If you have decided to branch out from running, then a triathlon might be the right thing for you. Because I am a runner and a cyclist, the triathlon was the next logical step for me and I gave it a "tri" last year at the Goochland Sprint Triathlon in August.
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!"
For the better part of the last year, I have been talking about doing a triathlon. And talking. And talking. I finally decided that talk was cheap and I'd better get myself into triathlon mode. Frankly, like a lot of people, the part of the triathlon that bothered me the most was the swim. I can swim fine, but I'm not a swimmer. I can swim laps, but I am not fast nor am I graceful.
Like most new challenges, the best way to motivate yourself is to sign up and invest the registration fee. It worked when I ran my first half marathon and my first full marathon, so I figured it would work for my first triathlon. The question was which tri to sign up for? I decided that my inexperience in the water demanded a pool swim. The Goochland Sprint Triathlon seemed perfect. A 300m pool swim followed by a 12.5 mile bike ride and a 5K run. I debated, but finally signed up about a month in advance.
I began devoting more time to swimming laps at the Y pool, trying to get my comfort level up. Slowly, but surely, my confidence increased. As the race grew closer though, I worried about my performance. Would I flounder and have to be pulled out of the pool? Would I be so slow I would block other swimmers behind me? A couple times, I thought about quitting and getting a refund, but a voice inside convinced me to stick with it and simply try my best.
Finally, it was August 10. I picked up my packet the night before and sat in on the newbie Q&A. I woke this morning at 4:00am, dressed, made sure I had all of my gear and drove to the event site by 5:30am. I had watched a few videos on Youtube about setting up in the transition area. I made sure all of my gear was ready and made my way to the pool. The event was scheduled to start at 6:45am sharp. I had been conservative in estimating my 100m swim time, so I was near the back of the swim and had to wait almost 45 minutes to enter the water.
It was time. The official gave me a 5 second count. 5...4...3...2...1...GO! I was off. We went back and forth covering 12 links of the pool. The pace was slower than I had imagined and several swimmers waved me past. Before I knew it, I was at the end and it was up and out of the water. I scampered to the transition area relieved that the swim was done. I put on my cycling gear and exited transition and was on my bike. The bike phase was great and I averaged almost 19mph. Back in transition, I changed for the run and was off again.
I hadn't worried a bit about the run. After all, I was a runner. I had done half marathons, full marathons, relays. A little 5K would be nothing. WRONG! First, the temperature was over 80F and the humidity was terrible. Second, when you transition from bike to run, the muscles in your legs just don't want to work. I took over a mile before my legs came around and I still had to periodically walk. In the end, I finished the 5K in about 34 minutes, 9 minutes slower than my PR. The gains that I had made in the pool and on the bike fell victim to the part of the race I had worried least about. Go figure. Finally, I crossed the finish line. My first triathlon was done. Funny thing is, I'm sure it won't be my last.
