John's Triathlon Journey Follow my journey to becoming a triathlete!

First off, I want to say that the Peachtree City series of races are among the best organized events that I have participated in.  If you ever have the chance, race in an event here and you will not be disappointed.  The race director, Kim Bramblett, is a great person and does a phenominal job as do the countless volunteers and Police Officers that assist in the planning and execution of the event.  Also, hat’s off to the PTC youth and residents that were out at almost every corner cheering us on, it was really motivating.

If you don’t want to read the entire post, then stop at this paragraph knowing that I finished and put another check in the box.  If your interested in my long account of the entire event… read on!

I’ll have to tell you that I felt a little anxiety going into this event.  I’ve been traning those distances but for some reason I had this pit in my stomach for at least 48 hrs before the race.  Probably a little normal, but nonetheless it was uncomfortable.  I started to feel more calm when I was finally able to visit the field for packet pick up on Friday afternoon.  After receiving my race packet I walked through transistion to find my bike rack and also to get to the swim course.  I wanted to see the bouy’s.  Purposefully, I withheld my gaze as I approached the swim start area.  I did not want my mind to fill with a gradual image of the swim challenge, rather I wanted one all encompassing view from the onset.  There it was, 0.95 miles of swim course.  I found little comfort as I stood there and listened to the super-sprint competitors make statements such as “thats really far” or “thats crazy” as they oberserved the shorter 300 meter swim course.  Great, just what I needed.  Getting home I found that what helps me cope is the race prep.  I spent the next hour getting my gear ready, packing the van and running through the checklist about a half dozen times.  Went for a quick bike sprint which help settle me down a little, went to bed early and slept like a baby.

Race morning – Karen and I woke up well rested and ready to go.  The race is about 15 minutes away, so we didn’t leave the house until 6:15.  Karen raced in the super-sprint, so it was great having a companion to ride into town with.  Breakfast was a half a piece of bread with peanut butter and a power bar.  I really need to find a better pre-race breakfast, this is not it.  Once I got to the transistion area I started hydrating.  It took me 5 minutes to get through body marking and inspection and then after a quick transition setup  I found myself with a little extra time.  I was really surprised to see that my brother got up early to support Karen and I during our race.  This was a good distraction as I walked out to meet him and spent a little time in general conversation.  Comfort really came when I was able to use the bathroom…. most triathletes would agree that a good rest room visit before race start helps to calm the nerves.  However, while in the porta potty I heard an announcement that caused a little anxiety.  ”Racers, you have 3 minutes to leave the transistion area and line up for the swim start.”  That sucks.  I was 50 meters away from my gear, needed the wetsuit, goggles and swim cap.  No worries, I just grabbed my gear and got dressed in the start line, then proceeded to wait 30 minutes until it was my turn to start the swim portion of the race.

Swim – “Go”, was the only word I heard from the race official as I approached the water.  Athletes were started 2 at a time every 5 seconds.  This helped to keep us from getting beat to death during the start.  As I entered the water and started swimming I quickly realized that I needed to swim in a defensive posture for about the first 50 meters.  I was treated to a few kicks from others even though we were all trying to be accomodating.  The distance started to click away.  I was at the 150 meter bouy before I knew it, only about 1400 more to go.  Sighting is the act of lifting one’s head just enough to see where you are going and align your body so as to keep as direct a course as possible.   I suck at sighting.  At one point I was 50 feet to the left of the swim “pack” and headed in a different direction.  I probably wasted 5 minutes of my swim just trying to get back on course.  After I made the final turn and was headed for the beach I realized that I was actually passing others!  This whole time I thought I was continually being passed.  You see, my race number was 484… which means I started in the back.  There were only about 10 people that started behind me so I really could not be passed by the hordes of swimmers that I encountered.  At the last bouy I looked up for a quick “sighting” and noticed that I was being enveloped by a sea of white hats.  Oh crap, it was the super-sprint competitors rounding the same buoy and headed to the finish.  I think I swam over a couple of people, I was a little pissed as these folks were not being accommodating to the other athletes finishing up a much longer swim.  Some were standing in chest deep water trying to walk to the beach.  No problem, just get out of the way.  Finally, I felt my hands hit the bottom of the lake as I reached shallow water.  My first attempt at standing and running into the transition (T1) was not pretty.  With a lack of blood in my legs I quickly fell exiting the water.  I should have known.  I was actually helped up by a race official as he checked to see if I was ok.  No problem… I was then able to run to my bike, quickly changed and started to jog through T1 to get to the bike start.  (36:55 was the offiial swim time)

Getting started on the bike was great.  In the “no passing” area I ingested a Gel pack (Hammer is my favorite brand), hydrated and reset my Garmin.  It was great to see my brother again as I left the bike area.  As I entered the “racing” zone the fangs started to come out.  There were so many super-sprinters on the course; it was motivating to have so many “targets” that I could set my sights on and pass.  Was I going out too fast?  Maybe… but I felt good and wanted to keep the pace up as long as possible.  At mile 1 I realized that I did not hit the “enter” button on my watch and therefore was not tracking my progress on my Garmin.  Damn.  To top it off, I didnt reset my bike computer until I was 0.6 miles into the course.  Oh well, the course was well marked and I’ve ridden it before… no biggie.  As I worked my way up the first big climb I noticed a familiar bike up ahead.  It was Karen.  How did I catch her?  As I gained on her I reached out and pinched her on the butt as I passed.  She claims she knew it was me but I bet she gets that all the time.  From there on out it was a grind.  The back side of the course has some serious climbs which take their toll, however, I love the other side as I get to speed down as a rapid pace.  My top speed on a down hill was 42 mph, which is scary on a bike.  Weighing 225 lbs helps to achieve that speed; on the flip side, 225 lbs sucks when trying to climb up those hills.  The last 5 miles of this course has several fast areas that you can use to make up some time.  I was still passing competitors, but started to feel some cramping in the legs.  I took a salt tab on the way in and felt good as I neared the finish.  Coming into T2 I again saw friendly faces.  It was great to again see my brother as well as my wife, son and his girlfriend – all cheering me on.  Time for a 6.2 mile run.  (1 hr, 27 min and 30 seconds for 26 miles)

The final leg, 6.2 mile run.  Leaving transition I felt fine, but the bike had taken its toll on my legs.  I just did not have the strong legs that I was used to.  They moved, I ran but just not as fast as I expected.  In the last couple of weeks I had made some good gains, turning in 8 minute miles in sessions of 3 to 4 mile distances.   Leaving T2, there was my cheering squad.  A few fist bumps and bam… I was on the course.  Mile 1 was a slow 10:30 pace.  Like I said, the legs were not there.  I continued this pace for most of the race (except the last mile).  I saw a lot of people on the course that looked like…. crap.  The heat was beginning to rise and the humidity was up in the 90 percentile.  The best athletes were already coming back in to finish… they looked strong.  One foot in front of the other, thats all I wanted to do.  Reaching the turn around I found a new pocket of motivation, I was now headed back!  Some how, some where, my internal song machine started belting out…. the chicken dance song.  Ugghh, I hat the song!  Not sure how, but I worked it out as I rounded mile 5.  Only 1.2 miles lift, 1/2 of that was up hill.  I picked up the pace for the last mile and started passing all those slow pokers that I’ve been watching for the last couple of miles.  The finish line is actually an uphill run, but the feeling of finishing carried me up the hill past my supporters and into the chute.  Strong finish.  (avg 10:324 mile for a 64:29 total time).

Feeling of accomplishment?  Yes.  But, I want more now.  I’m going to start pouring on the hours.  I need to be better at sighting in the water, and faster.  I need to loose 20lbs, this will help the bike and the run.  I need to hit longer distances in training.  Karen and I are planning on doing at least 2 and maybe 3 “centurys” this summer (100 mile bike rides).  I’m going to push the runs to 10 miles plus.  Its time to get ready for the half Ironman in Augusta.  Its time to eat better, add weights back to my training and build my endurance.  Its time.