Bigfoot Triathlon Race Report

Good morning.

This is my Bigfoot Triathlon race report. For those of you that don't feel like reading the long detailed version the results were:

Swim: 23:23, Bike: 1:09:52, Run: 49:53. Total time including transitions: 2:31:02.

I write the longer version for those of you that enjoy reading race reports and also for those of you that may have an interest in trying a triathlon some day. I hope you enjoy it.

Bigfoot Triathlon

Introduction

As many of you know, I started training for triathlons last December after I entered the lottery for a spot in the Ironman World Championships.

I figured, if I found out in April that I got a spot, I may not have had enough time to train for the Ironman. So, I bought a bike, a trainer and joined X Sport for their pool. As I trained hard I thought, "what if you don't get that lottery spot, why waste all this training?" So, that is when I decided to enter some triathlons and put that training to use.

Venue

The Bigfoot Triathlon is held every year in Lake Geneva, WI. This is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Chicago which is very convenient. Lake Geneva is a beautiful area with lots of cute shops, etc. Also, a nice big, clean lake. Nice hills, too.

Triathlon Morning

Got up at 3 am because I wanted to be at the transition area around 5 am. I racked my bike the day before so I already had a spot. I did this early because I thought it would be one less thing to worry about on my first triathlon race day. Plus it gave me the opportunity to get familiar with the surroundings.

The alarm goes off and I go turn on "my" coffee maker. Yes, I brougt my own coffee machine. Coffee is part of my pre race routine. I like to drink enough of it because it really gets all my bodily functions moving.

As I relaxed with my coffee and thought of the race, I also had on the weather channel. The weather forcast did not look good. A huge storm was coming. Hard to tell what would happen. I did know that the swim would be cancelled if there was lightning and the tri would become a duathlon, run-bike-run. I did not want this because I wanted to utilize all my tri disciplines. Wanted to be tested on the swim-bike-run.

After a while I put on my Chicago Triathlon Club, Tri outfit. I packed the car and headed to Bigfoot Beach.

Once there, I parked and headed to transition with all of my gear. The excitement was building the closer I got. There were many terrific looking athletes with their hyped up machines.

I approached my bike, put a towel down and organized my little transition zone. One must lay out the tools you will use during the competition in the order of their use. When that was done I spoke to several other triathletes. One thing I came to realize is that triathletes are a friendly bunch. Tick tock tick tock.

ATTENTION, ATTENTION TRIATHLETS, TRANSITION AREA IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE HEAD TO THE BEACH!

Off I went with my wetsuit, goggles and swim cap in hand. I would put these on near the beach which was a couple hundred yards away.

When I got to the beach the excitement built even more. I put on my suit and walked in the water. I was going to do a little warm up but changed my mind and decided I would just warm up as I swam the triathlon. I went and found my wave 7 group of 45-54 year old men. As group after group began their wave starts we would shuffle towards the start. Soon, we were on deck with group 6 in the water. There they go. Group 7 slowly enters the arena. Where should I position myself?

The Swim

I was totally calm which surprised me. No nerves at all. I positioned myself near the back third then heard, 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 GOOOO!

All of a sudden, the surge. We all started moving like a school of Salmon just released in the water. We all searched for our own little spot as we bumped and flailed. As you begin swimming all you see is a sea of bodies. You see feet just in front of your face, inches separating you from a heal on the forehead.

It is a friendly battle. You see, we all really are just doing and hoping for the same thing. A good event. I think there is an un-spoken respect between triathletes.

Eventually, you get some space. I slowed down so the others in front of me could get some distance that would allow me to swim.

I remembered a quote: "you can't win the triathlon during the swim. But, you can lose it." Meaning, no need to rush it and tire yourself out. It's a long day.

Once I was able to swim my swim I saw many of my wave ahead of me. I thought, jeez, am I slow or something? I thought maybe they went out too fast. I just started focusing on my swim technique, stroke, reach, pull, breathe. Over and over again. As I swam I would look at the bottom of the lake at the green weeds and wonder if it was a good Bass fishing spot.

Every now and then you would pull along someone and as I turned to breathe so would they. We would look at each other for that split second and continue our quest.

I was passing people. This is a race. But, it's in water. Sometimes you have to pass by finding an open lane. I did not monitor how many swimmers I passed. I did notice that I started passing swimmers from the waves that went off before us. You could tell because each wave had it's own colored swim cap. Our wave swim cap color was lilac. I was passing the grey's. Cool.

I made the turn and was heading home. My breathing was good. just going along, efficient. Ow!!! Some woman from a previous wave just hit me in the side of the head. My left goggle got a little dislodged. I fixed it as best I could and kept going. Almost there. Where is that red bouy. There it is. I round it and emerge from the water and take off.

The transition is a couple hundred yards away. I am running barefoot on the pavement as I remove my wetsuit from neck to waist. Once in transition I quickly change to my biking socks, shoes and helmet and run to the transition exit.

SWIM TIME: 23:23

The Bike

After running with my biking shoes, which is like running with heeled shoes put on backwards, I mount my machine. Lets go.

I take off for the 23+ mile bike ride/race. Lake Geneva has some nice hills. We hit one pretty quickly. No problem. I must start my nutrition plan. When competing in a triathlon, the bike is the time that you hydrate, eat, etc., so you have energy for your bike and run. If you do not do this you may really pay for it later.

I just kept pedaling and keeping my focus forward. I was passing people from the beginning. That storm I was concerned about never materialized. But, a rain storm was coming. I was pumping those legs, working on my cadence. As I went along I realized I was doing well. I was hitting speeds and cadence never hit before. My racing mode was really kicking in. I was passing, passing and passing other triathletes. Some were also passing me.

One interesting note: Each triathlete has their age marked on their calf with a black marker. So, as you pass or are passed you look to see the age of the person.

The rain started and it felt good. Very cooling. Water was dripping from my head and glasses. My shoes also felt like they were filling up with rain water. I just kept on going. I rode in my big gear on the downhills and hit speeds of 35 mph. I flew past many riders. I kept wondering why they were not taking advantage of the downhill. Soon I came to the last turn and the bike finish was there....already!

Dismount....OW! My God were my upper hammy's in pain. Right near where the hammy attaches to you butt. No injury, just a soreness. No way was I going to be able to run the bike to my transition spot. I would take my time and walk. I was a little concerned if I could even run.

BIKE TIME: 1:09:52

The Run

I slowly changed socks and shoes and put on my running bib belt. I tried to stretch a bit. Ouch. I put on my V Team hat and slowly jogged to the run exit. Once I started moving the hammy's felt better.

I have not experienced this pain on any of my brick workouts. Interestingly, the typical bowling ball leg feeling after the bike is not really there any more. I am sure my upper hammy pain was from my kick ass bike ride. It's ok.

I started my 6.2 mile "TRAIL" run. We started on grass. Soon the grass would turn into slippery, ice-like mud. Honestly, I had to really slow down, as did everyone else otherwise you would wipe out. There were several sections like this. Also, it was hilly through the trails. This was like a cross country event. The heat and humidity were high in the forrest. There was no breeze. No problemo for me since I thrive in those conditions. The run course was a double loop. After the first 3 miles I knew what to expect. I just kept running as hard as I could without burning myself out.

Again, I would always look at the calf of the person I was passing. Ahh another 50-54 age grouper. I was not passed much at all. I thought I was really cruising up and down the hills and around the curves. I could hear the finish line coming up as the crown was screaming. As I turned the final corner there was another runner there, 52 years old, I've got to beat him. I floored it and passed him. The funny thing is, just a yard from the finish he somehow found the juice to pass me. As he did he looked back at me and said something. We both had a good friendly laugh and patted each other on the back.

An exhausting job well done.

RUN TIME: 49:53

TOTAL TIME: 2:31:02

Conclusion

Am I please with my results? Yes! I never thought I would swim in 23:23. I thought maybe 27 minutes would be good. My 23:23 time considering the congestion was really very acceptable.

The bike was much better than expected. This was the first ride that I have averaged over 20 mph for the entire ride. I expect to even get better with more training.

The run was OK. I really thought I was going faster than around 8 minute per mile pace. But, those slippery mud areas and the up hill sections must have really slowed me down. My effort felt much harder tha 8 pace.

The part that really hurt my results were in transition. I spent 4+ minutes in T1 and 3+ in T2. I need to work on my transitions. I may get some shoes that do not require socks. Just biking and running shoes you can just slip on and take off.

All in all this was a great experience. I am so happy that I began the tri-venture because I really enjoy it. I love the training that goes into it and the race is just the culmination of all your hard work.

My next triathlon is the Steelhead 1/2 Ironman on July 31. The distance for this race are basically double what I just did:

Swim: 1.2 miles, Bike 56 miles, Run 13.1 miles.

I better get busy!!! Tri Tri again.


-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin