Going for Broke

Much to my dismay I will not be able to race in Clermont this weekend. Partially because I was Mr. Mom Monday-Wednesday which means I lost my workouts but mostly because at about $60 a race I really cant afford $120-180 a month in race fees. If I had had the time to put some race money away beginning at the end of last year I would have done so but I only found triathlon in February. Therefore I have to kind of pick and choose the races that are important to me and stick to those for the time being.

Like anything you might get involved in that becomes more than an occasional hobby, I've found triathlon, although you're born with most the equipment you need, to be quite expensive. Goggles, more goggles when you lose those, GOOD running shoes, YANKZ for those shoes, swim suit, race suit, bicycle (I'm still riding a woman's mountain bike), race fees, training books/videos/web sites, wet suit (I don't use one but many do) the list can go on and on but I've managed to do it as inexpensively as possible. The trap you get into is the more passionate you are about something the more likely you are to look the other way about the bill. If I could afford it I would probably race every single weekend. So its important to be reasonable.

So, as of right now my tentative schedule is:

• July 11: Tri-ing for a Cure Triathlon, in Ormond Beach


• July 24: Coca-Cola Classic Triathlon #6: Fort Myers


• September 9: Biltmore Lake Triathlon, Asheville, NC


• September 26: Disney's International Distance Triathlon

I expect to find two or three more in August and September. The fun part is trying to find races away from home but near family for an overnight. For instance there is a Key Largo race in August.

Since this post dealt primarily on matters of money I would be remiss not to mention Dave Ramsey whos budgeting prowess has helped me afford the races I DO get to participate in. Of course I break some of Dave's rules by getting into triathlon. I know he would tell me so long as there is debt there should be no triathlon. The way I see it is I want to live to see the end of my "Debt Snowball" so triathlon is a means to and end. Thanks Dave!

PHOTO: Beaches Fine Arts - Ponte Vedra End of Swim.
 

The Race: Beaches Fine Arts Triathlon - Ponte Vedra

Continuing where I left off I was about 20 minutes later than what I wanted which meant it felt like madness from the moment I arrived. First the parking was on the opposite side of A1A and by the time I got there it seemed like everyone was there. So I found a parking spot at the back of the lot grabbed the bike and ran. Got in line at the sign in grabbed my race packet and went the wrong way into the transition area.

At the transition I found the rack full and nobody there. So, I gave someone else's bike a slide and squeezed in as best I could but it was very tight. Another side effect of being late. Attached my number. Couldn't find the ties to attach the number to the bike in the race packet had to go back to the registration desk to get them. Stuffed my goggles into the elastic of my shorts and took off for the beach to get a quick warm up in before race time.

The ocean was flat like a lake with the exception of some wake being turned up by passing boats for a fishing tournament. The water was cool but comfortable no need for a wetsuit. It was perfect. Rather than wade in a little I went ahead and dove straight in forgetting my goggles in my shorts. As soon as I stood up the panic hit me THE GOGGLES. I lost them. I felt around all over and NO goggles. Unbelievable mental mistake. In all the rush and bother I slipped up and now I'm looking all over the beach for just one other person who was not wearing goggles to give me a little 'goggles aren't that necessary' hope and there was no one. That's all right this will be no problem.

The Swim: Being in the third wave you get about 6 minutes to pace and pick the perfect spot not to get clobbered. I found it right next to an older somewhat heavier gentleman who I knew I could beat out of the surf. Soon as the whistle blew we were off. From the very beginning of the swim I kept control of my breathing unlike the first time where I worked myself up so much I was near hyperventilating. Also in the first swim I followed the crowd right to the buoy and got the crap beat out of me several times so my plan this time was to swim past the bouy and then down the line. This worked absolutely perfect with the exception of a small lack of navigational skills leading me out to sea and the burning eyes from a lack of goggles. This caused about 3 course redirections so I lost quite a bit of time but it was a lot more comfortable and I had a much better swim.

T1: Out of the water up the beach and onto the bike. I have a hard time running around with no shirt on so the only thing that slowed me up in the transition was having a wet sticky body and a shirt that wicks water. My transitions are usually pretty fast as I'm riding a mountain bike there are no bike shoes or any special cleats. This I hope to change some day ;)

The Bike: The bike was pretty uneventful. I've never been to Ponte Vedra before but the bike route had two long stretches of beautiful tree lined streets and then past some very large and what I am sure inordinately expensive homes. I rode a larger gear in the bike than what I'm used to. Something they say you shouldn't do in a race. What I mean by that is you shouldn't venture far from the training road as it may have some adverse effects on the rest of the race. This change in gears caused me to work a lot harder on the bike in a vain attempt to increase my speed. This also put a lot more work on my legs I wish it hadn't.

T2: Jump off the bike and take off. Wear my running shoes on the bike so no change.

The Run: After the change in gears on the bike this brick was harder than ones I've done in training as I had significant wear in the back of my legs. This really hurt my run and I could feel it all the way out to the turn around. On the way back my good friend and great triathlete Mike who had already finished his race and won the masters division came running up to me and ran the rest of the way back with me. So he basically did the run TWICE! His running with me really helped push more out of me than I thought I had. He continually reminded me that Im doing something 99% of the population hasn't. Mike is an amazing athlete. I near sprinted the last half mile and finished in 1:16:13.

The only problem I had with the run is that my shoes, both of them, came untied AGAIN. This happened in my first race. I've trained hours and hours and can say without a doubt my shoes have never come untied in training. I have got to get lace locks this week.

The Finish: I felt great after the race. The swim made me really confident. I need to train using bigger gears for bricks. And I really look forward to doing my next race hopefully the 19th in Clermont.

Time:

Finish     Swim   T1     Bike
   T2     Run
1:16:13   12:42   2:24   36:02   0:42   24:26

Pre-Race: Beaches Fine Arts Triathlon - Ponte Vedra

Following my Memorial Day weekend triumph of having completed my first triathlon I was so psyched to do my next I hit the first opportunity an hour north in Ponte Vedra. This was another sprint distance race that included a .25 Mile Ocean Swim an 11.5 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run Saturday June 12.

Friday 7pm : Pre-Race Dinner: I read somewhere that THE pre-race dinner includes rice pilaf, chicken, peas, tomatoes and cashews. Well I didn't have any of those things or the time to cook them so the only thing I could think of was Chinese chicken and cashews. Ate most the rice and half the chicken. This was probably NOT, THE, pre-race dinner. Next time I'll do the cooking as this is NOT a Zone friendly meal

Friday 8pm : Light Bike Ride : Took a nice and easy ride around the block just to be sure everything was functioning properly on the only thing in all this that could mechanically go wrong.

Friday 8:30-10pm : Lay out all of my stuff for the race. Shorts, Shorts for over my shorts, t-shirt, sandals for running around the grounds pre-race, vaseline to help the seal on my goggles, baby powder for my shoes. Check that I have my goggles 5 TIMES (this will be important later). Shower and shave. I need to write a check list because one of these days I'm going to forget something.

Friday 10pm : I'm in bed set the alarm clock for 4:50am. I also keep the time on my alarm clock about 10 minutes fast, its a mental thing, so really its more like 4:40am

Saturday 1am : Damn its not 5 yet!

Saturday 2am : Damn its still not 5!

Saturday 3:03am : This is getting old sleep damn you sleep!

Saturday 4:50am : FINALLY!

Up and at em', brush my teeth, throw the bike in the trunk of the car, fight with the bungee cord for 5 minutes I HAVE to get a bike rack. Grab a Zone Bar for breakfast Im still not sure whether or not I should be eating before an event but at only 2 blocks this is really only half a breakfast. Get my coffee and then the fun part...Waking everyone else up. My sister being in town made her the official photographer/babysitter. In the time it took her to get up and around the baby to get up and around and put $30! worth of gas in the car we were about 20 minutes later than I wanted to be.

Race report to follow...

PHOTO: Tri-Y Ormond Beach. My friend Brad. 

A Dilettantes Adventures in Triathlon

This being my first blog post all my anticipation has built up to nothing less than writers block. Here's where it all began... Upon reading the trials and tribulations and fantastic success of Nancy at http://triby35.typepad.com I thought I would create a blog myself. Not for others to follow along but rather to make notes and such to kind of document
my new found love affair... the triathlon.

Unfortunately for me I am not starting at the very beginning having actually completed my first sprint distance triathlon. The jist of it is: Over a two year period my weight was as high as 238lbs.! I'm only 5'9"! Over six months of playing tennis with no real change in diet I got down to about 219lbs. Christmas 2003 we had some family pictures taken and I could not believe what I saw. The next week I started the Zone Diet and a regular exercise routine now I'm about 160. Somewhere in the middle of all this I found http://www.beginnertriathlete.com and haven't looked back since.

So this blog is dedicated to the fat child inside of me that I've coaxed onto a perpetual hamster wheel.