MarkU
Well-known member
Hey, I finished my second Triathlon! The 20th annual YMCA Sharks Siesta Key Triathlon (Sharks is the name of the Y youth swim team ? not a reference to any hazards during the swim!)
The first leg was a 1K (0.6 mile) swim in the Gulf of Mexico off Siesta Key. They started the race in waves, about four minutes apart, with the elite athletes going first. I was in the fifth (and last) wave to start with all the 50+ age groupers and the relay teams. Had to swim out 100 yds from the beach to a marker buoy and then head south parallel the beach. I deliberately took it slow at the start but still found myself caught in the middle of a pack after the first turn, surrounded by other swimmers and getting knocked around a bit. I eased back out until I was in the clear and tried to concentrate on swimming my own pace. Navigating was a bit of a challenge as the sun was coming up in line with the marker buoys making it almost impossible to see them. Fortunately, I was able to pick out a high-rise condo on the beach as a sighting point. For a while I drafted off the left side of another swimmer, but he kept veering off to the west and heading in the general direction of Mexico, so I let him go and ended up swimming on my own for most of time.
During my first triathlon back in February, I had gone out way too fast on the swim and my biggest fear was going anaerobic out in the gulf. I was just deliberately cruising along, frequently throwing in some breaststroke to help my navigation and to keep my heart and breathing rates down. It was so much different than training in the pool ? no stripe to follow on the bottom and no wall every 25 yds ? without those points of reference it was very hard to gauge how far or fast I was swimming. As I passed one of the course marker buoys, a lifeguard on a kayak told me ?You?re doing great, you?re halfway there!?. I realized that I felt pretty good at that point, so I started picking up my pace and concentrating hard on my freestyle form. Before I knew it I was rounding the last buoy and heading back to the beach. I felt good coming out the water and after the solitude of the swim it really helped to have the cheering spectators on the beach.
A 100 yd run across the beach to the transition area and I was off on the 13-mile bike ride. (During my first race I had treated the transitions more as a casual rest break ? this time, thanks to the coaching from the local triathlon club, I flew right through, donning my shoes, shirt, sunglasses & helmet in record time). During the first ¼ mile on the bike I got my feet clipped in the pedals, downed a slug of Gatorade from one of my squeeze bottles, and stayed in a low gear to get the blood flowing in my legs. As soon as I felt comfortable I shifted into a higher cruising gear and tucked down on my aerobars. I?m learning more about the fine points of cycling all the time, & shifted gears frequently to keep my pedaling cadence steady around 90 RPM. (Not making any excuses, but my biggest handicap on the bike was my 30-year-old Schwinn ten-speed. Just no way I could keep pace with all the lightweight carbon fiber Cannondales, Cervelos, and Treks. I love my faithful old bike and I have maintained it in great condition over the years, but it just weighs way too much for racing.) The ride was pretty uneventful - I managed to pass two people and got passed by one - otherwise I was pretty much on my own. The most excitement was when I went over the only hill on the course, a bridge over a canal. On the downhill side I tucked in and was really flying. Only problem was that there was a tight 90-degree turn to the left about 200 yds down the road - according to my bike computer I was doing about 22 mph at that point. Somehow I skidded and slid through the turn, but I scared the course workers, who were running for cover, convinced I was going to crash.
The bike-to-run transition went smoothly and after guzzling some more Gatorade I was off on the 5K run.
The run started with a very painful 100 yd run back to the beach through deep sand and went downhill from there. My legs just felt awful. Although most of the run was on firm-packed sand along the water, I was really hurting and had to walk quite a bit. I tried to force my self to run for five minutes and then walk for one minute, but it got tougher and tougher. For a while all I could manage was running for a minute and then walking for a minute. There was a water station at the turnaround point. Two of the teenagers working there asked me ?Do you want a shower?? I nodded and they proceeded to dump cups of cold water over my head and back ? it felt great!
I finally got it together and managed to keep a reasonable pace for the last mile or so. I spotted another runner about 100 yds ahead and tried to catch them. I wasn?t able to, but it gave me something to focus on and keep mind off how much my legs hurt.
As I closed in on the finish there were more and more cheering spectators along with the regular beachgoers who were getting caught up in the excitement. It was an indescribable feeling rounding the final turn and heading toward the finish line. I spotted my wife and some friends in the crowd cheering for me and all of a sudden I found myself sprinting to the line. What a great feeling crossing the line and knowing I had made it!
Based on my pre-race workouts, my goal had been to finish in 2:12:00, but I lost too much time on the bike and during the run and ended up finishing in 2:26:58 (By comparison, the overall winner finished in 1:07:17!). I was 19th (and last) in the 50-54 age group. But my time or placing doesn?t really matter. Four years ago my doctor told me I would die of CHF within three years if I didn?t have AVR surgery within six months. I got a second lease on life and if nothing else decided that I wasn?t going to live out my life as a couch potato. I think I?m the luckiest guy in the world.
My goals for next year: both my bike & I are going to lose twenty pounds and I?m going to do sub two hours!
The first leg was a 1K (0.6 mile) swim in the Gulf of Mexico off Siesta Key. They started the race in waves, about four minutes apart, with the elite athletes going first. I was in the fifth (and last) wave to start with all the 50+ age groupers and the relay teams. Had to swim out 100 yds from the beach to a marker buoy and then head south parallel the beach. I deliberately took it slow at the start but still found myself caught in the middle of a pack after the first turn, surrounded by other swimmers and getting knocked around a bit. I eased back out until I was in the clear and tried to concentrate on swimming my own pace. Navigating was a bit of a challenge as the sun was coming up in line with the marker buoys making it almost impossible to see them. Fortunately, I was able to pick out a high-rise condo on the beach as a sighting point. For a while I drafted off the left side of another swimmer, but he kept veering off to the west and heading in the general direction of Mexico, so I let him go and ended up swimming on my own for most of time.
During my first triathlon back in February, I had gone out way too fast on the swim and my biggest fear was going anaerobic out in the gulf. I was just deliberately cruising along, frequently throwing in some breaststroke to help my navigation and to keep my heart and breathing rates down. It was so much different than training in the pool ? no stripe to follow on the bottom and no wall every 25 yds ? without those points of reference it was very hard to gauge how far or fast I was swimming. As I passed one of the course marker buoys, a lifeguard on a kayak told me ?You?re doing great, you?re halfway there!?. I realized that I felt pretty good at that point, so I started picking up my pace and concentrating hard on my freestyle form. Before I knew it I was rounding the last buoy and heading back to the beach. I felt good coming out the water and after the solitude of the swim it really helped to have the cheering spectators on the beach.
A 100 yd run across the beach to the transition area and I was off on the 13-mile bike ride. (During my first race I had treated the transitions more as a casual rest break ? this time, thanks to the coaching from the local triathlon club, I flew right through, donning my shoes, shirt, sunglasses & helmet in record time). During the first ¼ mile on the bike I got my feet clipped in the pedals, downed a slug of Gatorade from one of my squeeze bottles, and stayed in a low gear to get the blood flowing in my legs. As soon as I felt comfortable I shifted into a higher cruising gear and tucked down on my aerobars. I?m learning more about the fine points of cycling all the time, & shifted gears frequently to keep my pedaling cadence steady around 90 RPM. (Not making any excuses, but my biggest handicap on the bike was my 30-year-old Schwinn ten-speed. Just no way I could keep pace with all the lightweight carbon fiber Cannondales, Cervelos, and Treks. I love my faithful old bike and I have maintained it in great condition over the years, but it just weighs way too much for racing.) The ride was pretty uneventful - I managed to pass two people and got passed by one - otherwise I was pretty much on my own. The most excitement was when I went over the only hill on the course, a bridge over a canal. On the downhill side I tucked in and was really flying. Only problem was that there was a tight 90-degree turn to the left about 200 yds down the road - according to my bike computer I was doing about 22 mph at that point. Somehow I skidded and slid through the turn, but I scared the course workers, who were running for cover, convinced I was going to crash.
The bike-to-run transition went smoothly and after guzzling some more Gatorade I was off on the 5K run.
The run started with a very painful 100 yd run back to the beach through deep sand and went downhill from there. My legs just felt awful. Although most of the run was on firm-packed sand along the water, I was really hurting and had to walk quite a bit. I tried to force my self to run for five minutes and then walk for one minute, but it got tougher and tougher. For a while all I could manage was running for a minute and then walking for a minute. There was a water station at the turnaround point. Two of the teenagers working there asked me ?Do you want a shower?? I nodded and they proceeded to dump cups of cold water over my head and back ? it felt great!
I finally got it together and managed to keep a reasonable pace for the last mile or so. I spotted another runner about 100 yds ahead and tried to catch them. I wasn?t able to, but it gave me something to focus on and keep mind off how much my legs hurt.
As I closed in on the finish there were more and more cheering spectators along with the regular beachgoers who were getting caught up in the excitement. It was an indescribable feeling rounding the final turn and heading toward the finish line. I spotted my wife and some friends in the crowd cheering for me and all of a sudden I found myself sprinting to the line. What a great feeling crossing the line and knowing I had made it!
Based on my pre-race workouts, my goal had been to finish in 2:12:00, but I lost too much time on the bike and during the run and ended up finishing in 2:26:58 (By comparison, the overall winner finished in 1:07:17!). I was 19th (and last) in the 50-54 age group. But my time or placing doesn?t really matter. Four years ago my doctor told me I would die of CHF within three years if I didn?t have AVR surgery within six months. I got a second lease on life and if nothing else decided that I wasn?t going to live out my life as a couch potato. I think I?m the luckiest guy in the world.
My goals for next year: both my bike & I are going to lose twenty pounds and I?m going to do sub two hours!
If you enjoy it, keep it up and measure your success against your own criteria. I think you've already found that the pursuit of the personal goals, training and lifestyle have rewards outside of the race itself. It's good to see you are looking forward to the next event. I envy your ability to train outdoors all year. 
