Northeast Md. Triathlon- 1500m swim, 23.2 mile bike, 10k run
I didn't see anyone post on this yet so I figured I'd try to contribute here.
I'm new to the sport this summer- 2 Sprints and now my (First!) Olympic under my belt.
Weather- Overcast, very humid mid 70's at the Start but felt like high 80's at the finish! Water temp- 80 degrees- bummer no wetsuit- but no way I'm not going to let my first OLY be official!
Swim-
Water start- tread water for what seemed like forever...man those turn around bouys seem far away... did they measure this right.... start- take it easy, stay away from the crowd, one bouy at a time...things were fine until after the turn around and a few swimmers with yellow caps (later wave) passed me- now I had caps and bouys in the water which were the same color and had trouble distinguishing the two during my sightings.... note to race directors out there- don't issue caps the same color as bouys!!!!! Anyway, I made it- the swim was by far the biggest challenge for me and although I do relatively worse inthe swim, it is the accomplishment of which I am most proud. 28min. (+ a rather long 100yd jog to transition). Adrenaline is going now.
Bike-
I thought a tri around the chesapeake would be flat- NOT- totally undulating hills the whole time but in retrospect it kept things interesting. Only right when I decided to pull out the GU I starting hitting the major potholes on a downhill and almost lost it. Note to self- be sure you do anything tricky (like eat) on long, smooth downhills from now on. Played cat and mouse with some other riders which kept me pushing a bit.... super fast last mile downhill yeee aaa...... bike 1:05 ave speed 21.2 m/hr- first time I've managed to break 21...maybe it was the hills.
Run
I'm a runner originally, but decided to go out easy because I wasn't sure what to expect.... nice, slightly inclined run out and back so you can get a feel how everyone else is doing (glad I wasn't the only one suffering!). Kept it around 6:45 or so until the last two miles when I knew I'd make it I cranked ot to 6:15 or maybe faster... although they tricked me and there was an extra section around transition to get to the finish line... it couldn't come fast enough. Finished the run in just under 40 min. Overall 2:18:50.
Lessons:
1) Take swimming lessons this winter- my winter goal is to knock 3-5 minutes off my swim... maybe I'd have a shot at placing in my age group.(why is the 40-44 age group always the most competitive...or does it just seem that way??)
2) Don't eat on the bike unless you can see smooth riding ahead!
3) Push my run more- I have more confidence now that I won't bonk
Thanks to everyone on this site, all the tips from you experienced folks out there have been invaluable!
Northeast Md. Triathlon- 1500m swim, 23.2 mile bike, 10k run
I didn't see anyone post on this yet so I figured I'd try to contribute here.
I'm new to the sport this summer- 2 Sprints and now my (First!) Olympic under my belt.
Weather- Overcast, very humid mid 70's at the Start but felt like high 80's at the finish! Water temp- 80 degrees- bummer no wetsuit- but no way I'm not going to let my first OLY be official!
Swim-
Water start- tread water for what seemed like forever...man those turn around bouys seem far away... did they measure this right.... start- take it easy, stay away from the crowd, one bouy at a time...things were fine until after the turn around and a few swimmers with yellow caps (later wave) passed me- now I had caps and bouys in the water which were the same color and had trouble distinguishing the two during my sightings.... note to race directors out there- don't issue caps the same color as bouys!!!!! Anyway, I made it- the swim was by far the biggest challenge for me and although I do relatively worse inthe swim, it is the accomplishment of which I am most proud. 28min. (+ a rather long 100yd jog to transition). Adrenaline is going now.
Bike-
I thought a tri around the chesapeake would be flat- NOT- totally undulating hills the whole time but in retrospect it kept things interesting. Only right when I decided to pull out the GU I starting hitting the major potholes on a downhill and almost lost it. Note to self- be sure you do anything tricky (like eat) on long, smooth downhills from now on. Played cat and mouse with some other riders which kept me pushing a bit.... super fast last mile downhill yeee aaa...... bike 1:05 ave speed 21.2 m/hr- first time I've managed to break 21...maybe it was the hills.
Run
I'm a runner originally, but decided to go out easy because I wasn't sure what to expect.... nice, slightly inclined run out and back so you can get a feel how everyone else is doing (glad I wasn't the only one suffering!). Kept it around 6:45 or so until the last two miles when I knew I'd make it I cranked ot to 6:15 or maybe faster... although they tricked me and there was an extra section around transition to get to the finish line... it couldn't come fast enough. Finished the run in just under 40 min. Overall 2:18:50.
Lessons:
1) Take swimming lessons this winter- my winter goal is to knock 3-5 minutes off my swim... maybe I'd have a shot at placing in my age group.(why is the 40-44 age group always the most competitive...or does it just seem that way??)
2) Don't eat on the bike unless you can see smooth riding ahead!
3) Push my run more- I have more confidence now that I won't bonk
Thanks to everyone on this site, all the tips from you experienced folks out there have been invaluable!