Anderson,SC Olympic Triathlon race report

Set out to do my first Olympic distance triathlon back in June. Well, the training plan began in June but I had the idea over the winter, having complete a few Sprint distance races. When I first started swimming, I could not go 100 yards without stopping. This race promised a daunting 1500 yard swim! Earlier this year in February I joined the Cherokee Aquatic Center, which turned out to be a huge benefit not only for convenience but for motivation. It's nice to know I can get a swim in any time of year although I wish they had the full 50 yard lanes year around, except 25 yard lanes during school season. Swim training consisted of the Zero to 1 Mile program which slowly builds the swimmer up to a mile swim over 6 weeks. After that I began working on speed in the water with the CSS program, namely the Goldilocks set, where I swim as fast as I can at threshold for 200 yards, 300 yards, and 400 yards with 20 second breaks. Swimming was my main focus in the training plan because I felt that it was my weakest and least experienced discipline. I spent 3 days a week swimming, sometimes 4. I broke down the days into speed work, technical skills training, and long swim. Usually I would get my run or bike training in right after the swim for a mini-brick. My training plan was time-based instead of distance-based, the first time I've used such a plan. The plan was described as good for someone that was a beginner endurance athlete, which I am not. In hindsight, I believe the plan could have included more focus in the areas of dedicated speed work. Another boon in the swimming arena was discovering the Swim With Pete group that meets at Lake Allatoona in Cartersville. They are a group of swimmers and triathletes that meet twice a month for group swims of anywhere from a mile to 10 miles I believe. Pete has been swimming for 70 years or so and is a real character! Another great aspect I'm noticing is that the Tri community is helpful and friendly. Everyone, including myself, seems to love to talk about their training, favorite races, and offer insightful tips. The biggest benefit is swimming with other people in open water, which helps to simulate a triathlon start. It's also nice that they have kayakers in the water to help if needed. Swimming with the group has helped ease my anxiety in open water. My wife Renee has also been supportive going kayaking along with me as I swim.
Biking and running took less focus because I feel well-established in those areas. I had 2 bikes and 2 runs a week on this plan with 2 full days rest! Again, as with the swim, I would do shorter more intense efforts and longer, slower efforts with each discipline. My goal was to keep this training as simple and effective as possible. The bike distance in this race is 26 miles and the run distance 6 miles. For the most part, I felt decent on the bike although the course had some surprising hills. I would usually catch everyone on the hills then they'd pass me on their tri bikes on the flats and downhills. For this race, I relied on my Windsor road beater. It's been a good training bike over the past 2 years. Maybe next year I'll upgrade the bike but that brings to mind a great quote,"Don't buy upgrades, go up grades." Drank fluids well on the bike and generally managed around a 18-19 mph pace. Again, pacing is difficult to know as a beginner. How much juice should I save for run versus how hard should I go on the bike? I think only experience will tell. Transition from swim to bike was decent, taking into account the wetsuit. Had to stuff swim gear in swim bag so that took extra time. Had a running mount with shoes on feet instead of bike. Need to work on mounting with shoes clipped in for time savings.
Transition to run was less than desirable as I couldn't get clipped out of shoes for running dismount. Then T2 was jumbled and crowded. My race belt was jammed under a bike tire. Helmet and glasses fell off bars a few times. Not. Quick. Run was good at about an 8 minute pace. Consistently held this pace and felt I couldn't have pushed much more. Run training had fallen off due to back injury 8 weeks prior so not expecting much. Lost a place in the run and wound up 9 out of 14 AG. Disappointing result but there's always next time.
Overall this is one of the best races I've ever been to as Rev3 is a class act. Sure the price was up there but the experience and swag make up for it. I like the nice little touches like funny sayings in the porta-potties and Transition areas and personalized nameplates in Transition areas.
Definitely recommended!