Naperville Tri Sprint Results

The first triathlon race of the year is over. And I'm happy that it is done...cause I just want to move on. It was a "D" race for me. I didn't train specifically for a sprint; it was merely a stepping stone for what lies ahead. This was my fifth year doing the race and my slowest result:

Swim: 13:32
T1: 5:15
Bike: 46:57
T2: 3:19
Run: 33:21
1:42:23
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2008: 1:39:12
2007: 1:40:18
2006: 1:38:38
2005: 1:38:11
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Race Morning (It was gorgeous weather) :

4:30 am Alarm went off
Got ready per plan
Lost car keys
Stayed calm, looked for 5-10 minutes -- decided to use spare set
Loaded Sharkie* on my bike rack
5:10 am Drove to race
Bike fell off rack while driving
Stayed calm, picked up Sharkie and apologized, loaded bike back on rack
5:40 am Found good parking spot
Unloaded Sharkie to discover chain fell off
Stayed calm, fixed chain
5:45 am Found good spot in transition area
Laid out all my gear
Took Sharkie for a test ride, doing fine
6:10 am Found Waddler in transition
Both agreed that we should have just did a training ride today, but too late now
6:10 am --7:52 am Fretted about not wearing a wet suit (about 80--85% of the racers had wetsuits), water temp was 71º
6:55 am Wish Waddler the best as she gets in her wave (#4)
7:00 am Race starts and the pros are off
7:12 am Waddler's wave starts, as always she has a big smile on her face
7:46 am I'm in the corral waiting for my wave start, look down at my HR monitor...my HR is 211 bpm! (Yes, it was 211 bpm, this is not a misprint). Ok, I'm breathing fine and I'm not in any panic mode. Is my watch faulty or did I just get a huge jolt of adrenaline?
7:50 am Our wave is moved to the start line, I jump up and down in the water...trying to acclimate myself to the coolness of the water. I wave to Ed...my number one fan and supporter. (He says since he's not athletic he might as well be an "athletic supporter".)
7:52 am The gun goes off and my wave starts. I put my face in the water, and have trouble breathing out. I don't panic. Still shallow water, so I just stood up and ran a little in the water. I tried again, with better results. The swim was what I expected, lots of thrashing, kicking, and elbows flying. I did my best to find open water, that's a difficult task (the course is zig zag with 5 turns).

I felt a bit exhausted coming out of the water, I wanted to walk up the beach and through transition but I jogged instead. In hindsight, it might have been a good idea to walk. I took my time in T1. I was winded and just wanted to catch my breath. I got on Sharkie and took off on the bike. My goal was to just keep a good steady pace. My HR monitor was showing my HR to be 178 bpm. 16- 17 mph---I wasn't even pushing myself. What is freaking going on? Eventually, my pace got up to 22 mph and fluctuated between 17 and 22 mph for the length of the course. (There was a bad headwind on the way back in). My heart rate stayed steady around 173 bpm. I felt as if I just couldn't push myself any faster, I was too winded. My legs wanted to go but my chest said "no way".

I finished on the bike, with no mechnical problems. That's always a good thing. Change to running shoes in T2, and feeling like crap. I want to walk. I want to walk badly. I push myself instead to start running. I'm running slow, really slow and I don't care. My HR still hasn't come down. I just want to finish this stupid race and stop running. Why didn't Waddler and I just go biking today? My ankle is hurting too, the darn timing chip strap is digging into my skin. (Later, I discovered that the strap had broken skin, and I was bleeding)

1 mile down, I wanted to walk; 2 miles down; I wanted to walk, 3 miles down....is this race over yet? A lady who had been following my slow-turtle like pace the entire distance, comes up besides me and tells me that if it wasn't for me, she would have walked (I guess she liked the pace I was doing). That's funny, cause I really, really wanted to walk. She is now encouraging me to keep the pace going. I feel myself fading or either that, she's picking up the pace. I can't keep up with her. It's too hard. She looks back and waves me forward....now I'm trying to keep up with her and finish this damn race. I see Ed, and he cheers me on, then I see the finish line and make a dash for it. I cross the line, thankful it's over.

My HR registered an average of 174 bpm with a max of 22o bpm. I didn't want this race report ending up to be all about my heart rate but unfortunately, that's what it has become. These are ridiculous numbers. I don't know when the 220 bpm happened, I suspect at the start of the race when the gun went off. Before, ya'll write that I need to see a doctor...well I have seen one already. I've had multiple heart tests taken and all have come back with "normal" results. Doctor (Cardiovascular) says my heart might just be "sensitive" to adrenaline. You think? In a few weeks, I see him again for a follow up visit. I just want to get some control over this heart rate issue, it's driving me crazy and it's inhibiting my racing.

On the good side of things, I found Ed, Waddler, IronSnoopy and Moose all at the finish line. It was great to see all of them. Thanks IronSnoopy and Moose for coming out and cheering us on!

Great job Waddler. This weekend, let's just ride.