First Triathlon Completed Yesterday (xpost)

Well I did it. I finished my first triathlon yesterday. I thought I was pretty well prepared, driven the bike course twice, practiced the start of the bike a few times (steep hills at the start and finish). What I did not take into account was the fact that I had to park quite a distance from the transition area. I actually arrived at 6:05 and the chip and body marking people had closed up shop at 6. I was not the only one and they let me pick up my chip and get marked (phew). The other thing that I had not anticipated was the small size of the transition area. The bikes were racked handle bar to handle bar. There was no room to lay out my equipment as I had planned. The late arrival and the lack of space (no time to think about alternatives) contributed to my dismal T1 & T2 times of 5:40 and 4:25 respectively (64 of 70 and 67 of 70). Digging shoes out of the bag was not the most efficient use of time. So I got into the quarry area for the swim, wetsuit in hand and realized that it was probably in my best interest to stop in the restroom to ensure that I completed the race with both socks. I realized that I was not the only person who saved this little detail until the last minute. The bright side was that I had underestimated my 400 meter swim time as 12 minutes therefore with the shotgun start I had plenty of time to take care of business in the restroom and get in my wetsuit before it was my turn to start the swim.  The only advantage to being in panic mode due to late arrival was that I did not have much of a chance to get nervous. Before I knew it I was next in line and the man said go.  The 400 m quarry swim was a two lap course I was very fortunate and did not have much contact with other swimmers. The only downside of this swim was there was an area where you actually had to stand up and run as the water was too shallow to swim. I finished the swim in 6:41. (198 of 524) I was very impressed with this time. It is truely amazing what a difference a wetsuit can make. I guess I was a little more boyant at 400lbs because I never remember having a hard time keeping my legs afloat in the past. Off to T1. I guess I am a wimp because all of the little rocks in the parking lot really hurt my feet. The wetsuit came off without a hitch but then things started to go south. It took an eternity to get my bike shoes, gloves and helmet on. As is reflected by the dismal time of 5:40. The bike course started with a series of several speed bumps. The good news is that they were covered with plywood and were not nearly as treacherous as it seemed they would be when I practiced my start the night before. While taking care of bussiness before the race I heard a couple of experience racers joking about broked collar bones and road rash for people who took corners too fast after the mornings rains. I remembered this during the ride especially at the end on the two steep down hills. I was moving very well on the bike course I averaged over 19 miles an hour for a while and finished with an average of 18.5mph and a time of 47:44 which was 222 of 524 racers. As approached the last couple turns going back into transition I saw my family for the first time. My wife, 9 yr old son and 2 year old daughter were cheering for me as I passed. My wife would later tell me she was trying to warn me to slow down because someone had wiped out around the corner. (thanks to the guys in the bathroom talking about wipeouts I was already cautious about this. Back into transition. Another dismal performance. Socks were in the shoes but the shoes were in the gym bag.  It took forever to get my socks and shoes on. Ended up forgeting my sunglasses. No bathrooms in transition this could be a problem. Off on the run. 1.5 miles in took a left into the bushes to relieve myself. The good news is that it wasnt the type of relief that required a sock. Bad news is last night I had a nightmare that the town detective tracked me down based on my race number and I was being arrested for public indecency. The run course was up one side of the river on a asphalt path and down the other side. I approached what I thought was the halfway point and river crossing to find out that our bridge was further up the river than I heard cheering. It was to my great dismay that I realized that the cheering was from the second of three water stops not from the finish line. One of the guys from my tri training class passed me at about the halfway point. About 3 miles in I believe a walker passed me by like I was standing still. I did run the entire course despite my painfully slow pace.  It was about this time 3 miles into the 4.1 mile that my mind started to tell me that if I finished this there was no need to compete in the next race that I am signed up for or to sign up for the other two that I am planning on doing this summer. I have proven my point. 405# September 24th 2007 triathlete in June of 08. Being obsesive and compulsive got me to 405# surely if I get compulsive about this triathlon thing it couldnt be good in the long run. Hell there is knee pain, arthritis and that famous runner dude that just dropped dead of a heart attack a few years back. This running stuff is dangerous. One more right turn and over the river. Now I could see the inflateable blue arch that was the finish line. Then I heard them announce my name. Saw my wife and kids on the left side of the course. Slapped my 2 year old daughter and 9 year old son five. Fought back the tears and crossed the finish line. My son approached and gave me a hug. When is the next race? Is there one sooner that I can sign up for? This triathlon **** rules. Well I am extremely excited about my swim and bike time both were in the top half of the participants. I am extremely frustrated by my transition time I should have done better. My run time on the other hand has me concerned. If I were able to improve my run time to 10 minute miles, and reduce t1 to 2:30 and t2 time to 2:00. I would only need to find 2:36 seconds in the bike and swim to finish in the top half of all participants. I am very intimidated by the run and do not know if the goal of a 10 minute mile is realistic or what the timeframe or what the steps to achieve it are. Any advice would be appreciated. I remember back in December I had a post about triathlon dreams. I had just completed a .5 mile swim, 13.1 mile bike  on the stationary bike and 3.1 mile walk/ some jog on the treadmill. I had been contemplating the possibility of completing an actual tri this summer. In my mind I was thinking the chicago triathlon on august 24th. I remember 10 weeks ago calling my gym and asking the run club leader if I was crazy to sign up for the tri training course. After all the furthest I had run outside at that point was two miles. At the first class he said not to do the chicago triathlon it was a madhouse. He recomended the Batavia triathlon. I protested it was too soon. On April 11th I signed up for my first 5k (april 20) and the Batavia Tri. I guess I exceeded my goal. The Batavia Triathlon was 2.5 earlier than I thought was possible and the run was 1 mile longer than the chicago triathlon. Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement. You have truely been an inspiration.  Jon

Thank you for the detailed report!  And howdy neighbor!    I'm hoping to do the Naperville Sprint Triathlon next year.

Congratulations Jon!  Thank you for sharing your experience with us.        Try not to pick your race apart too much and just know that you'll be more prepared for the next one.  There is no way you can predict things without first having had the experience.  I did that to myself after my first, and decided it was very counter-productive.  You can only learn what works for you by doing.  I'm doing my second next weekend and incorporating a lot from what I learned from the first.   Just FYI, I do nearly all my training inside doing spin classes, swimming in a pool, and running on the treadmill.  Not everyone can do it, but I'm fine with it and I just ran a very hill-packed 10K race in under an hour.   As far as the 10-min mile is concerned, of course it is doable!  Once you know you can do the distance, just work on slowly increasing your speed.  It may help, if you are doing your other running outside, to use the treadmill to help you increase your speeds.  A 10-min mile is 6.0 on the tread, and there are many different methods to work on increasing speeds.  I'd look around online a little and find a way you think will work best for you.  It may take months to get there, depending on your current speeds, but it's cool to see it working.   Best of luck on your next!      Linn

Congratulations -- remember how good it feels to have this sense of accomplishment! I do my first solo tri this weekend.  I've done them before, but always as the cycling part of a relay team.  Donna

Jon, You did a great job.  Thank you for the detailed report.  I really enjoyed reading it.  Despite all of the glitches, great job.  Don't be so mad at yourself. Kim

congrats! and thanks for this detailed report. I'm training for my first in August. My dh is going to do one at the end of June and since I'm going to be there watching I toyed with going ahead and enering but I can't run 4 miles yet. I can walk it but can't run it. I may wear my swimsuit and play it by ear. Good to get your info on switching over. I bet you kick major butt next time! judi