Let the training begin! I spent the summer of 2009 in Huntsville, AL. A big shout out to Anthony Hooten, a Huntsville resident, who at age of 50 decided to he would take up the sport of Triathlon and signed up for his first - an Ironman. He's done one Ironman a year since he started and he's been at it for nearly a decade now. Anthony is a truly amazing guy and I won't ever be able to thank him enough for dragging me over the hills along the border of Tennessee and Alabama, all around Greenville and Pulaski. I had never done a flip turn or ridden a bike over 20 miles. By the end of the summer Anthony had me riding over 70 miles and I did my very first 1 mile open water swim.
Having never done a triathlon I realized that I would need some guidance. I signed for the Endorphin Fitness Patriot's Training camp. Michael Harlow and his team put on a great three day event one month out from the race. He prepped us on nutrition, transition, open water swim and sighting, bike strategy, and run strategy. The best part was actually getting to swim, bike and ride on the actual course. If you live in or around Richmond, Virginia and you are interested in completing a triathlon, Endorphin Fitness will help you meet your goal.
Before I knew it race time was at hand. I had my bike tuned up at my LBS - tubes and tires replaced (remember this, it will come into play later).
**Note**
Newbies - if you have bike maintenance done, make sure you get some miles on your bike before you race
**Note**
I'm absolutely obsessive about my race day prep. I pack and re-pack with a check list. I had worked out my nutrition plan and I fell in love with Gatorade Endurance Blend, a special blend of Gatorade produced for endurance athletes. Goggles - check! Aero bottle - check! You get the picture .....
I arrive at the race sight 3 hours prior to the event. My wife, Kelly, being the trooper that she is accompanied me. It was a perfect day and I was extremely excited. I set up my transition area, put my Garmin 305 on my bike, grabbed my cap and goggles and I was off to my start. Then the waiting began - Novices Last! And while we were waiting the tide started to go out and with it the current began to build (sense the dark foreshadowing). By the time the novices entered the water the tide was at full Ebb - over a knot and a half of current with the normal river flow. Great you say - Only if you are an experienced swimmer and the buoys stay anchored! Into the water and the sun has just cleared the trees. I had a tough time sighting and couldn't understand why had to keep correcting to hit the turn mark. To say I had a rough swim would be an understatement. I was worn out by the first turn and had 1 mile left to go. Now the current comes into to play. The long leg of the swim was with the current, to my left the rising sun, to my right the far shore - sighting was impossible and to make matters worse the far turn buoy had broken free and was floating down river. Thankfully one of the lifeguards realized that the mark had broken free and yelled at us to head for shore. In the words of Nemo - "Just Keep Swiming!" Sighting in to the rising sun is not an easy thing and as a group we were swept nearly into the ferry dock down stream of the event. This is my first bad experience with #Screwup Events. (We'll get to the others in later posts.) So after 54 minutes I'm out of the water and I'm wondering what I have gotten myself into. As you can tell from the picture I was pretty well beat and I felt like it too.
I jog the quarter mile to the transition area and I am onto my bike and looking forward to an outstanding bike course. I ease into and head out at a nice steady 20 mph. Bump, bump, bump ..... That's odd, I don't remember feeling that before. Pay attention now, that thing they call a pinch flat, is about to occur. When I had my bike serviced the week before the event I had my LBS change the tires and the tubes. I did two short rides that week and called it good. It wasn't!! The tube had a wrinkle which rubbed against the inside of the tire each rotation and eventually became a blister, and with each rotation of the tire I felt a bump as the blister hit the road. Ten miles later there I was on the side of the road changing a flat rear tire. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Another 15 minutes gone!
It was a good bike all things considered. Total time 3 hrs 16 minutes including 15 minutes changing a flat. A little under 20 miles an hour in my first timed bike ride. All those hills with Anthony sure paid off!
The run went as well as could be expected with an aggravated Achilles (read more on lateral pedal rock and chronic Achilles tendonitis later). Two hours for a half marathon - my slowest ever - but I was done. Total time 6:20:34.
Disappointed - Yes! Injured - Yes! Forever hooked on Triathlon - you bet! My journey has just begun!
