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Monday, May 16, 2011

Classic Rock Rotary Sprint Triathlon

This day started like any other run,bike or triathlon. The night before I packed everything I needed into my bag and went to sleep around 10pm. I set my alarm at 4:41 and snoozed it until 5am. I got up and did my morning routine (I'm sure you don't want know what that is) and loaded my bike and bag into the car. I left the house around 5:20am and drove for about 30 minutes. When I got there I noticed there weren't that many cars.

I unloaded my bike, grabbed my bag and headed over to the transition area. I got marked and the lady marking asked me if I was a Clydesdale, I guess it's pretty obvious I'm overweight, so I got a nice big "C" on my left calf.  It was very cold, maybe low 50's before the sun came out and mid 50's after the sun was up.

When I got to my rack it was a mess, they told everyone to hook the bikes with the handle bars but of course not everyone's bike was able to hook up that way. Then you had the people who brought their whole wardrobe in their bag and took about 4 feet of space. I guess I got lucky I was not in the low numbers with the competitive people. I was actually joking around with the other people in my area about the lack of space, in the lower numbers people were actually arguing about space. I managed to snap a pic before the event started.

Note the position of my helmet


We all lined up at the pool, even numbers on one side and odd numbers on the other side. I slowly moved up the line and finally it was my turn. I wasn't nervous until I finally hit the water. I swam about halfway down the pool and I lost control of my breathing. Not only was I not putting my head under water but I couldn't get a whole breath in. I was gasping for air but I made it to the end of the pool. I grabbed the wall for about half a minute and I went again. It was hell not being able to breathe properly and I actually managed to take a gulp of water. I passed at least one person but they passed me again when I had to catch my breath at the wall. I continued to grab the wall for half a minute until the end. I was embarrassed of my swim knowing everyone was watching me grab the wall.

I hurried on to the transition area still dazed and confused from the swim. As soon as I went outside the chilly wind hit me and put me into even more of a confusion. I put my shirt on, grabbed my sunglasses, put my socks and shoes on and I hurried out the transition area....this is where the "note the position of my helmet" comment comes into play. As I was getting ready to run out the transition area I hear someone say, "Don't forget your helmet". I touched my head and no helmet. In all the confusion of not being able to breathe properly and the cold hitting me, I forgot to put my helmet on. So there I went running back to my area to get my helmet. Next time I'll make sure I put it next to my shoes.

As soon as I got on the bike I started burping for about 5 minutes, I'm not sure why that was but my guess was it has something to do with the water I ingested in the pool. About half a mile in we turned north into the chilly wind. This did not feel good at all, I was tired and cold. At the halfway mark we turned around and finally got a break from the wind and cold. Everything was fine on the bike. I reached the transition are and put the running shoes one.

The run started out pretty good and about half a mile in my stomach started cramping up. I should have gone to the restroom to poop before the race. About a mile and half a guy caught up to me who was also a Clydesdale and we got to talking so that made the run easier. He slowed down with a mile to go because his legs were cramping up. I finally finished and could not be happier about it. Results are as follows.

 I came in last of the Clydesdale :(

 

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