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06-23-09, 08:18 AM
Hey all,
This was my 3rd race, and my first open water swim. The race is held Sunday at Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon, Oh. The swim is not in Lake Erie, but a small man-made lake at the park. The swim was a 750M rectangle out and back, The bike is 23k on flat country roads, and the run was 5k around the man-made lake and up along the Lake Erie beach, and back.
I've been training more seriously for the bike than I had previously, and I haven't had as much time in the lake or pool as I'd wanted, but I had gotten some open water swimming in, and was pretty well prepared, I thought.
Race day comes, and I'm a little out of sorts because I didn't take the time I normally do to look over the bike course, or understand transition in/out fully. Fortunately for me, it was well set up and easy.
Being that this was my first open water swim, this was my first true wave start. I'm a Clydesdale so I started at the back of the big guys. What's amazing is to get in the water, be swimming, sort of catch up to part of the group ahead of you, only to see the people behind you passing you, AND the group ahead of you. The top women for the sprint blew right by me, and later the top women and men for the Olympic did as well. The most interesting part is that I decided right away I didn't want to take breaks like I do in the pool. I figured the best strategy was to go to backstroke or sidestroke that allowed me to get my breathing back regulated before returning to freestroke, rather than waste energy treading water. Needless to say, it was a huge success, and I broke my own 750M PR by about 10 minutes. 23:20 was my swim time. While that's not what some would call fast, I managed to place 213/226!
The bike is clearly becoming my best event. I'm still slow and learning but, I put on my best showing to date. The roads were flat, but it was hot and there was some wind. My previous 2 races were on extremely hilly courses, and shorter (10 and 12 Miles respectively), and my rides for those courses were both over an hour. Sundays time of 53:37, set me almost exactly at 16 MPH, and for me that's flying! I kept several racers at bay, and even picked off a few riders along the way. I came in 201/226, and was really happy with this effort. The bike training is clearly paying off.
The 5k is where I need the most improvement. The T2 clock was broken, so it is included in my 5k time, and figuring about 1 minute of transition, I had almost exactly the same 5k time as my last 2 races. While that means I was no slower after a longer harder swim and ride, it still means because I'm walking, that I gave back a bunch of time to people I had beaten handily on the bike. The walk was flat, winding, and relatively easy under ideal conditions, but the heat made it a far more challenging race. I finished 222/226 in the walk, and I see that if I change one race thing it will be to run, and it will give me the biggest benefit. Ive resisted due to worrying about possible damage to my knees, but as I lose more weight, it will become an easier option.
I'll have pictures to post from home this evening, and my next race will be somewhere in New England this fall. I'll be moving in the next few weeks, so it won't be immediate, but it will definitely happen.
(As an aside, I did manage to place in my age group (Clydesdale XL3 (225#+), but that was mostly because there were only 2 of us, so I'm not bragging too much about that. The one thing i will say is that I beat quite a few people who weigh a LOT less than I do!!)
This was my 3rd race, and my first open water swim. The race is held Sunday at Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon, Oh. The swim is not in Lake Erie, but a small man-made lake at the park. The swim was a 750M rectangle out and back, The bike is 23k on flat country roads, and the run was 5k around the man-made lake and up along the Lake Erie beach, and back.
I've been training more seriously for the bike than I had previously, and I haven't had as much time in the lake or pool as I'd wanted, but I had gotten some open water swimming in, and was pretty well prepared, I thought.
Race day comes, and I'm a little out of sorts because I didn't take the time I normally do to look over the bike course, or understand transition in/out fully. Fortunately for me, it was well set up and easy.
Being that this was my first open water swim, this was my first true wave start. I'm a Clydesdale so I started at the back of the big guys. What's amazing is to get in the water, be swimming, sort of catch up to part of the group ahead of you, only to see the people behind you passing you, AND the group ahead of you. The top women for the sprint blew right by me, and later the top women and men for the Olympic did as well. The most interesting part is that I decided right away I didn't want to take breaks like I do in the pool. I figured the best strategy was to go to backstroke or sidestroke that allowed me to get my breathing back regulated before returning to freestroke, rather than waste energy treading water. Needless to say, it was a huge success, and I broke my own 750M PR by about 10 minutes. 23:20 was my swim time. While that's not what some would call fast, I managed to place 213/226!
The bike is clearly becoming my best event. I'm still slow and learning but, I put on my best showing to date. The roads were flat, but it was hot and there was some wind. My previous 2 races were on extremely hilly courses, and shorter (10 and 12 Miles respectively), and my rides for those courses were both over an hour. Sundays time of 53:37, set me almost exactly at 16 MPH, and for me that's flying! I kept several racers at bay, and even picked off a few riders along the way. I came in 201/226, and was really happy with this effort. The bike training is clearly paying off.
The 5k is where I need the most improvement. The T2 clock was broken, so it is included in my 5k time, and figuring about 1 minute of transition, I had almost exactly the same 5k time as my last 2 races. While that means I was no slower after a longer harder swim and ride, it still means because I'm walking, that I gave back a bunch of time to people I had beaten handily on the bike. The walk was flat, winding, and relatively easy under ideal conditions, but the heat made it a far more challenging race. I finished 222/226 in the walk, and I see that if I change one race thing it will be to run, and it will give me the biggest benefit. Ive resisted due to worrying about possible damage to my knees, but as I lose more weight, it will become an easier option.
I'll have pictures to post from home this evening, and my next race will be somewhere in New England this fall. I'll be moving in the next few weeks, so it won't be immediate, but it will definitely happen.
(As an aside, I did manage to place in my age group (Clydesdale XL3 (225#+), but that was mostly because there were only 2 of us, so I'm not bragging too much about that. The one thing i will say is that I beat quite a few people who weigh a LOT less than I do!!)