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Date: 06 Aug 2006 03:25:56
From: onemarathon
Subject: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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Yesterday, Saturday, I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon.
The effort in getting there was significant, with all of the training
involved (in very hot, humid weather, to boot).... between one and 2.5
hour sessions, six days a week.... and all of the junk food sacrifices
I had to make!
We have been having some insanely humid weather lately, nearing 50C
with humidex, and I was unsure what race day would be like. Luckily, as
the week wore on, temps went down, and race morning was pleasant at
under 30C.
Having done six other triathlons, five of them sprint distance, I felt
like I knew how to handle this. The Olympic distance race involves a
1.5km swim, followed by a 40km bike, wrapping up with a 10k run. Moving
up from the sprint for me meant lengthening my training sessions on the
bike. I already was doing well over 1.5k in swim workouts, and had kept
up long runs since my May half marathon. I put some emphasis on speed,
and definitely on strength and endurance, in training.
The race went like clockwork.... my predictions were very close. I'm a
pretty slow swimmer so it took me 44:29 to finish that leg (including
the transition to bike); I surprised myself by moving faster than I
thought I would on the bike, at 1:24:14; and was pleased enough with my
55:33 on the run (includes transition from bike to run). My typical 10k
runs are more like :48-:50, but figure in the physical effort *before*
the 10k in this race.
No big incidents to report, just that the quads were getting quite sore
by the end of the bike ride, even though I was saving my strength for a
strong run finish. Glad I did, because the run was tough at times. We
had to tackle the same steep hill twice in the run, and the second time
(very close to the end of the race) around, I couldn't even run it. The
quads were screaming "Cramp time!", so I walked the hill, then resumed
running, and even threw in a decent finishing kick to the finish line.
What an experience.... my longest race of any kind at 51.5km, though of
course the tri is kinder on the legs than say a marathon, which is
shorter, but is more about using the same leg muscles over and over
(been there, felt that). I'm so glad I made this journey, the training
til the race, and the race itself. It truly tested my self-discipline
and motivation.
Now it's time to kick back and let the body heal and relax. No heavy
workouts for a while. Not sure when I race next... maybe a couple of
10k road races this fall. I am dedicating the rest of this weekend to
supreme laziness and decadence with mucho TV and junk food. Very nice.
Cam
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Date: 06 Aug 2006 15:30:00
From: Tony S.
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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"onemarathon" <cam_wilson@sympatico.ca > wrote in message
news:1154859956.229406.81450@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
> Yesterday, Saturday, I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon.
> The effort in getting there was significant, with all of the training
> involved (in very hot, humid weather, to boot).... between one and 2.5
> hour sessions, six days a week.... and all of the junk food sacrifices
> I had to make!
Congratulations on your first! That's a healthy amount of training. Though
I bike ride almost daily to and from my runs, I get to do that as a warmup
and easy pace for the most part - serious tri training doesn't let you do
that. If it weren't for the swim part...
...
> The race went like clockwork.... my predictions were very close. I'm a
> pretty slow swimmer so it took me 44:29 to finish that leg (including
> the transition to bike); I surprised myself by moving faster than I
> thought I would on the bike, at 1:24:14; and was pleased enough with my
> 55:33 on the run (includes transition from bike to run). My typical 10k
> runs are more like :48-:50, but figure in the physical effort *before*
> the 10k in this race.
...
Anytime you're out there in a race 3 hours it's a major effort! I find it
very difficult to run after biking, and appreciate the difficulty of that
transition. The legs are only 'warmed-up' to running 30-40 mins after a hard
bike.
> Now it's time to kick back and let the body heal and relax. No heavy
> workouts for a while. Not sure when I race next... maybe a couple of
> 10k road races this fall. I am dedicating the rest of this weekend to
> supreme laziness and decadence with mucho TV and junk food. Very nice.
I hear ya! I was there this week, relaxing after racing last Sunday.
Strangely, I always miss my workouts after 2-3 days, despite needing rest,
but those first couple of days are wonderful. Enjoy.
-Tony
> Cam
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Date: 06 Aug 2006 06:48:59
From: userfriendly
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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"onemarathon" <cam_wilson@sympatico.ca > wrote in message
news:1154859956.229406.81450@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
: Yesterday, Saturday, I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon.
: The effort in getting there was significant, with all of the training
: involved (in very hot, humid weather, to boot).... between one and 2.5
: hour sessions, six days a week.... and all of the junk food sacrifices
: I had to make!
:
: We have been having some insanely humid weather lately, nearing 50C
: with humidex, and I was unsure what race day would be like. Luckily, as
: the week wore on, temps went down, and race morning was pleasant at
: under 30C.
:
: Having done six other triathlons, five of them sprint distance, I felt
: like I knew how to handle this. The Olympic distance race involves a
: 1.5km swim, followed by a 40km bike, wrapping up with a 10k run. Moving
: up from the sprint for me meant lengthening my training sessions on the
: bike. I already was doing well over 1.5k in swim workouts, and had kept
: up long runs since my May half marathon. I put some emphasis on speed,
: and definitely on strength and endurance, in training.
:
: The race went like clockwork.... my predictions were very close. I'm a
: pretty slow swimmer so it took me 44:29 to finish that leg (including
: the transition to bike); I surprised myself by moving faster than I
: thought I would on the bike, at 1:24:14; and was pleased enough with my
: 55:33 on the run (includes transition from bike to run). My typical 10k
: runs are more like :48-:50, but figure in the physical effort *before*
: the 10k in this race.
:
: No big incidents to report, just that the quads were getting quite sore
: by the end of the bike ride, even though I was saving my strength for a
: strong run finish. Glad I did, because the run was tough at times. We
: had to tackle the same steep hill twice in the run, and the second time
: (very close to the end of the race) around, I couldn't even run it. The
: quads were screaming "Cramp time!", so I walked the hill, then resumed
: running, and even threw in a decent finishing kick to the finish line.
:
: What an experience.... my longest race of any kind at 51.5km, though of
: course the tri is kinder on the legs than say a marathon, which is
: shorter, but is more about using the same leg muscles over and over
: (been there, felt that). I'm so glad I made this journey, the training
: til the race, and the race itself. It truly tested my self-discipline
: and motivation.
:
: Now it's time to kick back and let the body heal and relax. No heavy
: workouts for a while. Not sure when I race next... maybe a couple of
: 10k road races this fall. I am dedicating the rest of this weekend to
: supreme laziness and decadence with mucho TV and junk food. Very nice.
:
: Cam
Good on ya, Cam! I remember my first Olympic Distance Tri- trained all
summer for it. Ate right. Was ready to go. Then got the stomach flu the
night before. No sleep, lots of diarrhea and throwing up. Headed out to
Smith Mountain Lake early the next morning, downing Pepto and drinking as
much water as I could hold.
Cramped bad on the swim- both calves. But finished- having to message out
the calves so I could stand to walk to the transition area. But I came back
hard on the bike- drinking Cytomax and feeling better every minute. The run
almost killed me- and I had to walk a few times, but it was worth it to
finish and know I had done something worthwhile and persevered when
everything inside me told me to not even go to the race, much less continue
on through the pain.
Your run time is pretty impressive considering hills and all that you did
physically before the run. Enjoy the time off and the junk food- you earned
it!
Again- congratulations!!!
- Brian
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Date: 06 Aug 2006 17:36:15
From: onemarathon
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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Phil M. wrote:
> cam_wilson@sympatico.ca wrote:
> > and all of the junk food sacrifices I had to make!
>
> What! I thought we trained so that we could eat more of that crap. I guess
> it's just me. ;-)
well, i did have small treats on a semi-regular basis during training,
but i was careful not to go overboard. and the last few weeks, i
reduced the junk food dramatically, with none the last two weeks.
> > We have been having some insanely humid weather lately, nearing 50C
> > with humidex, and I was unsure what race day would be like.
>
> Is humidex the same as heat index? 50C is like 122F! Sounds nasty.
i believe they are one and the same. humidity doesn't bother me much,
though it CAN be a hazard when exercising outdoors. i still trained in
it, but swapped workouts around so i would bike on the hottest days and
run on the not quite as hot days. and swimming was never an issue.
> No kidding, Cam. You've earned it. Now go eat a box of Twinkies!
thanks, Phil. yeah, i have been and will still reward myself a bit with
food, but shouldn't overdo it for too long or i'll lose the peak
conditioning i've achieved here. i don't want to have to shed pounds
again just so i can do another race.
Cam
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Date: 06 Aug 2006 19:21:15
From: Phil M.
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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cam_wilson@sympatico.ca wrote:
> Yesterday, Saturday, I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon.
Contratulations! What a marvelous accomplisment.
> and all of the junk food sacrifices I had to make!
What! I thought we trained so that we could eat more of that crap. I guess
it's just me. ;-)
> We have been having some insanely humid weather lately, nearing 50C
> with humidex, and I was unsure what race day would be like.
Is humidex the same as heat index? 50C is like 122F! Sounds nasty.
> Now it's time to kick back and let the body heal and relax.
No kidding, Cam. You've earned it. Now go eat a box of Twinkies!
--
Phil M.
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Date: 06 Aug 2006 12:06:57
From: onemarathon
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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Tony S. wrote:
> Congratulations on your first!
hey thanks, Tony. feels great just sitting around the whole weekend....
and certainly no desire to hit the pool today, even with the heat :)
> Anytime you're out there in a race 3 hours it's a major effort! I find it
> very difficult to run after biking, and appreciate the difficulty of that
> transition. The legs are only 'warmed-up' to running 30-40 mins after a hard
> bike.
the run is where i'm strongest, and i practised bike-to-run bricks
every week. it got to the point where there was no slow phase/pain
after the transition. but the hammering on the bike in the race felt
different from training, and the quads were a'hurtin' as i entered the
run. you know the rest. pain management, and a decent pace got me
through.
> I hear ya! I was there this week, relaxing after racing last Sunday.
> Strangely, I always miss my workouts after 2-3 days, despite needing rest,
> but those first couple of days are wonderful. Enjoy.
beer has NEVER tasted better. i must have gone nearly two months
without! and i love the stuff, and am having a few this weekend. the
body is craving salt, so bags of chips are required, as well as sugary
treats. i'm also making sure to hydrate lots and get the real nutrients
into me, too.
yeah, i think by Tuesday or Wednesday, i'll be going nuts for a run or
a swim. might swim sooner than that, but only recreationally, and any
run will only be a short, easy one. all that cycling in training and
the race has been enough for a while. not much of a bike fan, unlike
most tri folks.
thanks again,
cam
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Date: 06 Aug 2006 11:58:07
From: onemarathon
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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userfriendly wrote:
> Good on ya, Cam! I remember my first Olympic Distance Tri- trained all
> summer for it. Ate right. Was ready to go. Then got the stomach flu the
> night before. No sleep, lots of diarrhea and throwing up. Headed out to
> Smith Mountain Lake early the next morning, downing Pepto and drinking as
> much water as I could hold.
now if that were me..... well, *maybe* I would have tried the race
anyway. but chances are i'd give it a pass, if i felt THAT bad. but
gutsy to tough it out and finish. you REALLY earned THAT T-shirt :)
> Your run time is pretty impressive considering hills and all that you did
> physically before the run. Enjoy the time off and the junk food- you earned
> it!
thanks, Brian. i expected to do my run in about that time, but then i
had forgotten about factoring in the hills. i was doing 5 min. km's for
at least the first half, then they came slower near the end. the goal
was just to finish. i rarely looked at my watch throughout. i guess i
really did a pretty decent run there. didn't give it much thought.
thanks again for the words,
cam
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Date: 08 Aug 2006 01:46:04
From: Dot
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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onemarathon wrote:
> Yesterday, Saturday, I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon.
> The effort in getting there was significant, with all of the training
> involved (in very hot, humid weather, to boot).... between one and 2.5
> hour sessions, six days a week.... and all of the junk food sacrifices
> I had to make!
>
...
>
> The race went like clockwork.... my predictions were very close.
Congratulations, Cam! Sounds like your training is paying off on all
fronts when you can make close predictions of your times and pull them off.
>
> Now it's time to kick back and let the body heal and relax. No heavy
> workouts for a while. Not sure when I race next... maybe a couple of
> 10k road races this fall. I am dedicating the rest of this weekend to
> supreme laziness and decadence with mucho TV and junk food. Very nice.
>
Enjoy :)
Dot
--
"Success is different things to different people"
-Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope
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Date: 08 Aug 2006 16:15:35
From: onemarathon
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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Dot wrote:
> Congratulations, Cam! Sounds like your training is paying off on all
> fronts when you can make close predictions of your times and pull them off.
thanks, Dot. and the best part of all was that i experienced no
injuries during all of that training. i guess that's where tri is
kinder on the bod than *just* running :) and even when the ITBS
barely started to flare up, i got back into the special exercises i
used to do, and everything went away. getting smarter in training, i
guess.
Cam
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Date: 09 Aug 2006 10:02:30
From: Ed Prochak
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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onemarathon wrote:
> Yesterday, Saturday, I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon.
> The effort in getting there was significant, with all of the training
> involved (in very hot, humid weather, to boot).... between one and 2.5
> hour sessions, six days a week.... and all of the junk food sacrifices
> I had to make!
[]
>
> What an experience.... my longest race of any kind at 51.5km, though of
> course the tri is kinder on the legs than say a marathon, which is
> shorter, but is more about using the same leg muscles over and over
> (been there, felt that). I'm so glad I made this journey, the training
> til the race, and the race itself. It truly tested my self-discipline
> and motivation.
>
> Now it's time to kick back and let the body heal and relax. No heavy
> workouts for a while. Not sure when I race next... maybe a couple of
> 10k road races this fall. I am dedicating the rest of this weekend to
> supreme laziness and decadence with mucho TV and junk food. Very nice.
>
> Cam
Good rewards fro a job well done. Congratulations Cam.
That is an impressive accomplishment. I doubt I'll ever do a TRI, but
each time I read about one I am more impressed with those who do step
up to the challenge. Enjoy your achievement.
Ed
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Date: 09 Aug 2006 16:49:55
From: onemarathon
Subject: Re: race report: first Olympic dist. Triathlon
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Ed Prochak wrote:
> Good rewards fro a job well done. Congratulations Cam.
>
> That is an impressive accomplishment. I doubt I'll ever do a TRI, but
> each time I read about one I am more impressed with those who do step
> up to the challenge. Enjoy your achievement.
>
> Ed
Hey thanks, Ed. Nice to hear from some familiar folks (you, Dot,
others) from way back when I was more of a regular here. Now it's
pretty sporadic. As with running, once you've entered the tri world,
you are bloddy addicted. I don't race very much, but I love the
training, and just go for a key race or two each summer..... such a
short season up here in the Great White North :) I'm already thinking
about a half IronMan within the next couple of years. Yes, crazy.
Cam
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