Monday, May 19, 2008

Memphis in May 08: Race Report

Well, the Memphis in May Triathlon is over and in the books! I finished, and I tell you this, it was the hardest thing I have ever done. It was my first Olympic size triathlon, and I learned a lot from it. I did not meet any of my goals, but now I realize that I set some pretty lofty goals for this race. Next year, I have a time goal to go against and Lord willing, I will do it again. So here is my blog race report:

Swim (1 mile in Orgill Lake)
What can I say about this? It sucked. It was cold. I got beat and I beat people. I watched the pros go into the water and take off, they were fast, super fast! Then we all gathered in line by number and entered the water at 3 second intervals, so it took awhile to get into the water. Once I hit the water, it totally took my breath from me, the water was that cold! Even with a wetsuit on! I had the hardest time catching my breath that I thought I was not going to be able to finish or I thought they would pull me out due to all the failing I was doing. It is really hard to explain this, but if I ever wondered what having a heart attack felt like, I imagine that it feels a lot like I did in the water. It took me over half of the swim to get into some kind of rhythm, and then I could not swim a straight line to save my life. I finished the swim in 38 minutes, which is a lot better than I thought.

T1 (out of water, prepare for bike)
I was so happy to be out of the water. There was no running to my bike, but more of a stumble. I was spent already. When I got to my bike, got my wetsuit off and started to put on my cycling shoes, I got very lightheaded and dizzy and stumbled while putting on the shoes. So I sat down, ate something and worried about crashing the bike, as I watched the pros come in from the bike and make their way towards the run! Total time in transition: 5: 52

Bike Portion (25.2 miles)
This was actually the easiest part of the race for me, except for all the wind that is. Don't get me wrong, it was hard, but it was manageable. I was amazed though, at times I was riding 20 to 21 mph and I was getting passed like nothing. Some of these bikes these guys rode were awesome, and I am sure they paid for them, but man, they were fast. Only problem I had was that my but and lower back ached at about mile 19. Total bike time: 1:28

T2 (bike to run)
This went pretty easy. Nothing to really report here, except that I was spent, the gas tank was empty and still had 6.2 miles to go. I got my bike racked, changed my shoes and ate a banana, drank some Gatorade and grabbed some Hammer Gel on the way out. Total time in transition: 4:43

Run (6.2 miles)
As I said, my tank was empty and the course was loaded with rolling hills. It was tough. I did a lot of walking up the hills and running down them. The turnaround point was a beautiful site and it seemed so much easier after that point. I saw the guy I was doing the Tri with just after the turn around point and we both stopped dead in the middle of the road and talked, kinda funny now that I think of it. Anyways, he caught up to me and we finished the race together. Total run time 1:27.


Finish line (Finally)
I cannot tell you the feeling I had crossing over the line. The one thing I remember is the guy announcing my name over the PA system, then hearing Mrs. Memphis yelling. I was not sure where she was, but I knew it was her. And that was a big moment for me, because I was not sure if she would be able to make it. So seeing her and the boys lifted my spirits more than she'll know (until she reads this I guess). Just knowing that I was so close to calling it quits at the swim, yet finishing it, was an awesome feeling.

At first I was disappointed in my race, but now after looking back, I now have a benchmark to against next year. This was my biggest (longest) race this season, so hopefully I can take what I learned here and apply to my next races. It took a power nap on Sunday, and I slept from 9PM to 10:30AM on Monday, but I feel pretty good, and ready to look froward to the DragonFly Triathlon.

Total Race Time: 3:44

1 comment:

  1. You should be really proud!
    I would have stuck my toe in the water and when I discovered it was cold I would have gone on home :)

    I am sure it will get easier now that you know what to expect.

    Congratulations- it is seriously impressive!

    ReplyDelete

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