The point of the original post below was to make fun of all the things I did wrong. But to actually be a race report, I'd have to tell you something about the race. Generally, I don't care for sprint triathlons. I think they are more trouble in preparation, early arrival, set up/take down than they are worth for the fun they provide. And I'm never going to win, so I prefer the longer events where I get some good solid fun for my efforts. This beach tri is an exception though. The ocean swim and beach run make this a challenge, enough so to make up for the unfortunate 4 loop bike course up and down the main street area of town. Plus the post race breakfast spread is the best.
How not to do a race - 20 Aug 2011
by Sue (Notes) on Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 10:27pm
You know those things you're not supposed to do for a race? Today I did all of them. The event was a sprint triathlon in Wildwood, NJ: 0.25 mi ocean swim, 10 mi bike, 3.1 mi beach run.
In almost chronological order, it started when my new pedals/cleats arrived on Wednesday. I excitedly put them on my new triathlon bike shoes, and then went for my first spin with them Thursday morning. What I discovered is that Egg Beater cleats on a road shoe sole are rather unstable. Sure, the cleat locks into the pedal just fine, but the sole of the shoe doesn't itself touch the pedals, so my foot felt kinda sloppy and loose rather than securely snug. Crank Brothers makes a road shoe cleat that adds tread around the periphery of the forefoot, which would contact the pedal spindles and add stability, but I'd have to mail order it. However, I found a different product (Shimano pontoon) that I thought would add the stability I was looking for, and was able to pick a pair up at a bike shop Friday on my way to packet pick-up. I installed them on my shoes and went to bed. Mistake #1 - last minute gear changes.
Neither my friend Kate nor I are morning people, and we decided to forgo early arrival so we could sleep in. Breakfast at the house was a bust (pre-race food was mis-cooked and inedible), so we had to make a stop on the way to get something else. This left very little time to settle into transition before the pre-race meeting, and I still needed to try out the cleats. Wouldn't you know it, they would not go in. The tread on the Shimano pontoons was just a bit too big for the Egg Beater set up. I tried a last minute adjustment and hoped it would make things better, cause I was late and had to head to the beach. Mistakes #2,3 - not leaving/arriving early enough and adding an un-planned pit stop.
Running late, I missed my opportunity for the pre-race swim warm up, but I did go ankle deep and lie down to get wet, so I could get that part out of the way. This was when I realized I was still wearing a shirt I didn't actually mean to swim in. Oh well, out of time and already wet, I joined the Yellow caps in the swim coral. This was when I realized I had forgotten my sunglasses in the car. Slight bummer since it was very sunny out and I always bike with eye protection.
The ocean was calmer this year than last, facilitating entry, exit, and breathing all the way. But I was a stronger swimmer last year so had a slower time today by 31 sec. Running was going to be my major hurdle, since my calf was still goofed up after pulling it in a run a week ago. This made for a very uncomfortable hobble up the soft sand of the beach, to transition.
Sure enough I still had trouble w/ the cleats. I couldn't clip in at the start and after several tries thought I'd just ride un-clipped on my super tiny pedals. While riding away I finally got the cleats to engage, so I settled in and started cranking away. A glance at my bike computer to check my cadence revealed... that I forgot to put my bike computer on after replacing the battery last night. Doh! So I just rode as hard as I could, saving nothing for the run that I thought I'd have to bail on anyway. I am pleased to report that 1- I beat last years bike time by 27 seconds, and 2- these pontoon things make the shoes very stable on the pedals and also very stable to walk in - double win for me once I shave down some of the offending rubber so they engage more easily. (Did this just awhile ago and now the shoe/cleat set up is great!).
I headed out for the run hoping my sneakers would make the soft sand run easier to handle; no such luck. But my calf wasn't hurting exactly, rather just so stiff that I couldn't run with my usual stride. I started to feel a little better after nearly a mile on the firmer sand by the water's edge. Felt even better around mile two, and was able to pick up the pace a bit. Plus I was somewhat distracted from my calf stiffness by the uncomfortable chaffing that was occurring due to sand plus lack of sock in shoe. By the end of the run my stride was approaching normal, and I finished with my calf feeling better than it has in days.
This was the first triathlon I've done where I wasn't gassed at the end, because I just couldn't run fast enough for it to be tiring. Run segment was about 3.5 min slower, and overall finish time (1:28:17) was just over 6 min slower than last year. The additional time difference is due to slower transitions this year, again b/c I couldn't run through them well at all. But I got no complaints, it was a beautiful day and I got to finish an event I was pretty sure I'd have to stop short in.
Moral of the story: when all else fails (proper planning, being injury free), lower your expectations (to do well) hope for the best (to have fun).
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