Trial & Error

I raced the John Tanner sprint triathlon this morning in Carrollton GA. The weather was a bit chilly for the natives today, but 50 degrees was plenty warm for me. Its an hour and a half drive to get to the race venue but there are benefits to the long drive…ie; one can think. Some things that excited me about this race was the sprint distance, zero pressure and an opportunity to meet some other triathletes in Atlanta. My aspirations were non-existent, although I went in trying my best as always. Im new to Atlanta and the words that keep ringing in my head when I go out to train with others is; “Ryan, leave your ego at home or you will find yourself training alone.” So I have with the exception of the pool, as I have people there to push me, and I had my ass handed to me climbing the mountains with what I hope to be my new training partners. Im allergic to hills, what can I say…it’s a limiter, and if someone is willing to push and help me in the pool, Im all for it!

So why do a sprint after coming off of Syracuse, Clear Water and a PR at the Miami half? Why not?! After discussing triathlon with others and talking about pipe dreams, it was said to try shorter distances and work on speed. Again, Im new to the area, and to this sport so I will listen to those who are willing to give advice and have experience. Well…sprints are much MUCH different than a 70.3…duh right? Fine, I can accept that and grow from it. Not every race is going to be stellar and not every race is going to go as planned. This distance however…not my style; that I know for certain.

The swim is usually not a leg of the race I like to emphasize, but I feel many inroads have been made in this area for me. I try not to put numbers up as I see it only being a way to inflate one’s ego, but I have done fairly well in my mind for only being in the water a short time. So a 600 swim…easy…go hard and move on to the fun part…BIKE! Honestly, I was thinking around 8minutes at the most… NOTTTTTTTTT!!!

About 200yds into the swim I had enough. Enough getting kicked, punched, swam over, grabbed, goggles getting pulled off (not knocked off, pulled off) and anything else you can imagine. So I picked my head up to see if I could find a lane and got clobbered again. Typical triathlon right? Maybe, but in the longer distances, things tend to thin out and you can usually find a lane or at least a semi clear path. As I breast stroked and watched the leaders pull away, I thought, now I understand why pro’s will sometimes drop out of a race. I did, I really did. Never before had I ever considered stopping, but this was not letting up and it seemed futile to keep getting beat up. I also realized that with such a short bike and run, there was no way catching anyone would be feasible. So why continue??? Then I heard her. (My buddy Bergin Smith who just started triathlons last fall) She is an amazing girl who took to this sport with reckless abandon and her enthusiasm and incredible attitude immediately engulfed me as we became friends.

Bergin designed a shirt for me and posted it on FB last year when I was suffering from some serious injuries and thought I wouldn’t be able to cross the line at Clearwater. It had a “DNF” with a circle and line through it. Pretty much my motto as I battled through injury after injury and repeatedly said, no matter what, I will always finish the race. So I put my goggles back on, head down and started to swim to the finish. I had to finish or I would let my young friend down. Im glad I didn’t stop because of a bad swim. Thank you Bergin!!!

On the drive home, (remember its long and I can think) I told myself no more sprints. Too clustered, too short for me to go hunting on the bike, but a great start to the season as it tested my mental toughness…something that is very important when doing anything in life, not just triathlon.

I haven’t given up on the shorter distance and will try the Olympic once again, but I would be lying if I said that my entry to a nearby 70.3 wouldn’t be in by the end of this month. My plan is to get some much needed help on my nutrition, start talking about serious coaching and set some real goals. Oh, and upgrade Chicky as everyone had some sweet wheels on their bikes and Chicky definitely deserves them. She doesn’t have an inferiority complex, especially as we pass them, but we both agree they look awesome!! Maybe some new bars too!!!

At the end of the day, I highly recommend the John Tanner sprint triathlon! It was well ran, well marked, well staffed and an awesome venue! Kudos to the race director, Im impressed!!

See you soon HIM…