Mock Tri

Yesterday, as part of my training with Team in Training, I participated in a mock triathlon. The mock tris are set up as an opportunity for us to experience what a race day might feel like - from set up to racing to transitioning to crossing the finish line. Our mock tri would consist of exactly half the distances of our Olympic distance tri: a .5 mile swim, a 12-mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run. Well, I definitely got a glimpse of what to expect come race day, and I really liked what I saw.

The day started out early - especially for a Sunday. We were told that race check-in would begin at 7:30am, with the race itself starting at 8:15am. Being the nervous nilly that I tend to be, I arrived at the transition area at 7:15. I set up all my gear in my transition zone and began stretching to loosen up and get my mind focused. After race check-in, I got into my wet suit, which is quite the task! Those suckers are SO TIGHT! By the time I got into the suit, got my cap and goggles on, it was time to jump into the lake for a warm up.

Getting into the water for my warm up, I felt confident and prepared. The water felt good against my skin, and my nervousness was settling into anticipation. After the brief warm up, we were called back to the beach for a group start.

At about 8:15, our group stood, poised and ready, on the beach as our coach counted down from five. 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - GO!

As I ran into the water and began my swim, I realized that the confidence I had felt in the water just moments earlier had disappeared! I felt my breathing become irregular and difficult, my stroke become random and crazed, and my sight cloudy and impossible. I tried to remain calm and get my stroke back, but in the end, I wound up doing a lot of side stroke and back stroke. It wasn't exactly how I had planned, but it went ok. I was able to swim quickly and use the energy from my arms instead of my legs, which is the most important aspect of your swim stroke. I wasn't expecting to pass anyone, but I did successfully pass three people during the swim. I finished in only 17 minutes, a whole three minutes faster than I had expected!

Running out of the water, I decided to shake off the unexpected difficulties from the swim and focus on my smooth transition onto the bike. I ran to my transition area and already had the wet suit pulled down to my thighs by the time I reached my towel. I quickly pulled the suit off, put on my socks, shoes, and helmet, gulped down a race gel, and hopped on the bike.

As soon as I was on the bike, I felt my confidence and my speed come back to me. My legs felt strong and light, and I pedaled with ease. I did get passed by two people on the bike, but I let that roll off my back. I felt good and I was moving along well, so I kept my mind on my bike and I kept going.

Because of the bike route that we took, which was not the actual race route but instead was four laps around Lake Nokomis, I was forced to stop four different time at stoplights. That hurt my time by probably three minutes in total. My time recorded by the coach was 53 minutes, but my watch told me it was closer to 48:30. I was pleased with that time.

After I finished the bike portion, I quickly dismounted and raced over to my transition area. I ripped off my helmet and pinned on my race number, and then realized that was the only thing that I needed to do for this transition! I was on my way toward the final leg of the race - the running.

I started the run smooth but not very quickly. I knew that it would take a bit for my legs to adjust from the bike to the run, and I kept giving myself positive reinforcement and encouragement. I think that I actually talked to myself out loud a couple of times...

The run went rather smoothly. I kept focused and concentrated, and I kept running without a stop, until almost the bitter end. About two-thirds of the way into the run, I had an unfortunate situation occur - my body decided that it was time to haul-ass to the bathroom. I slowed down to a speed walk for about two minutes, and then picked up the pace again for the rest of the race. I did manage to pass three people during the run portion. I crossed the finish line with a run time of 33 minutes - and I just kept running until I hit the bathroom! Yeah, I'm going to have to figure out a solution to the problem prior to race day...

Overall, I was really pleased with how I performed during the mock tri. My race time was roughly 1 hour, 44 minutes, so I'm confident that I'll reach my goal of finishing the full tri within 3 hours, 45 minutes. It felt so great to get out there and actually experience a race. I've been training so hard for the past four months, and this helped me to understand why I've been putting myself through it all. I'm really looking forward to race day.

One thing that I must remember for race day, and the thing that I kept reminding myself of during the mock tri, is that I am here to compete against only one person: myself. If others pass me or if I pass others, it doesn't matter. I am here to accomplish a great goal that I set before myself: to cross the finish line. It doesn't matter who is in front of me or who is behind me. What matters is that I'm out there, and I'm doing it.