"Coached Athlete Jon G wrote a marvelous Transition and Nutrition Recap that should be shared to other athletes. Its important how well or off a race or event went for you, because as the memories fade so does our account of how the event went, learning and improving event to event is what makes us a better rounded athlete. "
-Coach Ken
Written By Jon G
T1:
In a shaky jog due to the crazy experience we’ll call “The Swim”, I entered T1. My son Justin and I were lucky to have racks just a few spots from the end and just a few rows from Swim In. I easily found my spot, and Justin was already there. He was fully dressed in his bike gear, flashed his great smile and greeted me with his usual “Hi Dad!”. I was starting to assess the soaking mess that was my carefully laid out belongings, but it mattered less seeing him make light of what I considered a tragic situation.
After last year’s horrific race conditions, I promised myself two things:
If I sign up again, the weather would be pleasant
I would never put myself thru a miserable race again
With the realization that both promises were wrong, I contemplated quitting right there. But how could I quit and expect Justin to continue?
Last year the forecast was accurate and gave us warning, so I had packed a cycling rain jacket and a plastic bag to keep my stuff dry at the rack. This year the forecast was wrong (from a precipitation perspective), and I had no such preparation. My towels were soaked, so there would be no drying off. My socks and bike shoes, which I left in a way I could quickly put on, were soaked as well. It was going to be a cold and miserable 3 hours on the bike, ugh!
Thinking fast, I remembered the long-sleeved shirt I wore in the early morning. I had stuffed it into my tri-bag when arriving at transition, and I pulled it out. It was a base-layer style shirt, not wind or water resistant at all, but better than nothing. It was soaking wet, but I pulled it over my wet tri shirt anyway. Are we having fun yet?
Pulling my bike off the rack, my shaky legs weren’t up for jogging in cycling shoes. I did my best impression of a speed-walk as I head for Bike Out. My feet felt the soaked socks squishing water.
Bike Nutrition:
Out on the bike course, I had had 3 bottles of hydration:
Hammer Heed in the aero-bar bottle; this is my usual drink and I enjoy it in Orange
High-carb SIS drink in a water bottle. I don’t love the berry flavor of my recent stock, but it’s got 80g of carbs! The water bottle has an opening with a membrane that opens from pressure. Typical bike water bottles have a bite valve that recedes to close. The membrane style is better to refill the aero bottle on the fly, as it doesn’t close when being pushed through the aero-bottle’s seal.
Plain water, just in case
I had packed chews of various flavors and brands. Before putting them into the top-tube bag, I shook em up with confectionery powder. The powder sticks to them so they’re less sticky when pulling em out.
I also brought my favorite gels, which are of the hydrated variety and don't require drinking water. Although available in the aid stations, I preferred to leave that as a back-up plan (e.g. in case I drop a gel or two). My plan was to put the gels into my tri shirt pockets, as I always do. But since I was now wearing a shirt over the tri-shirt, I lost access to those packets. Fortunately, my Profile Design aero bottle has a small storage area with a rubber lace. I squeezed 2 gels in there, hoping the strap held them in place (it’s failed when hitting sharp bumps). I did end up stopping at an aid station to pick up a few more.
T2:
Entering T2, I fully expected my sneakers to be soaked. I had left them sole-side up to minimize them acting as a rain bucket. But it didn't much matter, as my feet and socks were soaked from the bike leg.
My pinky toes were giving me trouble throughout the training season, and I found a solution by prepping them with anti-chafing cream. I had the cream with me, but applying it would require removing my socks. I had this process down during months of training, but today the socks were soaked. I decided to skip this crucial step and hope for the best.
During training runs, I was in the habit of carrying adequate hydration for the full duration. For this race, I planned on taking just one hand-held running bottle, and use the aid stations to refill as needed. I grabbed the bottle and downed another gel as I exited T2.
The Run:
Optional reading but possibly a carry-on from the bike nutrition
Within the first half-mile of the run, a cramp developed in my stomach. I hadn’t had one in years, so this was an unwelcome surprise. It was so painful I had to walk frequently. During the walks, it still hurt but in a diminished capacity. I got very cold while walking, as the 20-30 mph wet wind cut through my body. I couldn't see how to endure this for 10 more miles. Panic was setting in as I wondered what to do?
For the first time in 20+ years of triathlon, a race cut-off time entered my mind. I didn't know the specific time nor my current time. All I recalled was hearing that it wasn’t relative to an athlete’s actual start time. On the boardwalk, I wondered how and where they let athlete's know the time was breached?
I have friends who regularly battle cutoff times, and I now appreciated what they felt. I had always admired their dedicated spirit to race despite being “slow”. In pain from the cramp and getting increasingly cold while walking, I summoned a commitment to emulate their spirit and finish this race!
I told myself to maintain forward motion until the cramp subsided. Somewhere around mile 3, after many walk-run iterations, I again delicately resumed a jog. The pain seemed diminished this time. After a few minutes, I was hugely relieved that it had passed!
Run completion:
Optional
After doing my best for another 7 miles, I reached the lap 2 turnaround on the West end. With 10 miles completed, the fear of not missing the cutoff had passed. My mind now wondered about my personal time goal. I hadn't used my watch to time the race, but that goal seemed unlikely.
The final 3 miles would be the toughest, with the last 2 into the sharp wind and rain. I was achy and exhausted. The challenges imposed by Mother Nature had been formidable. As I struggled during this final stretch, I settled into the pride of completing an event I nearly quit.
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