Dude Just Tri...

Well Dude Just Tri proved one thing for me at least.  No matter what kind of an event it is, timed or un-timed, lots of people or very limit people there is one common in it all.  I choked when it comes to my swimming.  I mean I am starting to swim a whole lot better at LA Fitness and even with  my coach but put me in front of other people and have someone tell me to start and all of my learning goes out the door.  In this event I would like to once again mention that this wasn't even a timed race. So for most people the thought of pressure would not even be an issue but not for me.  Here is where I believe it all went to hell for me.  I put in my time that I have been achieving while practicing and I even though it was pretty close to being exact if not maybe even buffering it a little for extra security. But either I lied about my time, or people refused to put in their time, or I just need to double my time next time I have no clue but I was #23 for the race.  Now granted 23 is a good number for me.  My favorite player was #23 for the Cardinals but that didn't help me any for the race.  Once I got there and realized I was near the front I started to panic or choke a little.  I didn't expect to be that far ahead of other people.  I honestly thought my time would have put near in the middle of the pack.  Having so many people potentially watching me and knowing I wasn't that good of a swimmer to be that far in front of others really did a job on me mentally.  I lost my swim before I even hit the water.

SO I get in the water and the guy says go.  So I go.  But during my swimming portion I totally forgot how to breathe under water.  Instead of exhaling in the water like I do 100% of the time when I am swimming at LA Fitness I just held my breath instead.  And for all my friends who are either tri or swimmers know that holding your breath is the worst thing you could do.  I only had 150 or so yards of swimming so at least the misery wasn't long lasting.  But seriously how can you forget to exhale in water.  It really isn't that hard even for me to know.  But put me in a race situation and there you have one complete idiot under water doing everything wrong.  So it wasn't the best start for a race that should have been for pure fun and experience.

Finally manage to get out of the water and get to my bike.  Since this wasn't timed I decided that I would just walk it instead of running from transition to transition.  This race was more about the experience and getting more of it then timing myself.  I get to my bike and start riding only to see my sunglasses fall of my bike and I had to turn around and get them.  Apparently putting your glassing on your handle bars so you don't forget them isn't as easy as someone might think.  But other than that I think I had a pretty good ride.  I was strong throughout that portion of the race and it was nice to be with people in the race instead of near the back to the pack with no one around you.

Finally got to the run portion and felt pretty good for the run.  Now some of it probably had to do with the fact that I had only a 10 mile race instead of the usual 16 or so miles you ride.  I did pretty good with the start.  I felt strong and that carried me for a pretty good distance.  I didn't have any back problems like I had in my previous two sprints.  And that is probably because I switched running shoes and these seem to be so much better for me.  I think I might be done with Brooks for a while in the running shoe department.  The last two or three pairs have not worked for me and wasting money on them and having back problems is probably not something I plan on doing anytime soon again.  But the run was the best of the three events that I have done so far.  I just need to work on this part of my game.  I really do not practice this part of the transition and that is probably not wise for me to continue to be doing.

So overall the race was good.  I saw my swimming coach after the race and she said that she saw improvements in my stroke.  So if I am going to fail in swimming at least something went right.  Still need to decide if anxiety pills before a race is something I need to consider or not.  I just do not know why I cannot relax and enjoy the swimming of the triathlon.  But for my first three races of my career all of my swimming have ended in the same manner in that none of them ended they way I wanted them to go.

The bike portion I am seeing great improvements from race to race.  And from St. Pats to Dude Just Tri I am a completely different rider.  St. Pats I was scared of the wet roads and winds.  Now I am not scared of either.  And even for The Caveman I saw myself even increasing my speed on the wet roads. For Dude Just Tri something went wrong because the weather was great for the race.  Apparently the Sprint Tri gods did not realize I was racing in this event or something.

My running still needs to be better and as I said most of it is due to me not practicing the transition from bike to run.  I tried it once at White Rock and it went horrible but I still need to practice it because that is one of the reasons my runs are not as good as they should be.  Once I get off the bike my legs are worn down and preventing me from competing strongly in something that should be my strongest portion of any triathlon.  That is something I will get better at once I refocus myself into my running.  Like I am doing tomorrow with the Too Hot To Handle race.  This is my first running event since the Cowtown Marathon.  I need to get myself back into at least one race a month to continue to improve my running and endurance.