Kemah Triathlon

Well, the Kemah Triathlon was quite an experience to say the least.  I drove down to Kemah, about 4 hours, on Saturday.  The sprint race was on Saturday and the buzz was that it was a good and successful race.  I had read in the race guide that there was a 1.25 mile run from the swim exit to transition and they suggested you bring an extra pair of shoes to leave there and run to transition.  I was skeptical of this but I packed an extra pair of shoes anyway.  I learned during the race briefing that the road from the swim exit to transition was rough and would be hot on bare feet.  I quickly put together a my bag of extra shoes and dropped it off.

I got settled into my hotel, went for a shakeout run around the boardwalk, and settled in for an early dinner and final preparations.  As I was getting everything ready, some big thunderheads starting rolling in.  The thunder was getting louder and then it started raining.  It started pouring.  Soon it was an all out storm that didn't look like it was going to let up. I was checking for updates and got an email that said they were monitoring the conditions and would continue to update.  I figured there wasn't any more I could do tonight except rest and I would see where we were in the morning.

I awoke at 4:30, had my juice and started getting ready.  The rain was still coming down and it appeared it had never stopped. A little after 5:00, I got an email update that said they were canceling the bike.  We were going to swim, run to transition, then have a 10K run.  The triathlon had become an aquathlon.  That sucks.

I went down to the swim exit and replaced my transition shoes with my actual run shoes.  Good thing I did.  My transition shoes were completely soaked from being out in the rain all night.  The bag didn't offer much protection.  I then walk up to transition to set up the rest of my run gear.  Transition was a rough lot underneath an overpass.  The run off from the overpass was running right down onto transition.  The guy next to me looked at me and said "What a shit show!"  Yeah, exactly.

I made my way over to the finish area, which is where we were to get on the boat.  We were organized on the three decks by age group.  It seemed like forever that we were waiting to take off.  The water was rough and choppy and the wind was still blowing, though the rain had quit.  We finally got out to spot where we were to be dropped off.  They made some announcements and then had the national anthem. The pros on the first deck were to go off first.  Then, the middle deck, which I was on.  The pros were able to dive off the boat, while all the age groupers had to jump feet first.  There was to be someone there where we jumped off to tell us to jump right or left.  I had no idea what to expect of all of this.

I was in a line that slowly meandered through the middle deck, down the stairs, and then trough the first deck toward the door that led to the outside deck.  It was uncomfortably quiet as we moved slowly toward the door.  I couldn't see past the door but I expected that it would lead to the outside deck where the line would move toward the edge and we'd jump off.  Again, it was uncomfortably quiet.  As I reached the door, it was like a scene from a war movie where the troops are about to jump out of the plane for the first time and the instructor gets right in their face screaming "Now! Now! Now!"  As soon as I got to the door, I was greeted by this screaming face that said "JUMP RIGHT!".

I jumped in and I was off.  Just swim toward the shore.  The water was rough and I could only breath to one side.  It was cold and windy.  I just kept moving.  While it was slow going, I finally made it to the swim exit.  With the assistance of the wetsuit strippers, I was out of the wetsuit and proceeded to get my running shoes.  I couldn't find my shoes.  They were not where I left them and set them up earlier that morning.  I called a volunteer over and after a few minutes, we found them a couple of rows over.  As I was moving out of the swim exit and starting the mile and quarter run to transition, I pulled off my googles, swim cap, pulled out one ear plug, then the other but pop...  I just had a piece of the ear plug and the rest was still in my ear.  The more I tried to fish it out, the deeper it got.  I guess I'd have to leave it in until the medical tent at the finish.

I made it transition, dropped off the wetsuit, grabbed the race belt, and was off for the run.  The clouds had burned off by now and the sun was beating down.  It was now hot with the gulf coast humidity in full force.  The first 3.5 miles were pretty strong and I was moving at good pace. Then things started to come apart.  My feet were blistered from the wet shoes and feet.  I was pouring from the humidity.  My leg was starting to hurt.  I then decided that I would ease off and no longer treat this as a race.  It was a "shit show" as the guy had described it earlier.  Let's just call this what it is, finish, and focus on the next race.

I finished somewhere in the bottom third of my age group, I think.  It wasn't important.  I went straight to the medical tent and had them remove my earplug.  The medal was pretty cool.  The swim was interesting.  I later learned I went 1700 meters instead of the 1500, due to the boat drifting. I got through it and was better for the experience.  On to the next one I guess.

  

Preparing for Kemah

I've been both anxious and excited about the upcoming Kemah triathlon.  I'm nervous about the swim.  It's an open water, point-to-point swim in Galveston bay.  They take you out on a boat and you swim back in. I've never done that distance before and it will be my first wetsuit swim.  I feel like I'm confident on the bike and run.  If I can just make it through the swim I'll be good.  My swim training has been good, by my standards, but I'm one of the slower people in my training group.  I'm not planing on setting any records or contending for a podium spot.  I would like to not be below average though.  I'll give it the best effort I can and we'll just see what happens.  I've got a good season planned and, while this will be the first race of the season, it's not my "A" race.  Just stay positive and have fun.

Spokes 'N Spurs

I did another organized ride that I've done in the past. The Spokes 'n Spurs ride is a multi-distance ride through the Texas hill country.  It also has a supported brick run after it with the ability to practice transition.  I chose the 26 mile bike and 10K brick run.

I had a pretty fast and solid bike.  It was my first time with my new aero bars, so it took a little getting used to.  There were parts of the course that were bad roads with a lot of loose gravel.  Overall, I felt pretty good about that bike.

I had pretty smooth transition into the run and I was off.  It was a pretty solid run at a good pace.  It was getting hot by then and I was starting to feel it.  By mile 5, I was starting to slow.  I kept pushing through and was able to finish strong.  This gave me a lot of confidence going into my first Olympic distance triathlon.

CapTex Tri Training Group

I've gotten into a triathlon specific training group.  It's in the same place I've been doing my marathon training, Rogue Running.  It's an eight week, four times a week training course led by professional triathletes Brandon and Amy Marsh.  It's training specific to the Capital of Texas Triathlon on Memorial Day, which I won't be able to participate in.  Regardless, I think it's going to be great for me to have more structured training and coaching.  So far, it's been great.  I've met a lot of great people and have a much better sense of some of the nuances of triathlon.  I can't wait to see how much better I'm going to be come the end of the eight weeks.

Rosedale Ride

To ramp up my training on the bike, I participated in an organized ride that I've done a number of times preparing for the MS150.  The Roesdale Ride is a great organized rid that benefits the Roesdale school here in Austin.  It's got distances of 26, 42, and 62 miles.  In the past I've done the 62, preparing for the MS 150.  This year, I decided I'd do the 42 and see if I could do the whole thing without stopping.

It was a great ride.  A little hot and windy, especially when we got into the open farm country.  I had a pretty good ride and was able to maintain a pretty good pace throughout.  I had to stop at the last rest stop, about mile 33.  I had run out of water and nutrition and had to pee.  Interestingly, I saw my boss from 12 years ago at the rest stop.  The company I worked for then was sponsoring it and he was volunteering.

Overall, it was great ride and I felt pretty good about it.  A good experience and I think it's got me prepared to start the season.  I've got my first Olympic triathlon coming up in less than a month.

Swim Stroke & Efficiency Clinic

Swimming has been my weakest and most angst ridden leg of my triathlons.  I don't feel comfortable, I'm really slow, and it wears me out.  I had an opportunity to get into a swim stroke and efficiency clinic.  It's two sessions over two Sunday mornings.  It's been great.  I've been able to learn proper technique, better form, and a lot of drills to help it all be more routine.  I'm beginning to feel more comfortable and confident.  Like I might look like I know what I'm doing.  If you have the opportunity to take a clinic like this, it's totally worth it.  I never realized how much technique was so fundamental to swimming.  I made the mistake that I think a lot of triathletes do, that I could just power through the swim like I do on bike and the run.  That my physical strength would make up for bad technique or form.  While that can be the case on the bike and run, I'm learning that is definitely not true on the swim.  I'm so glad I'm doing this.  It's been a big breakthrough that I needed.

Planning the Triathlon Season

Now that I've finished my marathons, I'm ready to start up with my first full season of triathlon.  After completing my fist sprint at TriRock Austin last year, I've got the bug.  I'm hooked and want to do as many triathlons as I can this year.  I'd like to keep pushing the distances and lead up to my first half-Ironman by the end of the year.  So, here is the tentative season I have planned:

• Kemah Triathlon - April (my first Olympic distance)
• Lake Pflugerville Triathlon - June (Sprint)
• Marble Falls Triathlon - July (quasi-Olympic)
• Jack's Generic Triathlon - August (Olympic)
• TriRock Austin - September (Olympic)
• Ironman Austin 70.3 - October (Half-Ironman)
• Dallas Marathon - December

That's the plan at least.  It's a full plate but I think I can do it.  I really want to do it.  I guess we'll see.