First Tri Report

[Jagee]

First race went well, learned some stuff. Great weather at 7 am in Hyannis, MA! Sunny, ~70 degrees. Water was ~60-65 degrees and calm.
Swim was great--smooth water, stayed inside the group (100 plus folks) and cut close to the bouys. I held back a little to avoid wiping myself out halfway through, which worked, but I now think I could have gone harder for more of the way. It was just a 1/4 mile.
1/4 mile swim: 7:14

Bike was not so great. T1 and T2, which are included in the time, went off badly. Took longer than I thought to put on flipflops after swim to run on pavement (I've got a left ball of foot problem) and struggled with getting wetsuit off. Forgot to put timing chip back on my ankle before bike. Put my shirt on backwards, which for some reason at the time I felt the need to remedy. The bike itself went well--I averaged about 18mph, which for me is good, and marvelled at how incredibly fast the Elites were passing me! T2 was a joke. When I came in, I stopped to talk to a volunteer about my timing chip. Took a while for me to figure out that I only needed it for exiting the bike, so just had to find it in my pile and put it back on. Started to head out to the run with my helmet on. Sweet. Ran back and put it on my bike. Headed out without my racebelt and number. Nice. Went back and put on race belt. Then on to run!
10.2 mile bike including transitions: 38:59 Ouch. Given my mph, time in T1 and T2 comes out to like 4.5-5 minutes. Ouch.

Run felt pretty good. For the first mile or so, my legs were pretty done in--for some reason, my calves kept half-cramping, but beyond that I felt good. About halfway through, I felt good enough to pick up cadence and settle in more.
3.6 mile run: 27:09

Total: 1:13:23.

I had a great time! Found the other people and volunteers very friendly and the whole thing was well-organized (well, except for me). Besides continuing to train, I just need to really streamline my transitions so I get in and out with much fuss. I look forward to trying a 1/2 mile swim and a longer bike.

Thoughts:
1) Cramping--does anyone have suggestions for how to prevent this? Like I said, it was my calves that started to go and I was able to stretch them a little and didn't have issues after that. But on some of the bike/run workouts I've done, cramping in my quads and calves has been an issue. I eat bananas regularly for breakfast, but maybe I should eat them for potassium closer to the event.

2) Timing chip--do people just yank their wetsuits over this? I took it off to avoid tearing the wetsuit but found it a distraction.

[cjbruin]

Cramping...a lot of people tend to flex their calves when they run. Try to relax your feet...don't flex them upward.

Timing chip...yes, just yank the wetsuit off. You can always check for it after the wetsuit is off.

Congrats on your first tri. YOU ARE A TRIATHLETE!!!

[Staylor36]

Congrats! I am doing my first tri in Webster, Ma Sun the 22nd, and I haven't really practiced transitions, I think I willl practice those the next few bricks and swims. I should have a first race report coming soon!

[ModelT]

Good Job. Your thinking will get better as you get more races done.

I usually drop about 20 IQ points due to race day focus. :)

[Jagee]

Thanks all--yes, I hope to have a better grip on the details next time around. In the meantime, I'm going to keep up with bike and bike to run training in particular.

Staylor: Good luck in Webster! If you've got a wetsuit, practice taking that thing off at speed. Have a great time.

Does anybody know of any decent alternatives to Yankz (the elastic lacing that can replace regular laces)? I found it hard to find the right setup with them--felt either too tight or loose.

[TysonB]

Jagee,

Good job. You make me laugh as I remember many of the same things from my first SEVERAL races.

As to Yankz or other elastic laces, just use them in training every day. Once you find a reasonably close fit as to tightness/looseness, just leave them alone. Don't adjust the closure device ever again and simply cram your foot into the shoe with the elastic laces pre-set by pulling on the tongue. (I can't remember, but think Yankz is an elastic lace gizmo. If not, find one.) You'll find that a "perfect" fit isn't really necessary. You can adapt to a "reasonably good" fit.

As jerseys, I finally had to start wearing my bike/run shirt under the sweat shirt just so I didn't have to worry about it. Tri-suits exist for a reason, but if you have a good tech-shirt or a bike shirt you can run it, that's fine. I once put helmet and glasses on and started to ride out, and then remembered my shirt and had to take it all off and do again. By having fool proof systems you can be a fool and succeed at transititon (look around, see what I mean! LOL!).

Tri's and Tri folks are fun, aren't they? You can be as competitive or non-competitive as you want and still be accepted into most of these groups.

Have fun!

TysonB
Cushing, OK

[Seamus]

Cramping: I used to have bad, debilitating leg cramps on long, hot rides. Two things seemed to help. Drinking a lot of Smartwater the night before ("it's got electrolytes - what plants need" ;) ), and taking Endurolytes caps every hour during the ride. The combo works for me, and I almost never get cramps any more. Note: I hate paying extra for 'water with electrolytes', but dammit, it seems to make a difference.

Yankz: I've tried them, and have had better luck with a brand called Lock Laces, available on ebay for $5 or so. They are simpler as far as lacing and locking. Agree with Tyson - find a snug, but comfortable fit, and don't touch the adjustment.

Chip: goes directly on the ankle under or below the suit (my suit is cut high enough on the calves that the chip is below).

HTH. Enjoy this addictive sport.

Jim

[scorpio516]

Right after I bought a set of Yankz, my wife yelled at me saying she could make the exact same thing for less than $3. And so we did, real basic - thread the shoe with elastic cord instead of laces, then get a cheap side by side toggle. Or you could go even cheaper and get the single hole toggle, the original kind ala late 80s ski jackets.