Friday, May 26, 2006

Triple T - Day 1

Ok folks race season is officially underway. Legs were shaved, bags were packed, and the first "tri" of the season is officially under the belt.

"tri" in quotes here because it was kind of a goofy distance. I'm currently doing the Triple-T triathlon in Shawnee State Forest in Southern Ohio. The area is absolutely beautiful - heavily forested with rolling hills. The lake is a bit on the murky side but so far that's the only complaint with the venue. This is the best deal going in triathlon - $150 (if you sign up early) gets you four triathlons over three days. The first day is a prologue - 250 meter swim, 5 mile bike, 1 mile run. Day two is two Olympic distance triathlons - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The one in the afternoon is a bike/swim/run format. Day three is a 1/2 Ironman distance triathlon. So over the three days you do a little more than an Ironman distance triathlon, at 1/3 of the price.

The drive down was uneventful - bit of traffic coming out of Chicago as usual, even though I left at 4:30 AM. Got into Portsmouth around 1 PM and found my hotel - a Holiday Inn Express. Got checked in and then drove out to the park for a look at the venue. By the time I got there it was around 3:30 so I checked in, picked up my goody bag and setup my transition area.

The swim started in time trial fashion by bib number with each person going off in 5 second intervals. This avoids that mass start "floating bar fight" style of many triathlons. The water was pretty murky but didn't taste to bad (I always end up with a mouthful or two at some point in the swim. The buoys were well positioned and easy to see.

The bike was two out and backs - the first two a parking lot at the entrance to the park and the second up the hill to the lodge. If you ever do this race book a cabin or a room at the lodge - they appear to be very nice and are right up the hill from the race.

The run was also an out and back mostly on a grassy field. Fortunately the field was well cut but I had to be careful for ankle twists due to the unevenness of the surface.

Overall I think I probably went a bit hard - heart rate was up in Zone 4/5 most of the time. Will definitely have to reel it in for the races tomorrow - three more races to go so I'll definitely have to settle it down and pace myself.

Time to start organizing for tomorrow.



Workout Summary
  • 250 meter swim - first open water swim of the year!
  • 5 mile bike
  • 1 mile run
  • 1 comment:

    Anonymous said...

    Interesting website with a lot of resources and detailed explanations.
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