Tomorrow I'm attempting the Carolina Beach Double Sprint Tri - a swim-run-bike-run-swim. This morning I headed down to CB for a pre-race shake-out. I met Renee G and Beth G. at the elementary school. We warmed up with a bike ride, jumped in the car, rode down to the beach, jumped in the water, swam for five minutes and then ran half of the run course - including a jaunt around the lake.
We had a great time casing the joint and I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow. This race is billed as the very first Formula One style sprint on the east coast. At 14-years-old, it's one of the longest-running tri events in N.C. This is the first year at CB. Here's how a formula one race works:
The beautiful thing about non-traditional triathlons is that race organizers are free to design innovative swim/bike/run combinations that best suit their community. In a Formula One triathlon, the race is divided up into multiple legs -- as many as six or eight -- in different swim/bike/run combinations. Formula One races are also called "super sprints" because they combine several short, fast legs instead of the longer endurance challenges of a traditional triathlon.
Aside from the 375yard swim + 1.5 mile run + 12(ish) mile bike + 1.5 mile run + 375 yard swim, I'm facing a few daunting details.
FIRST: Instead of two transitions, this one has FIVE. After the swim, I'll squeeze through the beach transition where I'll slide on my run shoes and head for the elementary school. From there, I'll grab my helmet and bike and head out on the bike course. I'll do two 5+ mile loops, head back to transition, rack my bike and slide back into my run shoes. I'll head east on the same run course and at the beach transition, toss my shoes, don swim cap and goggles and jump back in the ocean.
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| This might be what it looks like. |
SECOND: Did I mention it's an ocean swim? Did I mention that said ocean is currently 65 degrees? Did I mention I'm not wearing a wetsuit? I tried it this morning and the first 30 seconds were not pretty. I strung together more cuss words than I ever have before. I couldn't catch my breath and so fortunately, no one could understand said curses. I do plan on a "warm-up" in the water to diminish the shock of the first swim - but I imagine the second swim will be another expletive-laden entry from hot run to cold swim.
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| Practice Your Cornering. Don't Have Cone? Use a Water Bottle |
THIRD: It's a technical, short course. There is a dune to run up after the first and last swim. The run is a curvy out and back with a few right angles and the bike has at least four sharp left turns (including the turn-arounds at the cones)!
