Hi group!
I wanted to share my today’s experience with you.
Today I completed my first 2018 triathlon race – the Subaru Triathlon Series, Milton. I still didn’t get my results and moreover, I forgot to turn on my Fitbit, so I don’t even get a guess for how fast or slow I was. But that was not the main goal for me at any particular time.
What was in fact the goal for the race was just to build my confidence. And I started from swimming. My first triathlon race last year was almost finished because I had a panic attack after a very fast start. I was out of breadth and scared with all the people around me. I overcame it but remember it as the weakest moment of the race.
I really didn’t want this panic to come back this time. I put on my wetsuit prior to starting and swam a little. The water was of fantastic temperature. At the start I occupied a position right across the first buoy. I didn’t want to let everyone go first and start last in the calm water. I wanted to swim effectively and fearlessly. I was successful at it despite the fact that there were many participants and we swam in a very tight group. I was constantly touched on the legs, my sides, my face. It was especially difficult at the turn around the buoy. I was swimming closest to it, while the boys that were looking over the swim crowded everyone towards that spot. The density of people was like in a school of fish. However, I remained calm – at the start and at the moments of such crowding. I managed to swim the entire distance calmly and evenly. I constantly asked myself – well, is it scary? And always answered – no, it absolutely isn’t. During the last meters I was already calmly thinking how I will change at T1.
My husband who was supporting me throughout the entire race told me that I came out at about the middle of the white hats (my wave). It’s probably so.
I went through T1 very quickly. Thank you, Nathan, for your lessons! I didn’t forget anything, or-ganized everything on my towel correctly and walked to my bike from the beach ahead of time, so that I would be able to discover it quickly during the race. I left off. I don’t remember the first 3-4km until the hill. I remember the hill very well. It has three levels, each one steeper than the last. The last one, which was the steepest, was also relatively short. I manager to get over the rise without getting off my seat and on a good speed, keeping the cadence, as Elke taught me. It was hard to get my breath back afterwards. Many walked their bike on foot throughout this part. I thought that the road will get flatter, but it remained quite hilly, though not with such rough hills as the first one. I focused on the right shift of gears and tried to focus myself on aero position. That is when I remembered to work not only on pushing the pedals, but on pulling them as well, only after the first 15km. Immediately I started gaining speed. Thanks Louise for your advice! It is unfortunate I remembered it a bit late, I think I could have improved my time significantly.
The kilometers flew by quickly and I approached the initial hill with some trepidation. I heard several stories about people not managing the descent and flying out of their seat. However, I noticed that prior to the turn there is a small hill that will depreciate the speed. I didn’t start decelerating prior to the small hill and went through the turn perfectly (meaning without slowing down). However, when I started shifting gears afterwards, I made a mistake and my chain flew off. I had to come off the bike and park at the curb. There were less than 4km to T2. All those people whom I passed began passing me. It was sad, but I decided that this will just be part of today’s story (I remember your pitch, Nicole). I didn’t manage to fix the chain quickly. Even one of the monitoring policemen approached me and offered his help. I think I lost 4-5 minutes and completely got my hands dirty.
I reached T2 quickly (as it seemed), changed my shoes, took my water belt and began running. Though I couldn’t exactly call it a run. The absence of brick workouts in my schedule began taking its toll, since I’ve only done them once this season. My legs were completely beaten and I barely limped. I immediately understood that I have to leave the water behind, as I didn’t want to carry extra weight. So, I chose a spot and threw my water bottles there. The first 2km were horrendous. I barely slugged along and tried to understand why I need to make myself suffer so much. Then, somehow, it got easier. We were running in a park, through a winding route with hills. I always ran up the hills (remembering Mark‘s sessions) and sometimes walked when the road was flat. It is after 6km that I started feeling very good and understood that I could still run a long distance, or at least some more. But then the race ended. Finish line, my name, happy husband, medal and beer, which I usually don’t drink, but which was well suited for some reason.
I think that everything went well. I didn’t panic in the water, I overcame the difficulty with the chain, I understood that I need to do more brick sessions, and that the relative ease of the run doesn’t come immediately, but after some kilometers. In a usual run – after the first two. In a triathlon – after the first six.
Thank you everybody for your support!
