MarkU
Well-known member
Englewood Family YMCA Sprint Triathlon Race Report (0.25 mile Swim, 14 mile Bike, 5K Run)
Or how I spent my Sunday morning?
The swim was in the Gulf of Mexico, out about 50 yards from the beach and then parallel to the beach from south to north (against the current & swells!) and then back in. Open water swims in the ocean have always been one of my personal challenges ? I always seem to go anaerobic after about 100 yards and suffer the rest of the way trying to catch my breath and get in some type of rhythm with my freestyle stroke. So I was determined this time not to go out too fast and just swim at a steady controlled pace. I was in the second wave to start (with all the +40 men) and I just waited and followed everyone into the water in order to avoid the inevitable logjam rounding the first marker buoy. Once I got around the first buoy the pack had spread out enough where I had enough room to settle into a pattern where I would swim ten freestyle strokes and then do a couple of breaststrokes so I could look for the next marker buoy to make sure I was headed the right direction. To add to the difficulty, there were 3-4 foot swells, which meant I had to try to synchronize my navigational sighting and breathing with the rise and fall of the swells. This was a skill that took some time to develop, and resulted in a few big mouthfuls of Gulf salt water. There were no distinct landmarks on the shoreline to help as reference points, so I mostly just followed the guys in front of me and hoped they were headed in the right general direction.
Even with my very deliberate pace and the choppy conditions, I was able to do the swim in just over 12 minutes (compared to my best time of 9:50 when practicing in the pool). So far, so good?
After the run up from the beach to the transition area, I donned my helmet, sunglasses, gloves & bike shoes and was off on the bike. I was really primed for the bike leg after some recent sessions with my new triathlon coach who had worked with me on my position on the bike (mostly knee & hip alignment) and my pedaling technique. I was also emotionally motivated having watched Lance Armstrong at the Tour de France every night for the past three weeks. The 14-mile bike course was out and back along Manasota Key, against and then with the wind. It may sound corny and overly sentimental, but I kept visualizing the image of Lance during his final time trial the day before and just kept concentrating hard on maintaining my form and rhythm. It was hard work going out against the wind, but after the turnaround the return leg felt great with the trailing wind. I ended up averaging 17 mph overall, a good ride for me.
I had a smooth bike-to-run transition, except I neglected to put on my running hat, a decision I came to regret.
Running has always been my weak point and I was just aiming to run a <12 minute/mile pace and hopefully finish the 5K run in something under 36 minutes. My first mile was on target, but then I just ran out of gas. The temperature was getting into the 90?s by that time and I was starting to cook in the bright Florida sun, berating myself for not wearing my hat. I stopped at the first water table for a couple of minutes and drank several cups of water while the nice girls manning the table poured several cups of ice cold water over my head and back. For the next mile I tried to alternate running for two minutes and walking for one, but it ended up more walking than running. By the time I passed the last water table with a mile to go I started to feel better and ended up doing the last mile in about ten minutes. The run was disappointing, but I still finished in 1:51 overall, which was a good overall time for me, considering I did my first open water sprint triathlon in 2:26 just nine months ago. I?d like to get under 1:40 sometime this year, but the run time really has to improve.
After finishing I sucked down about a quart of Gatorade and an oatmeal raisin PowerBar. I hung around for the awards ceremony, cheering my friends from my Tri Club who had won their divisions. I was proudly wearing my new finisher?s medal ? probably worth about $1.95 but priceless to me as the TV commercials say. Just like my yellow LiveStrong bracelet, which not only reminds me of my dad who died from cancer just a year ago, but inspires me to live my own life to the fullest.
LiveStrong,
Mark
Or how I spent my Sunday morning?
The swim was in the Gulf of Mexico, out about 50 yards from the beach and then parallel to the beach from south to north (against the current & swells!) and then back in. Open water swims in the ocean have always been one of my personal challenges ? I always seem to go anaerobic after about 100 yards and suffer the rest of the way trying to catch my breath and get in some type of rhythm with my freestyle stroke. So I was determined this time not to go out too fast and just swim at a steady controlled pace. I was in the second wave to start (with all the +40 men) and I just waited and followed everyone into the water in order to avoid the inevitable logjam rounding the first marker buoy. Once I got around the first buoy the pack had spread out enough where I had enough room to settle into a pattern where I would swim ten freestyle strokes and then do a couple of breaststrokes so I could look for the next marker buoy to make sure I was headed the right direction. To add to the difficulty, there were 3-4 foot swells, which meant I had to try to synchronize my navigational sighting and breathing with the rise and fall of the swells. This was a skill that took some time to develop, and resulted in a few big mouthfuls of Gulf salt water. There were no distinct landmarks on the shoreline to help as reference points, so I mostly just followed the guys in front of me and hoped they were headed in the right general direction.
Even with my very deliberate pace and the choppy conditions, I was able to do the swim in just over 12 minutes (compared to my best time of 9:50 when practicing in the pool). So far, so good?
After the run up from the beach to the transition area, I donned my helmet, sunglasses, gloves & bike shoes and was off on the bike. I was really primed for the bike leg after some recent sessions with my new triathlon coach who had worked with me on my position on the bike (mostly knee & hip alignment) and my pedaling technique. I was also emotionally motivated having watched Lance Armstrong at the Tour de France every night for the past three weeks. The 14-mile bike course was out and back along Manasota Key, against and then with the wind. It may sound corny and overly sentimental, but I kept visualizing the image of Lance during his final time trial the day before and just kept concentrating hard on maintaining my form and rhythm. It was hard work going out against the wind, but after the turnaround the return leg felt great with the trailing wind. I ended up averaging 17 mph overall, a good ride for me.
I had a smooth bike-to-run transition, except I neglected to put on my running hat, a decision I came to regret.
Running has always been my weak point and I was just aiming to run a <12 minute/mile pace and hopefully finish the 5K run in something under 36 minutes. My first mile was on target, but then I just ran out of gas. The temperature was getting into the 90?s by that time and I was starting to cook in the bright Florida sun, berating myself for not wearing my hat. I stopped at the first water table for a couple of minutes and drank several cups of water while the nice girls manning the table poured several cups of ice cold water over my head and back. For the next mile I tried to alternate running for two minutes and walking for one, but it ended up more walking than running. By the time I passed the last water table with a mile to go I started to feel better and ended up doing the last mile in about ten minutes. The run was disappointing, but I still finished in 1:51 overall, which was a good overall time for me, considering I did my first open water sprint triathlon in 2:26 just nine months ago. I?d like to get under 1:40 sometime this year, but the run time really has to improve.
After finishing I sucked down about a quart of Gatorade and an oatmeal raisin PowerBar. I hung around for the awards ceremony, cheering my friends from my Tri Club who had won their divisions. I was proudly wearing my new finisher?s medal ? probably worth about $1.95 but priceless to me as the TV commercials say. Just like my yellow LiveStrong bracelet, which not only reminds me of my dad who died from cancer just a year ago, but inspires me to live my own life to the fullest.
LiveStrong,
Mark
