I completed the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon this past weekend and while it was quite challenging - I was quite slow. I had dropped off the 'slow carb' diet for several weeks leading up to the race and my training had slipped as well. I was scared to death going in, but in the end, it was a great learning experience and I am glad I did it. It also refocused me and I am back on track towards Augusta.
A little history on the Buster Britton race I did in Birmingham last month, which was only a 400 yard swim where I FREAKED OUT once I hit the water. It took over 12 mins to complete that swim and I did most of it with the breast-stroke. I even had to hang onto the side of one of the rescue boats for a little bit (no penalty as long as you don't 'move forward'). I was hyperventilating, could not breath with my face in the water - totally sucked. Which made me DREAD the 1500 meter swim in Chattanooga.
After that experience, I did some drills in the pool where I would purposely make my goggles leak and try to fix it on my back, try to 'race' anyone next to me to get my heart rate going, and also think heavily about my race terrible experience during my swim sessions. This would 'jump start' my heart, like a quick adrenaline surge, but I would force myself, in that moment, to think about what my body was doing, and then, refocus my attention on my stroke and my breathing. I also practiced a lot of sighting in the pool since that caused me problems too. I know all that sounds hokey, but it seemed to work. I finished Chattanooga in a slow, but stress free 34 mins.
The transition out of the swim was difficult because in the Chatt race, you immediate go up about 2 flights of stairs, cross the street and into transition. I felt confident for the bike portion because that's what I like the best, so I wasn't nervous about that at all. However, I learned that a 13 mile bike portion (my last race) is much different than a 26 mile bike portion. In the short distance, I was able to go as hard as I could without regard to how I would feel later. But in this longer distance, I felt the need to 'hold back' and kept worrying about my legs during the run. This resulted in an embarrassing bike time of 1:41. The course was also much more hilly than I expected, even though I had seen the elevation in the course maps. Seeing on a computer screen is much different than riding it. I also struggled with keeping pace while drinking - I've always had probs with this, which typically results in me just not drinking much. But because it was so hot and b/c I knew I still had the run, I drank 2 full water bottles. I also had 1 tube of Gu, which I had forgotten to tape to my bike frame, so I had to actually stop, get off my bike and get it from my saddle bag. Again, embarrassing, but good to learn now than later. Another thing I worried about too much was drafting. In races, you are not allowed to draft and there are very specific rules for when you come up to another rider and how long you have to pass. In Buster Britton, I just screamed past people as fast as I could. In this race, for some reason, I was not nearly as aggressive and worried that I wouldn't be able to complete my pass within the 10 seconds. So I would hang back, analyze the speed, and then pass. And lastly, I wasted way too much time going too slow for the last mile leading into Transition. Everyone slowed as we got close, including me, but this was a RACE, so I should have known better. But again, better to learn now than later. I will have another opportunity to correct all of this in my next race in August. It's a sprint Tri about an hour from Birmingham with a nice flat, 13 mile bike route. As for the run, I have completed 2 half marathons this year (Mercedes and Talledega), so I wasn't all that worried. But I have never really run in the heat that was present during the Chatt race. I ended up running an embarrassing (again) time of 1:35 for 6 miles. Much of that was walking because again, I was not used to the heat! I was told after the race that the heat index while I was out there was between 100 - 105 degrees and I felt every bit of it. I also confirmed that I MUST lose weight before my next race and surely before Augusta. My goal is to NOT walk for Mountain Lakes or Augusta which is pretty do-able if I train right.
One part that did 'slow' me down was that I did stop to check on some dude that was sitting on some benches at about the 4 mile mark. He looked terrible and I stopped to offer support and to go get some help. He said someone else was already going for help, so I moved on - but I'll 'claim' the loss of about 5 minutes for that.
All in all, I learned a ton during this race which will help me as I move forward towards Augusta. I thoroughly enjoyed the race experience and am 'hooked' on doing these! My goal is to complete the full IM in 2012 and to be competitive during shorter races in 2012.
More 'history' to follow later - I just felt the need to go over this race since it was still in my mind.
