I completed my first ever triathlon two weeks before my first Ironman. It was the Eagle Creek Sprint Triathlon in Indianapolis. This sprint in particular was a 500 meter swim, 10 mile bike, and 5 kilometer run. My plan for the first go-round was to use it as a practice run for transitions and in the water with a mass of people. I knew I wasn’t going to be competing for the podium, so I was comfortable knowing I would have slow transitions. During the event my competitive nature got the best of me and I adjusted on the fly to try and save time in transition (so much for practice). It was a fun outing and made me more comfortable for my upcoming “A race”.
A little over 2 years later, on a pseudo-whim, I decided to do the same triathlon again to see what I could do. This time around I was ready to aim higher on the finish list, with a tri suit and a lot more training that’s gone into my gams. I may be in long distance form but I’m also capable of hitting some extreme paces. My most important goal for the event was to have some fun – easy to do when I was doing the race with a few friends! (though I did have a couple other goals that I’ll divulge a little later on) As always, I’m thankful for my support crew for being there for me and taking some rad photos along the way.
Pre-Race
I went to a concert the night before the race (my review will be up on my blog soon). I consumed a couple alcoholic beverages during the concert evening and didn’t make it home till later than expected. While I got less sleep than anticipated due to my choices, it was still a larger amount and more restful sleep than any of my previous events. I often find and make my own “hype” and was excited to be racing, especially with none of the pressure my previous events held for me. My morning fuel consisted of leftover deep dish pizza and sweet potatoes – a perfect pairing to be fully charged for the effort I expected to be putting in. I may have forgotten my morning coffee on the counter (sad day) but that wasn’t gonna stop me from performing.
It’s a pretty common notion to “practice like you play” and to not do anything new on race day. For me, I was already going into the event with a much different pre-race evening and I added a few more with my tri-suit (first time with no wetsuit + the suit), new helmet, and new laces. Not huge changes, though something to inject an ever so slight amount of awareness. What I do really enjoy about a sprint event is that all my gear manages to fit into a single bag. I racked my gear and spent the remaining time before the race casually chatting with the few friends of mine that were competing in the event and my sherpa (read: sister).
The Swim
I became more comfortable in the water this year through my limited swim training. Arguably, a little too overconfident for an all out sprint. I forgot to fulfill a basic requirement before the start of the race: warm up. I didn’t get in the water before the race which I highly regret as it impacted the rest of my performance. It’s tough to say by how much, though I believe the impact to likely be a countable amount of minutes.
The water was warm and I wasn’t concerned about finishing a 500m swim. What I didn’t give enough deference to was how high my heart rate can go when I swim if I haven’t splish-splashed around on my own terms first. It took a few short minutes into the start of the race for my heart rate to crest 170bpm, where it stayed for the rest of the event. This is exceptionally high for me, specifically for the swim and bike. At full pace I normally run with a similar heart rate, though not after the strain I induced during the two initial events. More on this later on.
What I did enjoy most about the swim is that I was able to see one of my friends, Cassie, throughout most of the swim – a perk of her having a brightly colored tri-suit. What I enjoyed least about the swim was that it was my first time during an event where I took in a significant amount of water that briefly choked me up. It was a little choppier in the water than it was a few years ago, something I hadn’t even considered as a variable because of my lack of concern for the event. Had I warmed up properly, I wouldn’t have had as much issue with the chop. Getting out of the water, I felt the toll of my 10 minutes of elevated heart rate, and was disappointed in my swim time (12:29). I was counting on an improvement in my swim to reach my goal time, but would have to make adjustments and make up the time elsewhere. Coming into T1 was nothing special, other than seeing one of my coworkers/friends gearing up for their portion of their relay race – I had no idea they were going to be there!
The Bike
The course at Eagle Creek features a 2.5 track through the hills in the park before an uphill section to the halfway turnaround. I had ridden the course during my previous race as well as on other training rides and knew that I could push a good pace up the steady ‘climb’ to the turnaround. My time and average speed the first time around were 30:34 and 19.6 mph respectively – I knew I could absolutely crush that.
What I had never done before or anticipated was to begin the ride when my heart rate was already elevated in full sprint or climb ‘mode’. For some context, I normally ride with a heart rate up to the mid 150s, even when I am riding at a hard pace. I only climb into the 160s and 170s (or sometimes higher) for the climb and harder sprint efforts. My elevated heart rate made it incredibly difficult to put down the power through my legs that I was hoping for. I would just have to fight through it and push through the hurt as much as possible and then do my best on the run.
Similar to my other triathlon experiences, considering my slower swim pace, I was again able to pass people continuously throughout the ride. Having someone a little ahead of me always pushes me to ride harder, a likely aid in me being able to keep pushing through my heart rate issues. One rider and I leapfrogged each other throughout the ride – he would pass me in the flatter sections and I would overtake him quickly on the climbs. I passed Cassie before the turnaround feeling I was in as good a position I could put myself in.
Also similar to my previous triathlon experiences, triathletes have terrible bike etiquette. I’ve gotten on my soap box before to rant on how terrible it can be. For an out-and-back course like this one where we are side by side in lanes, it accentuates the danger of the situation these riders put us all in. You can read my longer soap box from my Ironman here. Triathletes: be better.
I finished the ride with a time and average speed of 28:37 and 21mph, a great improvement over my first go. I was hoping and planning for more, but was (and am) pretty ecstatic with hot it turned out. Next time I’ll do even better.
The Run
I haven’t always liked claiming I’m a runner. I love the cycling discipline far more than I do running, and when compared to competitive runners my performance isn’t anything special. However, as my body has developed and adapted over the last few years I’ve gotten to a point with my running where I am proud of how quickly I can go, and for how long. I ran a few 5K time trials throughout my Ironman training just because I thought it would be fun (it was definitely Type II fun). I figured that I could push a little harder in a race setting so I set what was possibly my biggest goal for the day: running a 20 minute 5K. A trial 2 mile run earlier in the week had me feeling confident that I could average the requisite 6:26 min/mile pace. Confidence doesn’t always say a lot, but with my running it’s had a great impact on my performance.
For a normal run my heart rate gradually builds, as does my pace. I can start out fast, but I normally still find a faster rhythm as my gams find a groove. This time around, coming back to my poor decision making for the swim, my heart rate started above 170 (even after the slight drop in transition) and stayed there for the duration of the event. It took me the first 2 miles to get comfortable with the feeling as I didn’t hit my target pace until mile 3. I was able to see my friends Malia, Cassie, and Jared (in that order) on the run. With her start time, I guessed that Malia was about .75 miles ahead of me when we crossed paths. My racer complex took over – I wanted to overtake her before the finish (which I wasn’t able to do). I’m glad I caught sight of her when I did as it was a large factor in me stepping up my pace to even get close to my goal time.
The final distance for the race was slightly shy of the full 5K distance. My finish time was 20 minutes and 23 seconds, good for an average pace of 6:39. A little bit off the goal time, though a finish I should be proud of. I think I am proud of my performance, however, looking back on how I felt I could have done more. I had a few moments early in the run when I let my brain do too much thinking about the pain I was in which prolonged my settling time into my faster pace. I had more to give – I suffered no collapse and didn’t vomit across the finish line. I’d like to have this run back. I would absolutely push harder and break the 20 minute mark. Get out a stopwatch and time me tomorrow and I’ll do the same.
Post Race
I had to overcome more adversity than I expected to finish this race. I could have eased my pace to finish more comfortably, though I don’t think I could have looked at myself int he mirror had I done that. Nor could I have looked my sister in the eye and be proud of my performance. My stretch goal for the event was to finish in under an hour. My final time of 1:05:30 was good for 3rd place in my age group (by 1 second wow!) and was an overall 8 minute improvement over my first performance in this race 2 years ago. Cutting down 8 minutes in a longer event is a significant improvement. Cutting down 8 minutes in a sprint is an incredible feat. Yet, I’m left wanting more. I know that with some improvements in transitions and the performance I know I could have had in the bike + run would have gotten me a few minutes closer – it was the swim that set up the rest of my race and I feel held me back, scapegoat excuse or not.
I don’t know that my triathlon training will continue in the same earnest as it has for the last two years. What I do know is that I’m on the hook to do this event again, for both my own sanity and to do it with my other friend that has been convinced to do his first ever triathlon next year. I’m going to think back on my performance in this race from 2021 and be proud, but also use it as fuel for ironing out the little details and coming back with a vengeance. Next year I will break the 1 hour mark and finish the 5K in under 20 minutes. I’m ‘speaking’ it into existence to make it real.
Most importantly: always warm up the swim before the start of a race.
