paperclippy - For the shot blocks, I had some in the transition from the swim to the bike (about 1 or 2) and then made it a point to consume a whole package (6 blocks) during the bike ride. I also ate about 3 - 5 of them during the run. Yeah, lots of food, I know, but it was a loooooooong day.

I don't know how long your tri is, but the bike on mine was a very hilly 30 miles and for the run, I walked most of the 10k so it took me forever, which necessitated the extra shot blocks during that. Turns out my nutrition was spot on even with all the walking, but that's a whole other story related to the complete mind games this tri played on me. I felt like I could run most of the 10k, so I'm glad I made the extra effort to eat lots of energy stuffs (including a whole Gatorade on the bike) before starting the run.

Have you tried a variety of shot blocks flavors? I've found the strawberry to be sweetest and lemon-lime to be mildest in flavor, so I mix it up depending on what I need.

Hope that helps and good luck on your tri! I'll post the race report from my Oly from a few weeks back hopefully by the end of the week. Been super busy with work and trying to figure out my life lately to do much of anything.

That, and since my last tri I've kind of taken a vacation from accountability and have done absolutely nothing physical and have drank way too much beer since then, which is why I haven't been on here a while. Time to get back on track!

seagirl - Welcome to the group! Most people have trouble with the swim so you're already a step ahead than a bunch of newbies. Keep up the running progress and I may soon be joining you on the C25K program. Running seems the "easiest" gear-, form-, and fear-wise to get better at, but for me it's so difficult and frustrating. Anywhos, good job on your swimming and biking and the running will come soon enough.

Thanks Au! I'm doing a sprint distance so it's about half of your Oly but less swimming. I'm thinking I'll eat 2-3 shot blocks during the bike ride and then grab gatorade at the water stations on the run. Depending how I'm feeling maybe also a shot block right before the race or at the swim/bike transition.

I have my times all planned out but I'm afraid something will screw up and I'll be super-slow. Based on my training times, I'm expecting 15-16 mins on the swim, 45-50 on the bike, and about 38 on the run which adds up to about 1:45 including transition time. I'm mostly concerned that the course is so hilly that I'll be way slower than I'm expecting on the run or that I'll get a stomach cramp and have to walk in the run like in my last race.

Total time 1:48:19 (546/560)
Swim: 18:09 (543/588 - higher total number since it includes the relay teams)
T1: 3:18 (527/593 - why is this more total people than the other? I don't know)
Bike: 45:17 (568/593)
T2: 1:49 (261/589)
Run: 39:45 (567/591)

Edit - I forgot to include the distances, it was 500m swim, 10mile bike, 5k run.

Goals met:
- Hit my split right on for the bike, 45 mins, even though it was super hilly
- I was NOT LAST in my age group! One person came in 10 seconds after me. Good thing I sprinted to the finish, I think I passed 3-4 people on that sprint and I'm sure one of them was the other person in my age group.
- I ran the whole run for the first time! No walking at all.

Goals not met:
- Didn't make my 1:45 goal. Close, but no cigar.
- Didn't make my 15-16 min swim goal
- Didn't make my 36-38 min run goal

Race report! So, Saturday morning bright and early we got everything together and headed to the park. I ate a bowl of oatmeal and had a glass of milk at home, then at the race site I drank some gatorade before the race started.

The transition area was near the beach house at the bottom of a hill (basically the lowest point in the park). The transition area was set up in a U-shape with one-way traffic flow, so when I came in off the bike for example I had to run my bike all the way around to get to my rack instead of cutting across. They had a lot of bikes on each rack so there was really not much space at all. I ended up putting all my stuff basically underneath my bike, which made it kind of hard to get the bike out, but whatever. Next time I will be earlier and get a spot on the end of the rack.

I had a chance to warm up in the water a little bit after I got my transition set up and my number written on my arms. It was pretty darn warm! 81 degrees was the official number. They set out two yellow buoys and the course was to swim out, around the first buoy, around the second buoy, and back to shore on the other side. The swim start was in order of our race number (which was assigned based on saying how fast you were, I was near the back) and basically they had one person enter the water every two seconds. I got started okay, then started to panic a bit once I got far enough out that the water was deep and I was far from shore. I think I swam slower than I might have because I was scared, but I managed okay and felt better once I passed the first buoy. I did get kicked and punched in the face a few times, but I only really got annoyed at people who were swimming backstroke. This one guy kept swimming over my back, and at one point a backstroker got turned around and crossed perpendicularly in front of me, and I basically had to wait for her to get out of the way before I could keep going. They should really disallow backstroke.

Anyway, I made it back to shore and ran up to the transition area. I was a little disappointed when I saw it took me 18 minutes for the swim, but I was hoping I'd make up for it later. No problems in T1, got my bike and gear and headed out. Of course since the transition area was at the bottom of a hill, the start of the bike was uphill. I think I managed it okay though. It was an out and back course -- most of the way out was uphill and most of the way back was downhill. I got passed by a few people going up the hills on the way out, but I passed several of them coming down on the way back, and made my 45 min bike goal spot on. I might have been a little faster at the end except they had the first runners coming back then and they hadn't put the cones up clearly enough, so I had to weave through some runners on my bike which made me slow down. I was coming down a steep hill so I could have easily run into them if I didn't slow down some. As planned I had two clif shot blocks during the bike ride which seemed to be okay.

I ran my bike back to my rack, and discovered that someone had taken my spot! There was no room next to my stuff for me to put my bike, so after a momentary panic I stuck my bike in someone else's spot on the same rack. Not sure what else I could have done there. It probably cost me 30 seconds.

I headed out on the run, which started out going up the same steep hill as the bike, ugh. But I didn't walk, which I'm proud of -- last year the first tri I did had the run start up a steep hill and I had to walk it, but this year I chugged through even though a lot of other people were walking. The run course was also an out-and-back and was also mostly uphill on the way out and mostly downhill on the way back. It was also a little frustrating since it went through the part of the park that everyone had parked in, and while I was out on the course people were already going to their cars and leaving. So there were cars, bikes, and pedestrians to deal with, but they mostly stayed out of my way. The benefit of them being on the course though was that they cheered for those of us who were still running! Just like in training it took about 15 minutes for my legs to stop aching, then I felt okay running. After the turnaround I picked up the pace but I could already see by my watch that I wasn't going to make 1:45 (unless I whipped out a 9-minute mile at the end, which was not going to happen). So I figured, okay, go for 1:48, to try to motivate myself to not give up. I got to the end and it was back down the steep hill to the finish, so I sprinted as hard as I could down that hill and passed several people along the way to get to the finish line! I'm a big fan of the downhill finish.

The only weird thing that happened was after I got to the finish line, I had to stop running pretty suddenly to get my timing chip off, and my lungs freaked out. I'm not sure exactly what was going on but it felt like what I would imagine an asthma attack would be like (except that I don't have asthma). It was really hard to catch my breath and I felt like everything was constricted. I walked around for a few minutes and eventually it eased up and I caught my breath, although I was kind of panicked and on the verge of going to the medical help area. DH took some photos of me during the race which I'll post maybe tonight. Some of them came out blurry but some are pretty good!

Two weeks until the next triathlon. I'm hoping I'll be faster on the next one since it's a flatter course and the swim is not in deep water (= less panicking), but the bike course is 3 miles longer so I need to adjust my goal time.

Great job, paperclippy!! Thanks for the report and info. It's always nice to hear how other people handle things. Good luck on your continued training and racing!

great job Clippy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just did my very first triathlon, a sprint 0.5m/12m/5k. I had been training really hard through the winter and early spring but hurt my foot in April and really slacked off since. I had already registered for the race so I pushed on even though I wasn't well prepared. I expected to be slow and was able to finish my bike and run within my goal times but the swim was a nightmare.

I started learning to swim in January and before that I had literally never tried a freestyle stroke with my face in the water. With noseclips and a ridiculously slow pace I was able to get to 1/2 mile worth of laps without stopping. Like a moron I went into this tri with no open water experience (I know...).

I was in the last wave and started all the way in the back to minimize the pressure. I was right beside a friend or I probably would have quit. As soon as I started the swim, my noseclips fell off and I couldn't see ANYTHING underwater. I thought it was just from the other swimmers kicking up debris, but no, there was zero visibility. I literally couldn't see my arms in the water. I panicked and the water was choppy and too deep to stand up. I tried a few feeble breaststrokes and flipped to my back to try to calm down. I wound up doing the backstroke for the whole distance with my friend literally pushing me in the proper direction when I went off course (sorry paperclippy, I know it was obnoxious but I was behind nearly everyone).

Once I committed to the backstroke with my friend's help I finished the swim in 25min (actually not bad for me) and caught quite a few people on the bike a run. Overall it was a fun experience but the swim was totally demoralizing. I wanted to do a Danskin tri next month, same distance, but I'm terrified of a similar swim experience. Any advice, other than obviously practicing in the open water a few times?

Lobon, first off, CONGRATS on finishing your tri!!! 25 min on the swim is not bad at all in my book, especially for a first time. How was your time on the bike and run?

My advice to you would be to practice breaststroke in the time you have before your next race. It's not nearly as scary to do breaststroke when you can't see underwater, since your head comes up and looks forward on each breath so you can still see where you're going. You also don't get as much water splashed in your mouth by the other swimmers. In my first tri I went in planning to do freestyle -- it was even in a pool, not open water -- and I freaked out and ended up doing breaststroke pretty much the rest of the way. I still practice breaststroke because I think it's a good backup to have if you can't see where you're going on freestyle (and for me, my breaststroke is nearly as fast as my freestyle since I'm so slow anyway).

Also, if it's possible, go do a swim in the actual body of water that your next tri will be in before the race so you can get used to it some. And on race day, if they let you, take some time to warm up in the water and acclimate your nerves to not being able to see.

FWIW, I don't have a problem with backstroke if the people doing it start all the way at the end, it's just when they're in the middle that it causes trouble. Actually at my first tri there was a guy who did backstroke but had a mirror mounted to his goggles so he could see where he was going and not run into people, and that's totally fine by me. But I think a lot of people who end up backstroking probably go in planning to do a different stroke and freak out. In any case I still do breaststroke sometimes and advocate it even though I know the "real" triathletes hate it when people breaststroke too since it takes up more space.

i've never spent much time on the breaststroke but I will definitely practice that from now on. the mirror idea is interesting though the race in august is not close enough to practice in that lake but at least I can use a few of the lakes and creeks close to my house to practice a few different OWS locations.

The bike (12m) took about 50 minutes which I was happy about because the hills were pretty brutal (at least for an ex-Florida girl where hills dont exist) and I never had to walk, as well as the fact that it was POURING for the second half which made weaving around the residential areas at the end more dangerous. I'm still getting used to my first road bike so I take the corners and intersections pretty slow. The highlight was definitely a 31mph downhill, though I was too chicken to get in the drops and see if I could go faster, especially with the rain . I was expecting the run to be slow and planned to run-walk since my foot is still not 100% and its only been a month since I got out of the brace. I finished in 42 minutes. I could have probably pushed harder in both the bike and run- I felt like I still had gas left in the tank but mentally I was a little out of it after the swim.

BTW they were giving out samples of hammer gel apple pie, which is kind of delicious. i think the blocks are ok but i find the energy beans kind of grainy/vitamin-ey

Wait, I misread what you said. I thought your 25 minute swim was for 0.5 KM, not 0.5 MILES! In that case 25 mins is great! (Last year I took 23 mins for 0.5km in one of my swims.) Great job on the bike and run too.

This Sunday is my second (and last) tri of the year. It's the same one I did last year (the one which took 23 min on the swim, I'm aiming for 16 min this year) so I'll be able to compare my performance. Then I just need to figure out what I'm going to do after the race for winter maintenance. I'm thinking strength training over the winter.

how was the race clippy? im doing a super short race in two weeks 250y/7miles/2miles. I figured it will give me another shot at overcoming my OWS fright. I'm going to close out the season with one, maybe two more sprints in September with one of those as a relay team. I'm going to concentrate on running after that and shoot for a half marathon in the spring if I can get my stupid foot to cooperate.

I totally nailed this one! For reference, I did this one last year too, and last year my total time was 2:19:56 split into 23:21, 2:05, 1:05:17, 1:41, 47:30.

500 meter swim, 20km (12.4 mile) bike, 5k run
Total time: 1:48:33 (that's right, 2.4 miles longer bike than my other race, but my time was only 14 seconds longer than the other one! Plus a whole half hour faster than last year!)
Rank: 457/503
Age group: 28/34

Swim: 15:46.1 (rank 419)
T1: 2:47 (rank 372)
Bike: 50:51 (rank 493)
T2: 1:32 (rank 297)
Run: 37:36 (rank 448)

In this race, I met all the goals that I didn't meet in my last race (namely, swim in under 16 mins, run in under 38). I guess there is a lot to be said for a flat course and an "open water" swim in a canal that's only 4 feet deep. Plus it wasn't as hot outside, but I think mostly the difference was the flat course and easier swim.

The water temp was 75 so it was a little cool, but it ended up being really nice. Since it's a canal, you don't have to look for buoys or anything, you just go straight until you get to the end, and when you breathe to the side you can see the sidewalk so you know where you're going. DH walked along the side of the canal next to me the whole time too. No kicks to the face and I even passed a few people. I was so happy when I got out at the end and saw that I met my swim time goal!

T1 was fine, got out on the bike course no problem. The course was not very hilly, but the roads were in poor condition so it was super bumpy. My wrists did not like the vibrations at all and my hands were numb and tingling by the time I got to the end. I only managed to pass one person on the bike though, everyone else flew by me. I thought I must be going slow, but really I was going pretty fast (although looking at the results, pretty much everyone else went faster than me).

T2 once again someone put their bike in my spot on the rack. What is up with these people? Then not only did they do that, they didn't rack it properly. So when I went to scoot their bikes out of the way, they fell over and knocked down like five bikes. I got my bike on the rack eventually though and headed out on the run. The run was pretty good -- I hit a 12:06 pace overall which is right about what I wanted. Passed quite a few people during the run who had used up all their energy on the bike. For a little while I ran with an older guy who was doing his very first tri -- it was nice to chat and I was hoping he'd run the whole way with me since he was keeping my pace pretty well, but he stopped to walk at the halfway point. I think I slowed down a decent amount the last mile even though I tried to pick up the pace, but still managed to speed up at the end for a strong finish.

In any case I'm really happy with my times on this one and it was a major improvement over last year (although I doubt I'll be able to shave off another 30 minutes next year! ). Still vaguely thinking about doing an Olympic next year. If I do it will be this one, which is the same course but the swim start line is farther away and it's two laps on the bike and run.

great job Jessica!!!!!!!!!!! that's quite an improved time WOW!!!

I'll have a race report for you shortly, but I wanted to let you know the Half Ironman went fairly well. 07:24:02. Long day but totally worth it!

Muse, GREAT JOB!!!!