I just want to start off by saying in 2016 I have now completed 6 triathlons! WOW! I am pretty ecstatic about that! And you know what is really crazy about it?! I'm loving it!
The Daybreak sprint triathlon was on Saturday June 4, 2016. It was going to be Kim and I's 6th triathlon of 2016 and the first somewhat open water swim of the season. It was going to be in Daybreak lake which is a manmade lake/river. They don't allow swimming in Daybreak lake besides for the triathlon. Kim and I wanted to practice or at least get a feel for how the water would be so on the Friday before the race we went out to a little lake/pond called Blackridge reservoir in Herriman at about 8am.
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| Not my pic just one I found on the internet so you can see what it looked like. |
I wore just my tri suit and Kim wore shorts, a top and a wetsuit.
A tri suit is bascially a suit you can wear throughout all areas of a triathlon. It dries quickly, has a little bit of padding for the bike ride, etc. That way you don't have to change in between events. I got mine for a really great deal up at the outlets in Park City. I love it!
The water was freezing cold when we got in. We probably stood knee deep in the water for about 10 minutes just talking before we started swimming. It took us a minute to feel comfortable putting our head under water but after a few times it felt just fine. It started to warm up a bit as we began moving. We didn't want to completely exhaust ourselves *wink wink* since we had the race the next day so we just swam a little and then just floated and soaked in some sun. It was such a nice experience and I am so glad we took the time to do this before the race.
RACE DAY:
Kim and I met at the transition area at about 645am. We started getting our stuff set up and she said she had a flat tire on her bike and needed to pump it up. I helped her and then we took some pics, put on some sunscreen and I checked her tire again and it was completely flat again. She immediately called her husband to see if he could bring her his bike (but their garage was closed and she had the opener) or bring stuff to fix it. Everyone at the race was super helpful and tried to help. Her husband showed up just in time for us to head over to the swim start and he started working on the tire.
SWIM: They did it by age groups and gender. We went out to a dock and hung onto the side until it was time to start.
We started one at time. The current is always tricky with open water swimming. You have to try and watch where you are going but not waste too much energy and try and swim with the current but also not let it drag you off course which it can very easily do.
Also, I (because I'm a genius) read online that if you put baby shampoo in your goggles it helps them not to fog up. I would highly recommend trying this before race day as with most everything. But noooooo I decided to trust the internet. Both Kim and I slathered our goggles with baby shampoo and as soon as we put our heads in the water our eyes felt like they were on FIRE! Other than that little hiccup the swim was awesome! It felt amazing. I can definitely notice a change in my swimming for the good. My stroke is way more powerful and I don't run out of breath nearly as quick. The swim was pretty much a straight course with a little turn towards the end. The swim was 750 meters just under a half of a mile, water temp was about 67°, time was 28 minutes and 15 seconds. I am really happy with that time!
Transition 1: Kim and I got to our transition area and geared up for our bike ride including sunscreen because it was already getting hot.Good thing too there was ZERO shade on the bike ride. Kim's husband Chase had fixed Kim's tireor so we thought.
Bike: We weren't even a mile into the ride and one of the police officers on the route stated we should stop and check her tire. We did and it was completely flat again. GRRRR! Kim wanted me to keep going and not wait because she didn't know if she would be able to do the bike ride at all at this point. I went on ahead. A few minutes later I had just passed a smaller intersection where cops were directing traffic and I hear a CRASH! SCREECH! and then yelling right behind me. I looked back and a bike was on the ground. I thought about turning around but I could hear people yelling and there was a cop right there so I just kept going. It rattled my nerves a bit. I was using Ben's race bike rather than my hybrid bike which I have ridden a handful of times. I began peddling and my legs were on FIRE! Holy Moly! I just kept pushing and it was getting so hot. The route went West along a highway that of course wasn't closed for the race and there was no bike lane. It was also a steady but hellish uphill for the first half. It was hell. Trucks were driving past at 60 MPH with long trailers it was not good. Then I was shifting and my gear came off. So I began walking. Someone stopped and helped me. I got on and rode again until the last huge chunk of a hill and walked a bit until the turn around and then it was literally down hill from there. The whole way back I kept thinking "I bet everyone has left. I've been out here forever." I didn't have my phone or anything so I kind of panicked but then I was like no I'm fine just go. As I was walking up the transition area I noticed that people were walking away with their medals and such and I was like oh great. But then I saw Kim waving at me from the transition area and I was thought Ok we got this. The bike was 14.6 miles and my time was 1 hour 43 minutes. Not my best but I made it. It was definitely a struggle and not my favorite bike route.
Run/Walk: Everyone hadn't left in case you were wondering. Kim and I decided to just walk/power walk the 5K. I'm glad we did. It actually wasn't too much of a difference in time from our previous triathlon 5Ks. Run/Walk was a 5K which is 3.1 miles and our time was 57 minutes.
Finish Time: 3 hours 17 minutes.
Not bad for the first open water swim of the season although I'm pretty sure it was the bike that really hurt my time. Ah well. I would do this triathlon again only if they completely changed the bike route.
Kim and I are planning on doing about 2 more triathlons this year. Hopefully one in July or August and then Bear Lake in September.
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| I'm not in this picture FYI |
We started one at time. The current is always tricky with open water swimming. You have to try and watch where you are going but not waste too much energy and try and swim with the current but also not let it drag you off course which it can very easily do.
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| Daybreak Lake before the race. Absolutely gorgeous day! |
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| I don't think I am in this picture but it's hard to tell. I was wearing a yellow swim cap which was for my age group. |
Transition 1: Kim and I got to our transition area and geared up for our bike ride including sunscreen because it was already getting hot.Good thing too there was ZERO shade on the bike ride. Kim's husband Chase had fixed Kim's tire
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| What my transition area looks like. A few things I love to have are sunscreen, body glide (helps prevent chaffing), my race belt, face wipes (for post race it feels so nice) and for Open Water Swims a bucket of water to rinse feet off with before getting ready for the bike ride. I also always bring a second pair of goggles and nutrition i.e. water, Powerade, energy blocks. |
Bike: We weren't even a mile into the ride and one of the police officers on the route stated we should stop and check her tire. We did and it was completely flat again. GRRRR! Kim wanted me to keep going and not wait because she didn't know if she would be able to do the bike ride at all at this point. I went on ahead. A few minutes later I had just passed a smaller intersection where cops were directing traffic and I hear a CRASH! SCREECH! and then yelling right behind me. I looked back and a bike was on the ground. I thought about turning around but I could hear people yelling and there was a cop right there so I just kept going. It rattled my nerves a bit. I was using Ben's race bike rather than my hybrid bike which I have ridden a handful of times. I began peddling and my legs were on FIRE! Holy Moly! I just kept pushing and it was getting so hot. The route went West along a highway that of course wasn't closed for the race and there was no bike lane. It was also a steady but hellish uphill for the first half. It was hell. Trucks were driving past at 60 MPH with long trailers it was not good. Then I was shifting and my gear came off. So I began walking. Someone stopped and helped me. I got on and rode again until the last huge chunk of a hill and walked a bit until the turn around and then it was literally down hill from there. The whole way back I kept thinking "I bet everyone has left. I've been out here forever." I didn't have my phone or anything so I kind of panicked but then I was like no I'm fine just go. As I was walking up the transition area I noticed that people were walking away with their medals and such and I was like oh great. But then I saw Kim waving at me from the transition area and I was thought Ok we got this. The bike was 14.6 miles and my time was 1 hour 43 minutes. Not my best but I made it. It was definitely a struggle and not my favorite bike route.
Run/Walk: Everyone hadn't left in case you were wondering. Kim and I decided to just walk/power walk the 5K. I'm glad we did. It actually wasn't too much of a difference in time from our previous triathlon 5Ks. Run/Walk was a 5K which is 3.1 miles and our time was 57 minutes.
Finish Time: 3 hours 17 minutes.
Not bad for the first open water swim of the season although I'm pretty sure it was the bike that really hurt my time. Ah well. I would do this triathlon again only if they completely changed the bike route.
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| We finished! It was a gorgeous but scorching hot day! |
Kim and I are planning on doing about 2 more triathlons this year. Hopefully one in July or August and then Bear Lake in September.
What an event! Kudos to you for pushing through to the end despite the adversity you faced.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that your eyes were burning due to the baby shampoo, how did you get that to stop?
Why did you decide to use Ben's bike instead of yours?
Thanks Trev!
DeleteAs for the baby shampoo both Kim and just swam without goggles for a bit. I rubbed mine in the water and tried to rinse out the shampoo. Kim had hers around her neck and ending up losing them during the swim. :/
I wanted to see if using Ben's bike would make a difference in my time and how I felt. His bike is a road bike so its handle bars have you leaning down further and you could really have your back be parallel to the ground while riding and they have very small tires and are really really light weight.
My bike is a hybrid. So it has smaller tires but has more grip than a road bike. Its made to ride while sitting up right. Its not as light weight as a road bike and not as heavy as a mountain bike.
It was hard to tell during this triathlon if it made a difference but I went for a 14 mile bike ride last night on it and then switched to my hybrid bike. I'm definitly more confident and comfortable on they hybrid so I'm not sure if it makes a huge difference.
If I was competing for first place I would probably go with the road bike but I'm not :)