The title pretty much says it all. I went to Florida to race in my first professional race, and I ended up not even finishing it. The swim was cancelled for the age groupers due to the choppy water but the professionals were still going to swim. And considering that open water swimming in the ocean is my strength (sarcastic tone), I was really excited about swimming (still a sarcastic tone). I might have been a little too anxious about the whole swim after they cancelled the swim, and I never really got back into "race mode" before the race start. That competitive drive that is almost always there on the starting line, just wasn't there Sunday morning. I was extremely worried about the swim.
We sprinted into the 5 ft. swells and started the swim. The first 500 - 600 yards of the swim were directly into the swells along side the pier. Once we made the first turn, it wasn't near as bad, but by that time, I had already lost contact with a lot of the better swimmers. I was in no man's land, and I just wanted the swim to be over. I came out of the water feeling like I was in last place, and grabbed my bike. Once I was on the bike, I felt decent, but nothing spectacular. I know that I was kicking A LOT during the swim because I felt "the burn" in my legs during the swim, which never happens. And this over ambitious amount of kicking really burned me out for the rest of the race. I caught a few people on the bike, but not a ton. I moved into about 25th place by the end of the bike, and I was looking forward to the run because of how good some of my running workouts had been going lately. Well, I ran out of T2 and just felt absolutely horrible. I had a side stitch before I even started the run which never happens, my legs felt smoked, and the heat just didn't help the current situation. I made it about 3/4 of a mile before I stopped and tried to catch my breath. I started running again only to find myself jogging at a leisurely pace. I couldn't go any faster and was still forced to stop and sit down for a minute. Right then I just decided it wasn't worth it to try and run a slow 10k to finish the race. I just walked back to the transition area with my head down. This was my first ever DNF for a triathlon and I am not proud of it. I wish there was a race tomorrow that I could run in.
The trip was pretty fun though. We got to hang out on the beach, I met some pretty cool guys, relaxed a little, and just had some fun.
Hopefully my next race report is a little better.
Tony
2 comments:
Keep your head up. Off days happen for everyone, it just sucks when they happen on race day. Your big break is coming, keep at it!
You are still my hero. You will get them the next time. I know one day you will be on the cover or USA Triathlon (if they have a magazine) and/or Sports Illustrated. YOu be the man.
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