I completed my first triathlon back in April. I did the Lifetime Marquee Sprint. It was a ton of fun and I learned a lot for next time. The race was awhile ago, but I still want to make sure I record the lessons learned.
The Swim: Tempe Town Lake was about as nasty as everyone said it would be. My plan was to hang back a little at the start and not get caught up in the scrum. The only problem with that plan was that I ended up swimming up the back of the people in front of me. The biggest issue I had on the swim was that I felt as if the timing chip around my ankle was going to fall off. After the first 400 meters I just stopped worrying about it and tried to relax into the swim. The second 400 meters was a little less stressful except when the wave of ladies behind me began to swallow the back of the wave I started in. Next race I will pin my ankle strap and will try to swim a lot wider than the buoy so I don’t get caught up in the mess around the turns.
The Bike: I was able to keep a pretty steady pace on the bike, but still need a lot more miles in the saddle to be competitive. The big lessons learned on the bike are I need to train more and I need to get my bike fitted better.
This photo speaks for itself. Besides looking like a fat tub of goo with horrible riding form (legs splayed out!!!), my seat needed to be raised at least 3 inches. I have since made some adjustments that have helped tremendously, but I still need to get into the shop for a complete fitting.
The Run: The best part of the run was the fact that I was able to pass a lot of people and have very few pass me. I had done enough bricks so that the transition from the bike wasn’t too horrible.
All in all it was a great experience. Next up is the Big Bear Triathlon at the end of June (Big Bear Lake, CA).
theironpalm 