Friday, the day before the race. I went to Peachtree City to find the location and get my registration packet.
Wait, let me back up. I actually went down there the week before to check out the lake, biking trail, and running trail. Yes I was nervous about the swim. Previously I never swam in the open water or even with a wet suit to be honest. Having two unknowns made me go down there a week in advance. The night before I practiced putting the wetsuit on and taking it off. I did that about 4 times. I was shown how to do it at the store All3sports.com, but I decided to look on youtube for a simpler and quicker technique. So when I got to the lake, there was a wedding taking place. Therefore I could not go in the regular swimming location. I had to go in an infrequently used access point. That was nasty. I didnt know what I was stepping in and all kind of stuff seemed to be grabbing my feet. Really it was just branches, but still.... So I swam that day, biked and ran. The biking and running was similar to the tri event, but the swimming didn't compare. More on that later.
So by Friday I knew where I was going as it related to getting the packets. My father and I went there and got my information. He went with me because he wanted to know how to get there so he and my brother could be there the next day for the race. It was well organized as they gave me my information and instructions. We went out to the the transition area so I could see where I would be setup. We over heard someone saying how nice it was that someone wrote "Good Luck" on the person's name tag. So my father pulled out a pen and wrote "Good luck Son" on my number/name tag. I thought that was funny. Afterwards, we went and looked at the lake and the swimming route. It seemed as though the markers where way to far out there to possibly swim. I was thinking that has got to be wrong. Well we walked back to the car and headed home.
Saturday morning I woke up around 3:45. I previously packed all my items into my new tri bag I bought just to do triathlons and training. I woke up early enough that I decided to download some theme music. I downloaded the best of Rocky Balboa. I needed something to get me hyped and put me in the championship mood. I double and triple checked my bag before I got in the car. I felt good. The morning air was crisp and I knew it would be a wetsuit legal event. I really wanted to wear it because I wanted to make sure I had all the help I could get to float in the water. Wetsuits gives you more buoyancy when swimming. So I was happy about that. On my drive down, I saw a caravan of cars with bikes hitched to them, so I figured they were headed to the tri race. And they were indeed headed down.
When I got there, I walked my bike to the transition area. I was stopped and asked did they write my number on me. I told them no, and the gentleman pointed me to the number area. In this area volunteers write your race number on your arms and your age on your right calf. So I basically took off my outerwear so they could do perform this task. At this point they also gave me the GPS to put on my leg.
While in line, everyone was talking with friends or people they just met in the transition area. I saw someone that looked a little nervous so I walked over to her. I introduced myself and we started a conversation. It help get the nervous energy out. It turns out this was her , Afrika's 4th or 5th triathlon. She even did one in Las Vegas. I thought that was very impressive. She ended up giving me great advice. I knew she would be alot faster then me, but I would try to hand as long as possible. First, the olympic distance triathletes jumped in the lake. We went in pairs of two. Slowly it I got closer and closer to the lake. I was paired with an older gentleman. We walked into the water and he wished me luck. I never saw him again.
The swim by far was the hardest physical activity I have ever done. I have been swimming once or twice a week every week for 7 weeks up to this point. I just knew I was ready. After I made it to the first turn I knew I was in trouble from a conditioning point of view. I was 1/3 the way and I was sucking air like there was no tomorrow. In the back of my head I knew I could float on my back. This was a technique I have practiced the last 3 weeks when I got tired. So I turned on my back. Looking up at the sky, I knew I could not gauge my direction well, so I kept turning over to make sure I was going the right way. The problem with this technique is that when people passed me, the splash from their stroke would hit me in the face. Kind of like when a car is going the opposite direction in a rain storm and they splash a ton of water on your windshield. Just imagine the windshield was your face. Yeah, No. That was not fun. I realized that I was going to have to swim longer than I thought and couldn't float but for so long. Bu the time I made the last turn, the people from the olympic distance was coming down the home stretch and we met. They blew right pass me. The water was very choppy. I could not believe I was not finish yet but I could see the finish line. During the last 2/3 portion of the race, I just felt that I could not breathe normally. Maybe I was nervous, or started out too fast. But I thought it was my wetsuit being too tight. But really its not. I dont know what my problem was with my breathing, but I could not get a full breath like I was used to doing. Finally I saw people standing up and walking out of the water. I put my feet down and I felt the good earth. I was soooooo relieved. I walked on to the sand and then the shower stations. I saw my crew on the side and yelled to them a question. "Am I in first place?" they all answered "YES!!" We all laughed and I walked to my changing station. I was too tired to run.
At my first transition, it took me almost 4 minutes. Thats a long time. I really didnt have alot of problems getting my suit off like I thought I would, but I was just so tired I could not move quickly. I finally get my wetsuit off, socks on, biking shoes on, race helmet on, and bike off the rack. I run to the starting line to start my biking. You cant bike until you get to a specific line. They do this to keep the transition area safe. When I get there, I see Afrika. She starts biking and I hear her say "Oh no" I though something was wrong with her pedal, but it was something else.
While biking, I was sooo happy to be out the water, that I got busy on the bike. I was faster than I had ever been before. I passed people left and right. It was fun again. I had to keep telling myself that this was fun. I hit my first hill and was caught off guard. I was in the wrong gear and went up the hill too slow. Out of nowhere I see Afrika passing me. I was like "what the" LOL. She yelled out," I lost all my gears. I only have one. " As soon as I got to the top, I adjusted my gears and blazed off. I passed her again and talked to her. She said she was going old school and was just going to have to tough it out. I told her "I am sure you will pass me later so I will see you at that time" LOL. We passed each other a couple of times as the course became flat. Eventually I left her and passed another person who was on a semi mountain bike. She obviously must have been pretty fast in the water for me to just now pass her toward the end of the biking portion of the tri.
My second transition was slow again. I cant say why, it just was. But I do know I forgot to put on my race number, so before I started my run, I had to go back and get it. I wasn't sure and didn't want a penalty. Therefore, I went back and got it. Iknow that cost me at least thirty seconds. Because of my slow transition Afrika passed me and the lady on the mountain bike.
I paired up with the mountain bike lady and we ran together the whole time. I think because of her, I ran the entire way. My times were slow, but I finished. We I came around the final turn, I saw my supporters there and it felt great. I didnt realize how good it would feel to see them cheering me on. As I passed them, posed for the camera, and smiled I realized the finish line was there. I felt so relieved when I saw it. It was great, and because I had on the GPS they knew I was about to cross the finish line. The annoucer said "And crossing the finish line in one hour 20 minutes Ron Wilkey!" I was surprised that he knew that. It was cool.
Definitely I know going forward, I need to spend more time in the water. Going forward I will be swimming at least three times a week.
All in all, it was alot of fun and I signed up for three more events this year. One is not sanctioned by the USAT but the other two are. Because of this, I will have a ranking at the end of the year. I am thinking of signing up for an additional duathlon also.
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