Newcomer Capers

Tips, Tricks, and the Most Beautiful Race
 
With only one year of triathlon experience, Emilio Apey has already amassed a number of tips and tricks— some serious, some tongue-in-cheek, all very real—for the novice triathlete.

Tip 1: Don’t make windsurfing part of your brick workouts (or: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of GU).
Emilio actually intended to begin his triathlon career two years ago, but he suffered from plantar fascitis, then a hamstring injury, and finally a strained shoulder blade from windsurfing in Hawaii. And although he completed Mrs. T’s last year, Emilio strained his ankle the day before while riding his mountain bike to Foster Beach to cheer for a friend participating in the SuperSprint. The lesson here? Pay attention at those injury prevention clinics!

Tip 2: Don’t use the actual race to try out your new bike.
Like many triathletes and cyclists, Emilio took advantage of the bargains offered at the Chicago Bike Show and purchased a new bike there. Just before Galena, he gave his bike a (note the unfortunate use of the singular here) spin, only to discover that his new cycling shoes were wrong for his new pedals. He exchanged his shoes, but it wasn’t until the actual race that Emilio’s bike computer crossed over from fractions of a mile into the single digits.

Because of the Galena terrain, Emilio warns, “You need to be pretty knowledgeable about gears.” Seasoned veterans know that because the Galena start is uphill, riders should begin with their bikes in low gear. Emilio, however, was neither a veteran nor particularly seasoned, and started off in high gear. His HR monitor beeped frantically, but Emilio didn’t need that device to know that he was exceeding his target heart rate zone. He never really recovered from his inauspicious start and felt exhausted throughout the ride and the following run.

After Galena, Emilio vowed to put in some mileage and to become more familiar with his road bike before his next triathlon.

Tip 3: Don’t listen to spectators.
One Galena spectator told an agonized and exhausted Emilio that he had only one more mile to go in the race. “Well, she was lying,” says Emilio. He then passed a boulder proclaiming “Jesus Saves!” Emilio’s response? “Jesus can’t help me now!”

Tip 4: Check your gender.
Emilio was only able to do Galena because someone transferred her entry to him. Key word being her: Emilio had a woman’s wave and a woman’s number. The race officials changed his wave—but not his race number. So in addition to racking his bike among Hello Kitty and Power Puff Girls balloons, Emilio’s spot in the transition area was far, far away from everyone else in his own wave.

See—even sanctioned race transfers are problematic! Sign up for the races you want to compete in before they reach capacity!

Tip 5: Know the race course—and how to get home from the race.
After last year, Emilio has a new appreciation for navigation. In addition to familiarizing yourself with the race course (see tip 2 above, racking your bike in low gear when the race begins with an incline), it is almost as important to find your way home after the competition. After Galena, all Emilio could think about was convalescing at home. He knew that wouldn’t be anytime soon when his driving companions pointed out the “Welcome to Wisconsin” sign. On the plus side, when they retraced their route, Team Emilio was able to cheer for those participants who were just finishing the course.

One final note: Emilio took what he learned from Galena and persuaded his relay team to drive the Lake Geneva course the day before the race. Unfortunately, they got lost.

Tip 6: Bring your running insoles to the race.
Sure, these aren’t as important as your bike pedals, but obviously Emilio needs to add these to his race-day checklist. (And pay more attention to injury prevention?)

Tip 7: Wearing your bike helmet slows down your run.
At Pleasant Prairie, Emilio was the first in his wave to T2, and he “really got going” on the second half of the bike course. He came to a screeching halt in the transition area and was running out within 48 seconds. “The only problem there,” says Emilio, “is that I forgot to take my helmet off.” He didn’t even realize he was still wearing his headgear until some race volunteers pointed it out. Emilio just threw off his helmet on the spot. (One of the volunteers retrieved it and returned it to the transition area.)

Tip 8: Avoid parking garages when driving with a bike on your car’s rooftop rack.
When Emilio agreed to do the running portion of Lake Geneva as part of a relay with two other friends, he didn’t realize how lucky he was. His friends either misjudged the height of the parking garage or forgot about their cargo—in any case, they hit a pipe in the parking garage and broke the bike’s shifter. They didn’t have time to repair it, so Emilio’s friend had to ride the entire bike course with the gear in the big ring. (Still, their team placed fourth!)

Tip 9: Don’t overdo it.
Last season, Emilio did three triathlons in three weeks. “I’m still paying for that,” Emilio says—one year later!

Tip 10: Overhydration can slow you down during the race.
During the Pucón Half Ironman, Emilio drank too much water. Proof? He had to make three (3) pit stops during the bike course alone. Transition that!

The Final Tip: Sign up for “the most beautiful race in the world.”
Since Emilio hails from Santiago, Chile, the Pucón Half-Ironman—dubbed by Inside Triathlon (April 2003, vol. 18, issue 4) “the most beautiful race in the world”—seemed like his ideal event. In fact, when he was young, Emilio and his family vacationed in Pucón. The region is hilly but its natural splendor more than compensates for the challenging terrain.

Emilio escaped the Chicago winter and did some training in Miami, but he confesses that the city’s night life was a distraction. He did a lot of swimming but never rode his bike longer than two hours (the early sunset and those pesky social events really cut into his saddle time). Because he hadn’t run since October, Emilio decided that his Pucón race would comprise only swimming and biking. He arrived in Chile a week before the race. In the first several days there, he ran once (slowly, for an hour), biked one loop of the bike course, and did a few swims. But it was at the actual race itself that Emilio did his farthest-ever swim and bike ride.

Too pumped to quit at T2, Emilio laced up his running shoes in the transition area and headed out on the running course. Because of its three loops, Emilio points out, “you are actually running for a while with the pros!”

After the race, Emilio took advantage of an inexpensive two-hour massage and relaxed in the nearby freshwater hot springs. “My legs felt better then than they do now,” Emilio said nostalgically.

Drusilla Moorhouse is an avid cyclist, ailurophile, and writer continuing her foray into the world of multisport. You can contact her at
pageproof@aol.com