Run Lessons from my First Triathlon

8 years ago • 0 Comment • Run, Triathlon

It’s not going to feel normal.

If you’re going into triathlons from running, you’re going to assume that the ending will be fun – that you’ll spring off the bike and fly. Because after all, you’re a runner. This will be the easy part. The grande finale.

But… no.

You’re going to get off that bike, and you’re going to feel like your legs are made of jello.

You will start running and it won’t feel like you’re actually running. It probably won’t feel like anything, except numb jello that is miraculously moving forward. Then you’ll look around, and you’ll notice everyone else is doing an awkward forward shuffle also. At least for the first half mile. Unless you’re elite. But even the Olympic distance runners who were lapping us novice sprint distance runners were running an awkward, low to the ground, short and shuffling gait.

The more “brick” workouts you do to prepare for your triathlon (running immediately after biking), the more prepared you’ll be for this jello feeling in your legs.

That said, while I didn’t feel I could go that fast, it didn’t hurt, either. I just kept going, legs feeling wobbly and slightly numb, just kept them moving perpetually forward until I crossed the finish line. And as a runner, I could do that. It didn’t feel that hard. As long as I settled in and stayed steady, I was fine. (I felt like I was going to fall over or hurl when I tried to pick it up, so I settled in, and it was ok.)

So it wasn’t the “grande finale” I may have hoped for. I did not get off that bike and run my 5k pace. Those were not fresh legs I was working with.

BUT… being a runner going into a triathlon is awesome, because once I got to the running, I knew I would make it. I might have been sad not to be sprinting across the finish line or throwing down a personal best 5k time, but I never felt the need to stop. I was fine. I could make it. I was in my comfort zone, and I was breathing easy.

There’s something to be said for that. It’d be nice to be a swimmer going into triathlons, but a runner is a next best bet. When you’re your most tired, you’re your most confident, too.

It was a little like dreaming, moving forward, not quite feeling my legs. But I’ve done so much running that being on autopilot wasn’t a problem. I just checked out and waited to get to the end. I’m not sure I could have done that if I didn’t come from running… and I really needed that after pushing myself through the swim and buckling down so I could pass people on the bike.

I’m glad I did the Lake Sebago Tri – it set my expectations a little better and gave me tips for every section of the race.

I’m going to sight better for the swim.

Shift more often on the bike.

Not expect as much from my legs on the run.

Tri For a Cure, here I come 🙂

I think I bought the wrong bike

8 years ago • 0 Comment • Bike, Triathlon

It kind of kills me to write this, because I bought a really nice bike.

Ultegra gears. FSA compact crank.

Carbon frame.

Cervelo P2, classic triathlon bike, black and red. It’s sleek, smooth and fast.

…and it’s designed to be ridden in aero position.

If you’re not into road biking, aero position means you’re leaning forward on your elbows, forearms horizontal, hands on the middle bars. it’s a crouched position, and it’s extremely forward heavy, meaning the steering becomes hypersensitive because your weight shifts towards the front of the bike. Fantastic for aerodynamics. Considered too unstable for cycling in groups; not allowed for cycling races – designed for triathlon races where single file riding is mandatory.

Amazing bike.

Fast bike.

Terrifying bike.

Buying it, I assumed that I could ride it in regular upright position (see the horn handle-bars also?) and grow into the aero position. But the shifters are only on the aero bars, and the brakes are only on the horn bars. So I can either reach the brakes, or the gears…. and because I’m not comfortable with my ability to control the bike in aero position, it means I’m riding with my hands near the brakes.

So every time I want to shift the bike, I have to pick my hand up off the handle bar, move it over, shift, and move it back. Going uphill in traffic, that’s not my favorite thing to do.

So sometimes (ok, often) I will just let my cadence drop and struggle through the thigh burn rather than move my hand over and shift because I’m worried I might lose control of the bike in traffic.

This means I’m riding really inefficiently, because I’m shifting probably a third as often as I would if my hands were next to the gears.

The other problem I have is that I had the bike fitted for me to ride in aero position, haven’t gotten comfortable there, and so am riding upright and getting a ton of neck pain because it’s not how the bike was fitted or designed to be ridden full time.

SO.

I am looking into buying a road bike. I’m not quite ready to sell my Cervelo P2, because I bought it used and got an AMAZING deal considering the components and frame quality; it’s unlikely I’d find a deal like this again, and it’s fitted perfectly. It might be worth hanging onto it and seeing if I stick with triathlons and work into aero; it won’t depreciate that much more in value if I hang onto it for a bit, but replacement cost could be really high.

I did learn some things from the Cervelo, though.

I love having SPD-SL pedals instead of SPD, I clip in and out so much faster and with less frustration. That was a big deal between borrowing my friend’s bike and buying mine.

If I can add shifting comfortably and reducing my neck pain to clipping in and out comfortably, it’s going to open up a whole new world of biking for me.

Currently my longest bike ride is about 21 miles… and I had to end because my neck hurt, not my legs. I am excited to see what a road bike could do for my neck; it’d be really nice to stop because of my legs instead.

I’ve got my eye on a road bike on Craigslist that I’m going to see Saturday (wish me luck!) and it’s another pretty amazing ride. Fingers crossed it works out… if it’s awesome I’ll consider taking it out a few times and then using it for Tri for a Cure!

We shall see…

Bike Lessons From My First Triathlon

8 years ago • 1 Comment • Bike, Triathlon

The nice thing about being last out of the water in a small triathlon is that the bike course was pretty uncrowded. There was no one behind me until some of the Olympic distance triathletes (who started their race earlier) started doing their second loop.

I may have been 143 out of 143 exiting the water, but by the time I finished the bike I was 106/143. I’m not sure that’s a testament to how good I am on the bike so much as how bad I am at the swim 🙂

It felt good to make up some time on the bike. I was racing myself, not the people I passed, but when you’re out on the course and you’re so far behind people that you can’t see any other race participants, it’s not as much fun. I liked getting past some people on the bike and feeling like I was part of the race again. It also made me feel like I wasn’t as far out of my league as I felt exiting the water.

I was really nervous about the biking portion, because I was so afraid that it would be a packed course and I would get in the way of other participants, or not feel comfortable passing if I needed to.

Luckily, it was a nice small race and getting out of the water last meant I had plenty of room on the initial part of the bike course. I passed over 20 people, but I felt like it was pretty easy to check over my shoulder before pulling left, call out “on your left!” and then pull ahead and tuck back to the right.

Some things I learned:

Gears: It makes a huge difference if you can get comfortable switching gears and figuring out where you should be. Going into the race, I was pretty good at putting it into an easier gear for hills, but not as good at switching into a more difficult gear going downhill or when it’s flat. There were some STEEP hills on this course. I hit over 30 miles an hour going down one of the hills. If you’re not in the hardest gear at that point, if you turn your pedals they are so loose that you feel completely out of control. You can also feel like you’re cranking the pedals and not getting anywhere on a flat stretch if you’re not in a low enough gear, which is frustrating.

Learning your gears and experimenting with your gears isn’t just about going faster it’s about feeling more in control. I remember thinking it wasn’t a huge deal if I didn’t figure gears out right away because I wasn’t going for speed my first time around, but being in the right gear has a huge impact on your experience while you’re biking.

Water bottle: I used a metal water bottle, and it was hard to get water out because you can’t squeeze it. Fine on my training rides when I can take my time, not as good during a race. Find a water bottle that’s easy to get in and out of your holder, has good water flow, and practice with it.

Corners: Practice taking turns and corners and stopping at the bottom of hills etc. I tend to ride long, straight stretches and stop rather than taking a sharp corner… which is great because I’ve never wiped out on my bike, but not great because you can’t unexpectedly stop or slow down way too much on a race course with people behind you. You’ve got to have experience taking corners and braking down hills etc. I play it a little too safe when I ride my bike training, which isn’t ideal come race day.

Passing: Not as hard (at least on this relatively uncrowded course) as I thought. Check over shoulder, pull left, call out to the person you’re passing, check shoulder to make sure they’re far enough behind you (3 bike lengths), tuck back to the right. There were places with enough traffic so it wasn’t safe to pass, and I did get caught for a few minutes going slower than I would have… but that’s part of the race. That’s why you try to swim straight and get out of the water sooner 😉

My funniest moment:

I was flying down a hill, trying to be mindful of how amazing the moment was. That I’d just swum my first open water course, that I was on the bike and feeling good, that I’d just passed over 10 people and was not going to be last to finish, that it was a beautiful day and I was coasting down a gorgeous Maine road….

I felt pretty fantastic.

Well there was no one in sight so I started yelling “WHEEEE!!! I’M A TRIATHLETE!!! I’M KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!” …and then a woman doing her second loop of the Olympic distance whizzed by me doing probably 35 miles an hour. Awesome.

My second funniest moment:

I went the wrong way around a corner on the bike course and the police had to flag me back while traffic waited and send me the right way. Yet another reason I was very relieved to pass some people and be closer to the pack so I could follow people!

My third funniest moment:

There was a corner after a moderate hill and I thought I was taking it slow and wide enough but ended up going a LITTLE wider than I thought and almost hit two police officers who were both texting on their phones. I was like “uh oh, uh oh” going into the turn past the flagger, who then screamed “WOOHOO!!! You made it!” after I managed not to mow them down.

Next up… the run. That’s a post for another day 🙂

Swim Lessons From My First Triathlon

8 years ago • 2 Comments • Swim, Triathlon

I learned so much from the Sebago Lake Triathlon (my first tri!) that I’m going to break it into three separate posts. (The trick will be remembering to re-read them all before my next triathlon!)

First… the swim.

The swim was the whole reason I wanted to do this triathlon. I needed a break through. It’s too easy in the pool to take a break every length; I have been swimming 3 times a week for several months, but still do most of my swimming 25 yards at a time. I’d built up strength, but wasn’t great at practicing endurance.

What better way to practice endurance than head out in a lake and swim for the buoys in a supportive race environment? No standing up halfway through; all breaks are still floating, and if you’re floating, you might as well kick. If you’re kicking, you might as well backstroke and get it over with.

With kayaks on the course and a buoyant wetsuit, it seemed like just enough risk to make me feel alive without being dangerous.

And yes, I felt pretty darn alive rushing into that freezing cold water with a crowd of people and heading out into the lake, knowing it’d be the furthest open water swim of my life.

I started out doing freestyle, was shocked to discover I was keeping up with people, and then got kicked in the face and swallowed lake water. It didn’t hurt, but it’s startling, and it was enough to put me a little behind the pack and switch to backstroke.

The trouble with backstroking behind the pack of swimmers is it’s hard to gauge where you’re going unless you stop and look around. I lost time and energy switching from backstroke to treading water so I could look around, and ended up zigzagging all over the place.

My running mantra when I’m struggling has always been “just keep going”. This doesn’t work very well when you happen to be swimming in the wrong direction.

There were times when I knew I should look to make sure I was going the right way, but the thought of changing position and treading water made me feel panicked, so I just kept going.

The wrong way.

I went so far off course the kayakers had to come escort me to the finish.

I probably swam over half a mile.

But I made it.

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Whenever you’re towards the end of a race, maybe especially a swim, people are going to be looking at your face and worrying about how you’re doing and how you feel.

I knew was the last one out of the water, so, yeah, I threw my hands up… to great laughter and applause.

I let every ounce of excitement and pride that I made it out of the water show on my face.

In the photo below, you can see one of the kayakers who redirected me about 10 times smiling and clapping as I exited the water. I felt so bad taking extra time from the race volunteers, but Greg said the second to last person exited the water only about thirty seconds before me… and at least I closed the swim course down with a smile.

There were some silver linings to being last. It shows how far outside my comfort zone I was, and how much room I have for improvement. That I’m at an exciting place in my journey.

Besides, I was there to learn, and I did.

What did I learn?

Sighting is important. If you’re not in the pack, it’s extra important to continue checking and making sure you’re going the right direction. No one wants to swim extra distance.

My swim instructor showed me how to pick my head up in front crawl after I breathe and look around so I don’t need to go vertical and tread water, a major waste of speed and energy.

If I can roll easily into backstroke when I want more air, then back to front crawl looking around occasionally in between strokes, I’ll be able to stay stream-lined in the water, continuously moving forward, and checking easily to see where I’m going.

I would not have known to work on these strategies if I hadn’t done this unplanned first triathlon!

Practice in your wetsuit. It can make you feel like it’s hard to get a breath even though if you pay attention you’re getting plenty of air. The more time you spend in the water in your wetsuit before your race, the better. Swim hard to get out of breath in your suit, and then practice kicking on your back and relaxing your breathing. It’s important to learn before your race that you can catch your breath in a tight wetsuit. I had to calm myself down quite a few times in the water, and focus on the fact that I was breathing in and out, and I could in fact keep going.

It’s over fast. Even being last out of the water, I was done in less than 18 minutes. If I’d watched where I was going, I suspect I could have finished in 13 or 14. If you feel worried, just keep going in the moment. A little more, a little more, ten strokes of front, ten strokes of back, and it’ll be over before you know it.

It’s fine to backstroke: Plenty of people were doing it, and it’s easy to space yourself to the side or towards the back if you’re truly worried about bumping into someone. But honestly, people doing the front crawl were swimming over each other just as aggressively since they’re not able to look straight ahead either. I was so worried about backstroking, but it was the only way I could have finished this race, and it had no negative impact on any of the other participants.

Next post: I’ll share what I learned on the bike 🙂

Unplanned First Triathlon!

8 years ago • 6 Comments • Triathlon

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Sometimes an opportunity comes your way. One that scares you a little bit, but promises to change you in return.

We were up in Maine this weekend for my niece’s dance recital, when we learned that the Sebago Lake Triathlon was on Sunday and Greg’s brother’s girlfriend (an experienced triathlete) was doing it.

“You could do it, too!”

“It’d be great practice!”

“You’ve got your bike!”

Suddenly, Greg’s brother was e-mailing the race director to see if I could register the same day as the race, his girlfriend was offering to bring me bike gloves and a race belt and triathlon tops, and we were calculating what time I’d need to set my alarm. Greg was the best support and sounding board I could ask for, and he was willing to drop everything and show up camera in hand to cheer me on with the kids if I thought this event would help me prepare for July.

Was I really going to do this?

Attempt to complete a triathlon, over a month early? Without tapering? The day after a bike ride, and two days after a swim?

Yes.

Yes, I was.

Because I was scared, but not that scared.

I knew there’d be kayaks and I was in a buoyant wetsuit; there was risk of failure but no danger of drowning. My mom joked that that’s why she wouldn’t come watch until July… but I knew I could do this.

I knew I’d learn from this, that it’d help me go into Tri For a Cure feeling more confident and have a better race.

So I swam. I biked. I ran.

I learned. I never stopped smiling.

I’m a triathlete.

And in July, I will Tri For a Cure and I will Tri harder and with more confidence and more ability to relax and be present in the moment because I took a chance this weekend and I went for it.

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Triathlon

My funniest moment:

Next up… the run. That’s a post for another day 🙂

First… the swim.

What did I learn?

Was I really going to do this?