tears on my cheeks, though. After a few minutes, I was pretty much back on track, but now I have guilt. It wasn’t the volunteer’s fault I was lost and he certainly did not make the deputy be a jerk to me. All I could think about was the saying about how you could tell a person’s character by the way they act when they are at their lowest. Yeah, chalk one up for me. While I’m far from perfect, sneering at a race volunteer just hit me as about as low as a person could get.

 

[wtpclc]

Next thing I know, I hear a pace car behind me. Ugh. So, now I’m likely being followed by the man I was so rude to. I looked back a few times, but the glare of the sun kept me from seeing if it was him. Top it all off, the car had engine knock. All I could think of was losing my mind listening to tick, tick, tick for 4 ore miles coming from a car whose driver I ticked off and he probably just wanted to run me over so he could go home. Only me….

Did I mention that there was a band in the park? I don’t listen to much pop music, but the song they played was familiar. However, I only know about 2 of the ten words I heard and they still ran through my head the whole run. How annoying. BTW, USAT says no sound devices and the roads on our course were not closed, so they were taking that seriously. Ugh.

After a while, I see another runner. Woo hoo, I may pass someone! Then, I see it’s moving towards me. Then, I see the yellow shirt. Oh, no, please don’t tell me that Scott didn’t finish, but came back for me. That would make all of my suffering pointless. Ugh. Finally, I saw that it was not him and felt better.

After about a mile and a half, the guy passed me. I waved and was very relieved to see it was not the volunteer. About 30 seconds later, another car comes next to me. It is the volunteer. Yikes! I quickly look over and gush some apology about how awful I feel for snarling at him. He apologizes (somehow he found out I got lost, likely the deputy trying to DQ me) . SO, we do this mutual groveling thing and I feel better. He offers me drinks and such. I tell him I’m set and I’ll be fine, just slow. He tells me to let him know if I need anything. Have I mentioned how great the volunteers were? Really, really great.

OK, so I’m now on a huge hill and the sun comes out. Ugh. I do not do heat. Why couldn’t it have come out during the bike or the swim. That’s ok, though. I have about 3 miles to go and I should be fine. The water stations were all still up (3 on a 4.5 mile course, pretty cool). The people at the stations were cheering. At about mile 3, two teens were singing something for at least a quarter mile. I could not make out the song, but their singing and dancing was awesome.

They said just up the hill and around the corners and I was almost there. Sorry, 1.5 miles in a 4.5 mile course is not almost there, but they tried.

There was a lot more downhill on the last mile, though. I was picking up my pace. Because of the heat, hills and anxiety, though, I didn’t think I would make my pseudo-goal pace. Not really a goal, more of a worst case, but still, I could chalk it off to my series of unfortunate events.

Then, I hear a cow bell and see a flash of lime! Yay, Scott had come back to cheer. After I waved he duck back out of view and met me again in a bit. He said that there’s a half mile left according to the signs but that it feels really short. In a little bit, I saw the park entrance and started to kick it in. Turned in and was heading for the finish. Then, I realized it did not end at the T area, but down by the water. Ugh, even though I was almost there and it was all downhill, it was another blow . Before long, though, I was going over the mats. I actually remembered to stop the Garmin and my watch. Hmmm…5.01 miles for a 4.5 mile race. Nice.

Official results are not up yet, but this is about what I had:
Swim: 25 min
T1: 6:30
Bike: 1:20
T2: 3 min
Run: 55 min
Total: ~2:55

I hate it when a race feels like more of a relief than a sense of victory. I am still struggling with the fact that there was not another competitor in sight after the half way point of the bike, except for one glance early in the run. Scott says there were 2 people only 2 or 3 minutes ahead and I was gaining on them, but I find that hard to believe as I never saw them. Looking at the results, I did beat 3 people. I think that it’s almost cruel to put new people in the very last heat. So, I started 16 min behind the rest of my age group. That 16 min would have helped. Live and learn, though. Next time, I’ll go in my own heat.

Yes, there will likely be a next time. It won’t happen until next year probably, though. I won’t race again until I can swim the crawl the whole way and I can compete better with my biking. I’ll also try to look at previous results to see where I’d come in. While last is fine, so last you get lost isn’t much fun.

While I was thrilled to switch up between swim, bike and run, tri rules seem so harsh compared to just running. It’s a bummer that Scott and I can’t compete together, even if we wanted to. Still, I think it will make us appreciate racing together more when we do run.

So, while it was not my ideal first tri, I am going to try very hard to concentrate on the fact that even last year I was saying that I could never do a tri. And now, I have. Yet another thing that WISH gave me the courage to start.

 

[laxdef69]

Carrie!

Way to stick with it!!!!!

 

[ironz]

Carrie....I think you did a GREAT JOB!!

So glad you posted about it.

So sorry for the frustrations out there...seriously, the run course should have been better marked or had volunteers out there to keep you on course. So that part is not your fault. (with the caveat that it is the racer's responsibility to know the course, but if it was all twisty through the park with multiple turnoffs, they should have provided more clues).

The fact that you (mostly ) kept your good attitude is AWESOME! Everyone gets frustrated...so don't sweat that! You didn't quit and you made the most of the day!! It's tough being at the back...I've been there myself. And on the bike, bikers can really be only minutes ahead but out of sight, esp. on a hilly course.

Hang in there...I do hope you'll try it again some day!

 

[cdn_gal_eeyore]

Carrie - I'm so sorry to hear your first tri was not a fantastic experience. I agree, to have the beginners be all alone on the course is not a good thing, especially when they don't have course marshalls telling you where to go. Hopefully you'll give another one a shot in the future though!

 

[wtpclc]

Thanks guys. I am starting to get things in perspective again. It's amazing how a cuople small bad things canmake you forget all the good.

Funny, they did not have detailed maps adn announced that that was ok because the course was well marked and there'd be volunteers out there. But, things happen and I'm pretty sure this won't be a problem next year.

I do see myself tri-ing again, now that things are calming down. The post-race thing just messes with your mind a bit.

Now, on to shoppign for bikes.

 

[hoosmi]

Carrie- Wow! Congrats on your first tri. How horrible to get lost! But, way to keep going- that had to be crazy hard. Oh, and the "ink" was totally cool. I can remember running in a 5k once that had a tri with it- I was soooo intimidated by the people with the numbers on their skin!

Jen in GA

 

[twoWDWfools]

Carrie - So proud of you for going out there and sticking thru it. You did it!!

 

[postesf]

Great job Carrie! Do you have a mountain bike? I've been shopping for bikes and they say that a mountain bike makes you go slower on the roads...Who knew?

I'm glad you are thinking of trying it again... I'm thinking of doing my first at the WDW in May for the Danskin Women's. It's shorter than a sprint distance. The bike and the run is shorter...Not sure about the swim.

Stacie

 

[keenercam]

Carrie -- I am so proud of you! Your first TRI!!! How awesome you did! Look at what you accomplished, especially in light of all the incredible stress in your life recently, all the travelling, worrying, lack of sleep! I cannot even begin to tell you how impressed I am that you trained for a TRI, much less got yourself to the start AND to the finish! I never had any doubt that you had it in you, sweetie, and I am so glad you have this accomplishment under your belt.

 

[wtpclc]

Great job Carrie! Do you have a mountain bike? I've been shopping for bikes and they say that a mountain bike makes you go slower on the roads...Who knew?

Yes, I have a mountain bike, although I have street tires on it. They're still wide, but not nubby. I knew it would hurt me but never dreamed of how much. Still, not going to spend hundreds or thousands on a bike until I knew I would do it again.

While I put off writing the report to get my brain around things, I knew you guys would make me feel better. :

 

[ScoJo15]

Carrie - Congratulations to you for finishing your first tri, and for never giving up out there! It takes guts to even step onto a tri course and for that you should feel good about yourself. I wish that course would have been better marked...doesn't seem fair...but hold your head high for never giving up and completing an event like that. Good Job!

 

[FatElvis]

Wow - that is SO great! Congrats, I think you're amazing for just getting out there. I'm too scared to attempt a tri. Great job on sticking with it and finishing strong!

Kayci

 

[Honeibee]

Oh Carrie, how fab-u-lous! Congratulations! And thanks for the pictures too! Looks like a really neat place.

Hey, for real, you had the courage to start! I'm immeasurably proud of you!




Oh yeah, and also somewhat jealous....

 

[Calcio]

Hello Carrie

To keep on moving after getting lost, and then chipped at by a jerk takes innards. I'm impressed that you started, kept going, and finished. Doing a tri is more than 99%+ of the population has done, including me.

Craig

 

[escape]

Carrie - WAY TO GO on finishing your first TRI !!!! You should get some time knocked off for figuring out how to get back on course during the run!

I was talking to my friend, Cindy, this weekend about doing a sprint sometime next year. She has completed 5 or 6 sprints and did an olympic TRI in Hawaii this past April. She was telling me all about the rules you have to follow - especially for the bike part. Sounds complicated.

She also told me that the participants in a Tri (at least the ones she has participated in) are different from the running races. She noted that most people were more fit/athletic. The fact that you came in toward the back of the pack does not mean that you are slow. It just shows you how tough a Tri is. If you only had to run or swim or bike, you could do a lot better. But, to do all three? I can't imagine how tiring that is. The fact that you started and finished speaks volumes. You did it!!!!

 

[Kristi1357]

Carrie - all I can say is...you are the woman!

Thank you for sharing your report. You did amazingly awesome!
I am so very proud of you!