Joined
·
890 Posts
<p>Today I survived my first Olympic triathlon. The official race results aren't posted, but by my watch I finished at around 3.5 hrs. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think there were a few key factors that led to my finish time:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>1. This was my first Oly</p>
<p>2. This was my first OW swim in my wetsuit (I know, I know)</p>
<p>3. We had 10-15 mph winds with gusts up to 20-25 mph</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here is a brief breakdown of my experience:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The swim - Once we arrived at the swim start I learned that we would be jumping into the water from a boat dock and that it would be a deep water swim the entire distance. I was a little thrown off but whatever. Our turn came and I jumped in the water. A few strokes later I looked up to spot the buoy and it looked like it was a mile away. I suddenly felt complete and utter panic. This has never happened to me before. It was hard to breath and it felt like my wetsuit was choking the life out of me. It was like I didn't remember how to swim. Right then I wanted to quit. If a lifeguard had been close to me I can't honestly say that I wouldn't have. But I kept going. 45 minutes later...yes 45 miserable minutes later...I was out of the water. They had volunteers to help you out of your wetsuit. In my head I was screaming for them to get it the <a href="mailto:[email protected]#$K">[email protected]#$K</a> off me. I am hoping I was only screaming in my head. What was shocking to me was that I was not the last one out of the water. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The bike - Yeah, I am out of the water and on the bike! However, I am so out of sorts that I dropped my only water bottle about a mile into the ride. Stop bike...pick up bottle...shout out a few F-bombs...and go! The wind was crazy. I hit it hard when I could and pushed through when the wind got really bad. Many times I felt like I was fighting the bike and trying not to get pushed to the other side of the road. Twice I felt like my front tire was going to get swept out from under me. But, I made it to the transition area!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The run - My legs felt heavy from the start. I just kept telling myself to put on foot in front of the other. The majority of the run was on a gravel/rock path around a lake. Not great footing and - you guessed it - cross winds the entire way. By mile 4 I was pretty sure someone was moving the mile markers. Finally, I see the 6 mile marker and then the finish!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took me a bit to turn my watch off. So, my best guess is that I finished around 3:32 or so. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I suppose the silver lining is that I am determined to do better on the next Oly. I have a lot of work to do but an determined to have a better race the next time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have about a month before my next Oly. I need to figure out why I felt such panic in the water and fix it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>However, for tonight I am going to enjoy the fact that I finished my first Olympic Triathlon. And enjoy the fact that I have no reason to EVER, EVER go back to Findlay, OH. <span><img alt="cool.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/cool.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;"></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think there were a few key factors that led to my finish time:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>1. This was my first Oly</p>
<p>2. This was my first OW swim in my wetsuit (I know, I know)</p>
<p>3. We had 10-15 mph winds with gusts up to 20-25 mph</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here is a brief breakdown of my experience:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The swim - Once we arrived at the swim start I learned that we would be jumping into the water from a boat dock and that it would be a deep water swim the entire distance. I was a little thrown off but whatever. Our turn came and I jumped in the water. A few strokes later I looked up to spot the buoy and it looked like it was a mile away. I suddenly felt complete and utter panic. This has never happened to me before. It was hard to breath and it felt like my wetsuit was choking the life out of me. It was like I didn't remember how to swim. Right then I wanted to quit. If a lifeguard had been close to me I can't honestly say that I wouldn't have. But I kept going. 45 minutes later...yes 45 miserable minutes later...I was out of the water. They had volunteers to help you out of your wetsuit. In my head I was screaming for them to get it the <a href="mailto:[email protected]#$K">[email protected]#$K</a> off me. I am hoping I was only screaming in my head. What was shocking to me was that I was not the last one out of the water. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The bike - Yeah, I am out of the water and on the bike! However, I am so out of sorts that I dropped my only water bottle about a mile into the ride. Stop bike...pick up bottle...shout out a few F-bombs...and go! The wind was crazy. I hit it hard when I could and pushed through when the wind got really bad. Many times I felt like I was fighting the bike and trying not to get pushed to the other side of the road. Twice I felt like my front tire was going to get swept out from under me. But, I made it to the transition area!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The run - My legs felt heavy from the start. I just kept telling myself to put on foot in front of the other. The majority of the run was on a gravel/rock path around a lake. Not great footing and - you guessed it - cross winds the entire way. By mile 4 I was pretty sure someone was moving the mile markers. Finally, I see the 6 mile marker and then the finish!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took me a bit to turn my watch off. So, my best guess is that I finished around 3:32 or so. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I suppose the silver lining is that I am determined to do better on the next Oly. I have a lot of work to do but an determined to have a better race the next time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have about a month before my next Oly. I need to figure out why I felt such panic in the water and fix it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>However, for tonight I am going to enjoy the fact that I finished my first Olympic Triathlon. And enjoy the fact that I have no reason to EVER, EVER go back to Findlay, OH. <span><img alt="cool.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/cool.gif" style="width:16px;height:16px;"></span></p>
</p>
