When I decided to sign up for Goochland, my biggest worry was the swimming element. I was never a big swimmer and the thought of doing laps of freestyle was not very appealing. But, I figured that it would get me into the pool and a new type of exercise. My first attempts at swimming freestyle were down right embarrassing. I could swim about half a lap and then lapse into breaststroke. Although you could probably swim breaststroke, it would take you forever to finish the swim portion of the race. I decided that my technique and breathing needed work. I got a couple of tips from some experienced triathletes, including some online videos on freestyle technique.
I soon discovered that my swimming problems were chiefly related to my breathing. Like so many other non-swimmers, my tendency was to try to hold my breath when my head went underwater. Wrong! The trick to freestyle is to inhale as you turn your head and then exhale under water as you stroke. Voila. Although it did not make me a fast swimmer, it did enable me to swim multiple laps without switching out of freestyle. Once I had that down, I was able to work on distance.
The other key to a successful triathlon is transitioning from swimming to cycling to running. The clock continues to run, so you need to move as quickly as possible from one discipline to the next, which includes an equipment change. Triathletes accomplish this by having their gear laid out and ready. When you complete your swim, you dry off quickly, get into you cycling shoes, helmet and gloves and out onto the course as quickly as you can. Cycling for me was easy, perhaps too easy. I pushed my pace hard getting my average pace up around 20 mph. You can pick up time that way, but pushing too hard has consequences.
Perhaps the most difficult thing for me ended up being the run. This came as a complete surprise to me, because I am a practiced runner. I have run multiple half and full marathons. Nothing like overconfidence to trip you up. Experienced triathletes will tell you that training for a triathlon includes doing "brick work". This has nothing to do with masonry and everything to do with how your legs adjust from cycling to running. Cycling requires the use of certain legs muscles, while running uses others. Brick work emphasizes this transition and gets you used to what you can expect. I was not ready.
When I got off my bike and into my running shoes, my legs felt like they belonged to someone else. I could barely run at more than a shuffle. This was exacerbated by the heat and humidity of August and the fact that much of the run was done over a mowed field. My normal 25-minute 5K turned into a 35-minute 5K. A couple of times, I even thought about DNFing, but I finished under 90 minutes. I took consolation in completing my first tri. I also learned a lot. The Goochland Tri was a pool swim. My goal for 2014 is to do my first tri with an open water swim.
The Smithfield Sprint is the first tri of the Virginia season. It is also a pool swim, but it will give me a chance to reacquaint myself with doing a tri. If you are thinking about giving triathlons a try. I say "Go for it!"
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