Jackie Kallal Sprint Tri – June 14, 2008
Format: 1/2mile/9.5/3.5
The weather couldn’t have been better – a slightly cool & grey start turning to a beautifully sunny day in the 70s. Yellow Creek State Park, outside of Indiana Pa, is a great venue – the park is well maintained and the water is pleasant. I chose this race initially because it’s near where my husband went to college and the grandparents are close by to help out with our kids. A friend from the DC Tri Club also made the trip north. It’s nice to have a buddy with you.
I’ve been waiting for this race on 2 fronts. 1) It’s a repeat of the first tri I ever did. I was anxious to see what improvements I made in a year’s time. 2) Despite all my hard work, this is the race where it all falls apart.
If you think you have enough time to read about all the things that went wrong in the swim, continue on. I rode my bike recklessly in a desperate attempt to salvage my poor swim. I nearly quit the run, but couldn’t bear a DNF for a non-mechanical or injury related stoppage.
I showed up hoping to place overall. I lost any chance before my feet even got wet. This event was my first OWS this year, with only 2 others total on my resume. This was also my first wetsuit swim. I practiced with my suit in the pool and no problems. I should have heeded the warning bells when I stood on the beach tugging at the neck and reopening the zipper for any last chance at normal breathing. The horn blew and it seemed to start okay. At some point, my panic alarm sounded & I could not find the off button. No stroke would do, couldn’t put my face in the water, sound & fury all around, and worse yet, I could see my color caps had passed the turn around and were headed in. I wrestled with the water to the turn around buoy. I managed to get some freestyle in, albeit one sided breathing. However, every time I sighted, I was swimming off to the left. I finally made it to land, exhausted, nauseated, & hyperventilating. The only thing I remember about transition was that I was fully prepared to chew my wetsuit off if I couldn’t get my feet out soon. Fortunately, I didn’t have to resort to that.
The bike was just bad, the saving grace was that it was only 10miles. It had one real climb on it and my quads were screaming things I never heard them say before. My upper body was still shaking and I was at a loss. I made it to the turn around, which was a hairpin on a narrow country road – quite technical for lesser skilled bike handlers (and today that was me). I was seriously contemplating cutting my loss at T2. I started to feel like myself just when it was time to get off my bike.
The run turned out to be rubbing salt in the wound. I stopped for a moment to weigh my options, but decided to at least finish & call it a workout. A half mile into it the nausea was back and on came the stomach sloshing. I hydrated well the day before and tried to limit my morning intake. Despite that, I had to run to the beat of blip, bloop, blump in my tummy. After crossing the finish line, I continued my run straight to the ladies room. I did win my age group, but I was so disappointed in my mental preparation, that I struggled to feel gracious.
Oversimplifying my issues, I need help with OWS panic management and hydration for lead-up & race day. It occurred to me later that I may in fact had a true panic attack (I could say yes to all). I still had trouble breathing deeply well into that evening. I plan to get out to Cunningham Falls for some lake swim practice, but I’d love some advice. I have the Pittsburgh Tri in 5 weeks and now I’m extremely concerned about a swim with a current.
Your Truly,
Michele