Bienvenidos a Miami! Welcome to South Beach everyone. I hope you are enjoying the warm weather, the good food and drink, and the festive atmosphere of this truly unique place.
Congratulations on being here to participate in the 3rd Annual Nautica South Beach Triathlon!! For many of you it will be your first triathlon and for some, the start to another successful triathlon season. This is the time to enjoy the whole experience of being in South Beach; meet new people and experience South Beach by sea, land, and sand.
This is my 3rd year doing this race, and I look forward every winter to making the pilgrimage to the warmer waters of Miami where the heat is on.
Here are some tips for those who are racing the Nautica South Beach Triathlon for the first time:
• Study the race course and walk through part of it if you can. The swim is a short one and you will be able to see where you exit the water and run into the transition area to get your bike.
• Practice running into the ocean and imagine being surrounded by dozens of others. Don’t worry. The water is warm and feels great!
• Take note of where your bike is located on race morning, and do a dry run through getting your bearings and making sure you’ll be able to locate your bike (there will be many bikes, and when wet, water logged, and running it can be tough to locate your bike).
• The bike is an out and back, very beautiful and very fast. Your body will take some time to adjust from using the arms in the swim to using legs on the bike, so don’t go too hard out of the gates. Put your bike in an easier gear and spin those legs for awhile and get your breathing under control.
• The only hills on the bike course are the ones over the causeways, but they can be fairly steep and go on for awhile, so respect them. The good news is that after an uphill there is always a downhill!
• There are limited aid stations on the bike, so make sure you have a bottle cage on your bike with bottles of fluids (water, Gatorade, CarboPro, etc). You’ll know you’re getting close to Transition 2 when you hear the fans screaming and you approach the Art-Deco Hotels of Ocean Drive. It’s time for the run. You’re almost there!
• Be careful coming into T2. Slow down and be sure to dismount before the line as instructed by the officials. Rack your bike and put on those running shoes!
• The transition from bike to run is tough and your legs may feel like tree trunks initially when you start running. Stay relaxed, drink some water, and try to make your strides long. Shake out those legs. Things will start to feel better soon.
• It’s a four mile out and back run. This means once you hit the turnaround at 2 miles, you are almost home! As you run back towards the finish line you will see others still heading out to the turnaround. Shout to them and give them encouragement. It will help motivate you as well! Slap them high five! Good job!
• Make sure you are smiling because the race photographers will be poised along the final stretch and finish line to capture your moment of triumph in completing a triathlon!
I look forward to seeing you out there on the course. If you see me say hi, and I’ll be sure to say hi back.
Good luck everyone! You’ve trained for this, trust your preparation, and most of all, have fun!!!
0 COMMENTS
No comments added.