Desert Tri Race Report

After a few days to digest what happened over the weekend, I'm finally ready to post my race report.

Saturday: Ironteam 4 hour bike ride from Malibu ( Pepperdine) to Camarillo and back. 64 miles. 1:45 to Camarillo and 2:15 back to Pepperdine. ( Strong headwind)
Off to La Quinta to pick up race packet, followed by Ironteam swim at the lake ( site of Desert Tri).
A team dinner followed by return to motel to set up and prepare for next day's race.
Poor sleep.

Sunday: Time change = 1 less hour of sleep. Dress in Tri outfit, warm clothes, load car with bags and bike. Arrive at park shortly after 6am. Head over to transition area to set up. I talked to the triathlete next to me and explained that I was about to compete in my first Tri. He was very helpful and gave me some tips and pointers. After setting up, it was time to line up for the restroom. Afterwards I returned to the beach to watch the start of the Sprint Triathlon which started at 7am. At 7:30, I returned to transition zone and got into my wetsuit. In the excitement, I got my R leg in correctly, but I stuck my L leg into the L arm slot. My new acquaintance helped me pull my leg out of the arm slot. It wasn't easy! After getting the wetsuit on, I headed over to the beach to meet coach Paul and my teammates.
At 8am the first wave started for the International Distance Tri. I waited for the last wave. Finally the time came: the start of the swim.

Swim- 40:57
I started off fine and tried to draft off the swimmers in front. Initially it worked, but I made the mistake of going out too fast. A few hundred yards into the swim, I started to feel short of breath and my heart was beating like a jack-rabbit. I looked around and saw some swimmers heading for the shore. Oh Oh. Negative thoughts crept in. Perhaps I'm not ready. I still have a long way to go. I don't want to drown ( probably impossible with a wetsuit). In hindsight, I was probably having a panic attack. I waved down a lifeguard on a surfboard and grabbed hold of the board. I explained that I needed to catch my breath. After a minute, I felt good enough to continue. I told myself if I quit now, I'll spend the rest of the morning ( the next several hours) regretting it and getting bored while waiting for my teammates.

Where is the buoy? The rising sun was in the same direction as the first buoy. This meant I couldn't see it. Being a novice to open water swimming, this really bothered me. I had no other swimmers to follow since I was in the back of the last wave. I saw a few swimmers around, but they seemed to be disoriented, too. I swam to another surfboard and paused to get my bearings. I asked the lifeguard, where is the buoy? After getting re-oriented, I continued on. I rounded the buoy and then saw the second buoy off in the distance. It seemed a long ways away. I was thinking, "Wow this 0.75 mile swim is long. How am I ever going to swim 2.4 miles during the Ironman Tri?" ) That was a little discouraging, but at this point I could not give up even though the thought crept in "I hope I'm not the last one out of the water".

Zig-Zag Swimming. I would swim a little, sight, and realize I was now looking at the buoy from a different angle. I tried to correct, but was having difficulty. I paused at another surfboard to regroup then continued. A little while later, I went to another guard to assess what was happening. He mentioned that I'm left arm dominant and I pull more with the left arm, causing me to drift left. Great! Now I tried to aim right, in order to hopefully go straight for the buoy. Eventually I reached the second buoy. By this time I'm tired! I must have already swam a mile with my zig-zagging. I rest at another surfboard, then made the final push to shore.
I was thinking, "Get me out of the water, please! I can't wait for the bike and the run." (After the race, I asked coach if I was the last one out of the water. He reassured me that there were a couple people behind me. Whew!)

T1- 4:39
Trouble getting my legs out after I got the wetsuit down to my knees. It seemed like it took forever. Maybe it was hypoxia. I was still feeling light-headed from the swim. At least I remembered the helmet and sunglasses. I took a drink from my water bottle.

Bike- 1:18:52
The first lap I was so far behind, I didn't see any riders at first. I thought I was lost. Then came the lead riders lapping me as they came by for their second lap. They were on their fancy aerodynamic Tri bikes with the special Aero wheels! They went by so fast! I want those wheels! I was riding upright during most of the first lap and my legs and butt felt tired from the 4 hour ride the day before. Since most of my riding had been in hilly areas and in areas with lots of traffic, I have not used my aero bars very much. I decided to give it a try during the race and I started to bike faster. I also took in some nutrition in the form of Powerbar Gel Blasts. I also noticed there were no port-a-potties on the bike course. My bladder was getting full.
The second lap I went much faster in the aero position. As I passed other riders one by one, I started to get my confidence back. Before long the ride was over.

T2- perhaps about 2 min
I changed quickly into my running shoes and put on my cap. I had finished my 1 water bottle on the bike, so I took a drink from my 2nd bottle at my transition zone. I also grabbed another packet of gel blasts.

Run- perhaps about 50 min
The first steps felt a little awkward, but eventually I got my running legs back. I was glad to see alot of runners on the course although some of them were on their 2nd lap while I was on my 1st lap of the run course. I jumped into a Port-a-pottie and relieved my bladder. Now I was ready to run. I tried to make up for lost time. I passed quite a few of my teammates. As I finished the first lap and saw the people crossing the finish line, I was envious. They were finishing sub 2 hr 30 min. I kept running and ran past my friend Louis. He was surprised to see me coming from behind. He thought I would be far ahead. I told him I really struggled through the swim. He motivated me by saying that another teammate Carlos was up ahead. If I beat him, Louis said he will buy me lunch. Soon I saw Carlos up in the distance. I slowly gained on him, and managed to pass him at the water station. I cranked up my pace and started running at my 10K pace. I passed quite a few more people including my new acquaintance, the one who set up next to me and helped me get my leg out of the wetsuit armhole. I was really surprised to see him. I thought he would have finished much earlier. I saw the finish line ahead and sprinted across the finish. I was filled with a feeling of relief and accomplishment. I DID IT !!! I celebrated with my Iron-Teammates and coaches. Thanks to them, I've managed to come this far in 4 months.

Full Course- 2:56:46