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I participated in the Video Analysis, and it was great. If a picture tells a thousand words, then a video tells….well, a lot more. The coaches gave great feedback in the one hour session, and they really put a lot of time and thought into the video analysis. I consider myself a very weak swimmer, so having some key points on which to work to improve my efficiency is great.
Seeing yourself on video really hammers home things that you may have heard or read about swimming. For example, I never realized how un-streamlined I was in the water until seeing the video and getting feedback.
Another great part of the analysis was the coaches’ insights on sighting. Considering that sighting is probably involved in at least 10% of the swim strokes during races, it is worth finding ways to do so more effectively. For example, I saw how my forward momentum essentially stopped whenever I pulled my head up to sight.
All in all, a great opportunity that I would definitely recommend should the Master’s coaches offer it again.
(Sorry in advance for the long winded response)
Swim cancellation was a bummer, but I was ok with it after thinking about a conversation I had with one of the kayakers prior to the announcement. She was more nervous about being on the water than any of the athletes I encountered. It would have been very challenging for the race coordinators from a safety point of view. A small craft advisory is not to be taken lightly. It would have been nice to see if all of our swim workouts would have resulted in a good swim, but I am afraid that swimming in those conditions would have made for a bad day from the get-go.
Mentally, it was a bit challenging to deal with the swim cancellation….the first thought is that the race suddenly became an easy day, but then you realize that there are still 69.1 miles ahead of you! I ended up sticking with my nutrition plan. I figured that if I had used it successfully on my long weekend rides with a brick, then it should be ok for this effort. I had eaten breakfast around 4:45, but was kinda hungry by the time I got going on the bike around 8:30, so the timing seemed to work out ok (obviously sitting around takes less calories than swimming).
I also didn’t change my pacing strategy on the bike..stay in Zone 3. I was surprised at the start that, despite a somewhat relaxed beginning, the adrenaline had already pushed my heart rate pretty high. I settled down. I got passed A LOT during the first 5 miles of the bike, but I had set a goal to stay in my zones and not get distracted, so I was able to be content with being passed. It definitely paid off on the run.
Oh, the rain! Started around mile 5 for me. Then the rain and the wind. Wow! After surviving the bike, I don’t feel guilty about not swimming. I tend to be a fair weather cyclist, so I wasn’t quite ready for it, but I managed ok in terms of pedaling and handling. A big challenge was sunglasses, which were fogged up and needed windshield wipers. I kept bouncing back and forth between wearing sunglasses and taking them off. Wish I had brought the clear ones instead. Since I wear contacts, I was a bit worried, but I opted to keep them off a fair amount.
Best Advice Ever on this Message Board 🙂 : When rain is forecast, bring a plastic bag for run/bike gear, pack a dry pair of socks for the run. I also had a dry towel in a plastic bag. My socks after biking were drenched. The dry socks were awesome. (I was lucky to be in T2 during a dry spell).
On the run, I was planning to run 9 mins, walk 1 minute. Here was my only major change, which I justified to not having to swim and feeling better than expected. I ended up running the route except for a couple of aid stations. It worked out really well. While I stayed in Zone 3, the second half I started pushing into the higher Zone 3 level. Of course, the wind was at our backs on the way out and in our face going in. But, we benefited greatly on the run by low temperatures and overcast skies, albeit with rain sprinkled in. During the last two miles I started pushing to Zone 4 since I was still feeling strong. I was able to cross the finish line with a smile on my face.
While it’s hard to know whether my plan would have worked if there were a swim or whether I would have felt as good on the run with a swim, I was really excited to feel good at the end. Most triathlons I have done, I usually question the rationality of the sport during the run. 🙂
Oh well, enough rambling. A few big takeaways…
- First of all, I would like to thank Coach AJ for putting together a great plan and for instilling confidence, especially in terms of race planning, nutrition, and pacing. It was so great going into the race with a plan that I had tried and knowing that I was in good shape physically. I am psyched that I made it through the training with no injury, and felt well rested during race week. I am definitely now a believer in the pre-workout warmups, post-workout stretching/rolling/nutrition, especially as I am getting older. I was pretty calm the night before, slept well, and had a good time pre-race.
- Warmup: I had done a nice warmup with dynamic stretches, plyometrics, a quick jog. Then the swim got cancelled and the start moved about 1.5 h later. Ugh. I did some dynamic stretching about 15 minutes before going off, hopefully that worked out ok, but definitely threw off the pre-race prep.
- Pacing: while I was getting frustrated at times about getting passed so much on the bike , I am really glad that I held back on the bike, as it made the run so much more enjoyable. And, not to be too competitive, but I ended up passing a lot of people on the run. 🙂 An opportunity for me to improve is certainly my bike speed, and perhaps getting more comfortable biking in rain.
- Nutrition: It worked really well. Of course, no swim and mild temperatures made for easier conditions, but no GI issues. I had solid food, with some salty snacks and a sweeter bar, during the first 2 hours of the bike. Last hour of bike I switched to gels. A couple of gels on the run and some water/endurolytes.
I am signed up for Atlantic City in September, so I am hoping to see if the preparation and plans works as well for a full triathlon as for a duathlon. 🙂
Any suggestions from anyone regarding how much recovery time is appropriate after a goal race prior to getting back into training?
Good luck to those with races ahead…have a great time!
Bill
Good luck to everyone! I am feeling pretty excited…as Liz mentioned, these months of training have set us up well. And I echo the thoughts about not dealing with high heat and humidity, as I am certainly more acclimated to the 70s. 🙂
My main objective is to finish and feel good at the end so that I want to do another race. 🙂 So, my goals are to stay within the heart rate zones during bike and run, stick with my nutrition plan, and, as Liz mentioned, don’t get caught up in competing with others, especially on the bike. As for the swim, one of my goals involves swimming as straight as possible between buoys.
I appreciate the comments from Joseph about the rain….admittedly, I haven’t trained as much on the bike in the rain as I probably should have, so I intend to definitely be cautious in turns and keep good distance from others. Good tips about the separate bags to keep things dry. With soggy conditions, I plan to be more diligent about taking in fluids, as I may not appreciate that the body will still need hydration. As someone who burns easily, I will also need to make a point of applying sunscreen even though we may not see the sun. As for the swim, overcast skies may help out since it looks like the start of the race goes straight into the sun.
One possible change if cooler and rainy is that I may dial back on electrolyte tablets on the run. I was planning on only drinking water at aid stations and augmenting with tablets, as I find that the concentration of sports drinks at aid stations can often be extremely variable when volunteers are mixing powder with water.
All the best to everyone racing, hope you have a great time!
When I started riding with cleats 10+ years ago, I chose the Look ones since they were supposed to be slightly easier to get into the pedals. Since the Look pedal is weighted on one side, it sits vertically with the clip-in point at the top when there is no shoe in it. That consistency is comforting when learning how to use cleats. Perhaps SPD now has something similar, but I have been very happy with Look.
Still experimenting, but….Clif Bar (240 cal) & pretzels during first 2 h, Gu pack during last 45 minutes. I weigh 150 lbs, so looking at ~250 calories per hour.
For liquid, I have been sticking with water, but will probably try some energy drink, particularly for electrolytes.
Observations:
- So far so good, but…
- With the cold weather, I am hoping that we are getting a decent gauge of what we will experience at Eagleman. I haven’t been taking in as much water as I probably should. Also, not sure about electrolytes. I have used electrolyte tablets in the past and may need to do so for Eagleman, and should probably start experimenting now.
- It’s definitely been an effort to eat and drink as much…I would have expected to be hungrier. Maybe it would be worth it to practice after a long swim?
- Another challenge with biking in cold weather has been stopping to take off gloves to get food..I am not quite agile enough to do so safely while riding. 🙂 Hopefully I can test how easy things are to eat on-the-go without all of the gear on.
- Will probably try some salted roasted potatoes soon. I like the idea of getting some real, savory food.
Bill
