My Second Triathlon - A Disappointing Finish but Many Lessons Learned

I finished my second triathlon, but was rather disappointed with my results. I am going to chalk this one up to a great learning experience and move  on.

My husband and I traveled down to San Diego Saturday night. We checked into the hotel, had a fabulous dinner at a nice Italian restaurant and were in bed nice and early. I had laid out my clothes and backpack so all I needed to do in the morning was get dressed, eat a small breakfast have some coffee and be on my way. I again, was nervous for the event but was also excited.

LESSON LEARNED - #1

READ ALL THE PAPERWORK

The transition area for this race opened at 5:45, but here is the kicker - It CLOSED at 6:45, 45 minutes before my wave began. I thought I would have time to hang in the area and prepare myself for the race.  I was not aware that I had to vacate the transition area so soon. When I arrived at 6:00, almost all the space on the racks was taken. I was able to find about 18" of space and a square foot on the ground for my transition area. This was OK for me and I started making use of my little space, but then they started to make announcements of the transition area closing. By the time I waited in line to go to the restroom, I had 3 minutes to don my wetsuit and be out of the transition area. Again, I was OK but it added a little stress before the race. I just put the lower half of my suit on and left right on time. For this case, I should have been in line for the transition area 1/2 hour before it opened to get a spot. In the future I will pay close attention to transition area times. 

LESSON LEARNED - #2

IT IS THE WETSUIT

I spent plenty of time getting my wetsuit on while waiting the 45 minutes for my wave to go off. The swim portion started in the water, so I was able to get in 10 minutes early, let some water in my suit and get acclimated to the water. I was feeling very confident about the swim since I have been focusing on swimming and swimming a mile each workout. WELL, I had the same experience as my previous race. I got in 25 yards and was completely out of breath. I was not  just a little winded I was gasping for breath. It was incredibly frustrating! I kept letting water into my suit to loosen it up, but it really constricted my chest and I couldn't get a good breath. I did the breast stroke through the entire course - ACK! I just wanted to tear the suit off and swim without it. I am going to look for a male wetsuit given that they are wider through the chest. I have wide shoulders and a chest and most women's athletic apparel is not made for my body type. I realize now it is not my fitness level that is the issue in the water since I am much more confident with my fitness base this year. I will be looking for a suit and swimming in the bay often to prepare for my next race.

Swim Time 15:46 

400 m

I was so happy to get out of the water and on to the bike.

LESSON LEARNED - #3

PUT A CHECKLIST IN TRANSITION AREA

In transition 1 I was very anxious to get on the bike. I was out of my suit quickly, dried off, put on my shoes, helmet, glasses, chest strap grabbed a Fig Newton and was off - I forgot to put on my Garmin, so the chest strap did me no good at all. 

Transition 1 Time 3:22

I loved the bike portion of the race and feel I did fairly well. I was trying to let go of the swim disappointment and just enjoy the ride which I did. I love my new bike and felt very strong on the course. 

Bike Time 40:46

10 miles

My last transition was pretty quick but I knew I was in trouble right away - Achilles 

Transition 2 Time 1:38

LESSON LEARNED - #4

GO TO THE DOCTOR

I knew right when I hit the ground that my achilles was not healed enough for the run. I had actually just stopped limping on Friday. It was very painful to run and I shuffled along refusing to walk. I probably looked more like a zombie than a runner. It was incredibly frustrating to see my age groupers passing me as I hobbled along. Our age groups were marked on our calves so I knew exactly  who I was competing against and losing spots to. I just wanted to make MOP, but realized I would be BOP as each person passed me. I kept on shuffling and did finish which would have been fine last fall, but now I want to improve my performance and cannot do so injured. My injury has really left me missing running. A year ago I never would have said that still being on the couch and all, but I really miss the great workout and trying to improve my fitness base and time. So - I need to get serious about healing so I can get back to it.

Running time 41:58  

personal slowest time ever!

OVERALL EVENT

Even though I did not perform well, I really enjoyed the KOZ Spring Sprint. It was such a fun course to swim, bike, run and the volunteers were just fabulous. Another wonderful thing about this event is the mini and itsy bitsy sprint for kids. It was such a happy, family fun atmosphere with everyone from 1-80 participating. I will definitely try this one again next year and will definitely improve my time. 

Overall Time 1:43:21

I will wait to see how my achilles is healing before registering for the Redondo Beach triathlon next month. I am hoping a month will be enough time to heal.

Wish me luck!