My First Tri: Don Nolting, Austin Triathlon Club Ambassador

My first triathlon was actually a fluke so-to-speak. The 2016 Rookie Tri (300m swim, 11.2-mile bike, 2-mile run), was my attempt to help a friend, and myself, lose weight (I was 41 and 255 pounds at 6’1.5”). He thought a sprint triathlon would be a fun way to do it since he liked to swim. This probably wouldn’t have been a problem if, 1) we would have decided more than a month before the triathlon were to take place to sign up 2) I hadn’t just undergone bilateral knee surgeries #4 & #5 six months prior, and 3) if I owned a bike.
 
I didn’t have much time to train, but plenty of time to worry. I was still rehabbing from knee surgery, and given the short time to train, I focused on swimming and riding. While all my doctors discourage running with my knee issues, swimming and biking are highly suggested. The biggest thing for me was to not over train the month before the tri and be so sore and fatigued that I wouldn’t be able to race.
 
Since I knew how to swim, I focused on that. The good news: the swim distance was only 300 meters. The bad news: the swim distance of 300 meters doesn’t seem like much until you try to swim it. I started in the pool and then made sure to swim in a few different open water spots around Austin. Barton Springs became my really cold friend. I was having trouble freestyle swimming, so I focused on the breaststroke and worked on perfecting my form while training. The biking was a whole different beast. I didn’t own a bike when I signed up for the tri, so I took advantage of all of the spring bike sales in Austin. I chose a hybrid bike as a starter bike, and got in plenty of rides during the month.  I even rode the bike course a few times and struggled with those “Rookie” course hills. Since I planned to speed-walk the run, I only worked on increasing my overall fitness for that. In the end, I was pretty happy with where I was feeling after the bike rides, but I wasn’t confident about my swimming.
 
Race day showed up really fast! From a tip I had read on lots of tri websites, I laid out my transition and equipment the night before. I was sure I had everything, but, 5 AM comes early. I was nervous, but the pre-race stretches helped calm my nerves. Waiting in line to get into the water was where the nerves sprung up again. The wind was really strong on race day, gusting to 20-25 mph into our face. The open water had small white caps and looked rough. Many of the guys in my age group were nervously chatting about how they hadn’t practiced swimming in open water. That would come back to bite them. I was towards the back of the line going into the water, and I observed A LOT of people grabbing the lifeguard canoes and the buoys. The water was rough and I got my goggles kicked a few times. I was glad I had practiced breaststroke since the water so rough. I don’t think I could have freestyled in that water. I felt good after my swim and was proud I had completed it without taking any breaks or needing any assistance. The path to transition was a long uphill path, so I took my time so I didn’t injure my knees at all.
 
Transition went pretty smoothly and I felt good getting onto my bike. The first 1.5 miles went well. However, once I turned into the head wind, it was like I put a sail on my back and I was going head-first into a wall and barely moving. I was happy to get back to transition, but wasn’t looking forward to the “run”. My legs were gassed, and I hadn’t really practiced going from cycling to a run or walk. Big mistake! That 2 miles seemed like 20. In addition, it had recently rained, so the course was muddy and changed to include some hills that were rough on my knees. I wasn’t taking any chances with my knees so soon after surgery, so I walked the hills, but (against my doctor’s orders and my better judgement) slow-jogged the flatter sections. Finally coming around the last bend helped me pick up the pace and finish strong. My goal was to finish my first Rookie Tri in 90 minutes, and I missed it by only 3 minutes. I was tired and sore, but proud that I had finished.
 
Unfortunately, that tri really slowed down my knee rehab. It took me about a year to feel right again in order to train for another race. I got back into riding my bike and started swimming again in late 2017. I joined the Austin Tri Club in the spring of 2018 and have really started to push myself and my training thanks to the group. They support and motivate me as I safely train for aquabike challenges (no more running...ever) and I enjoy cheering on my club-mates as they compete too.

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