An important aspect of racing triathlons is evaluating what happened after the fact.
I wanted to share an example of a post-race report, which I ask all my athletes to give me after each race.
It is an excellent way to celebrate the wins because there are always some, even when the race does not go as planned.
And it’s a great way to set the next training block goals with specific things to focus on.
Mark Testoni came to me last year ready to start training for his 1st triathlon.
The day before our first session, I got a call from his wife because he was in the hospital after being hit by a car on his bike!
He had some pretty serious shoulder and Achilles injuries and starting training would have to wait.
We worked on getting him healthy enough to attend the February 2024 Ultimate Tri Camp, where he leaned into learning about all the technique work with the video analysis and testing.
Over the past four months, he has worked very smart and hard to make it to the start and finish line of his 1st Triathlon.
Even though it did not go perfectly – he got a cramp in his hamstring on the run, which is his strength, and had to walk most of it – he still achieved the goal: feeling confident at the start, crossing the finish line, and feeling hungry for redemption at the next triathlon.
Congratulations, Mark! It’s official- you are a triathlete!
In true triathlete style, the road to success, just like life, is not linear.
Thanks so much for allowing me to share your report and trusting the process of my Triathlon Transformation training program
You did it!!!!
Here is his post-race report:
Pre-race/prep. Very positive. Build previous cycles felt good. Open water practice with Coach E and my own couple of sessions helped build a measure of confidence. Felt strong. Taper provided refreshed body. Ate clean days approaching race. Solid sleep Friday night b4. Saturday in bad at 8:30p rose at 3a. Solid 5+ hours of sleep according to whoop which is great for me when I heave early wake ups. Breakfast of 2 eggs and a small portion of oatmeal and blueberries. And a banana on the ride to KB. Consumed about 24oz of fluids event morning.
Arrived at venue early, followed warm up recommendations for run. Glute/hamstring was tight but no worse than previous few days. Set up was good. Didn’t forget anything. (Your checklist is great!). 200 yard warm up swim.
Swim. Confidence building to just do it. Conditions were perfect for a first time person. Calm.
Positives—completed it. Experience. Body contact with others. Never felt panicked. Stayed relaxed. Increased my freestyle time vs back swim over previous workouts in open water. Decent transit from ocean to transition area. Also feel like I’m doing better getting on my sides and driving some torque. Hard to imagine me doing this 4 months or so ago at camp—so thanks for bringing me this far.
Where I need to work. Just about everything related to form—catch. Kick consistency, core strength and maintaining body position. Need to keep building endurance. Among the slowest swimmers in the field. 217th out for 237. (At one point, I thought I saw a rock on the ocean floor pass me 😂).
Transition #1. Slow—bottom half of the field. Gear/nutrition sets up worked. Socks took time. Need more practice and work towards barefoot, at least for short events. Jogged out and got on bike fine.
Bike. Very solid.
Positives. Body felt good and strong. No issues coming off of swim. Good position. Ramped the speed up. Average 181 power, nominal power 200 and 21.6 mph. Cadence average 89. HR average 141. 42 seconds faster than May duathlon on same course. 29th out of 237 in field biking. Consumed a caffeine gel pack after the bridge turn. Consumed about 15 oz of fluids on the ride. Set up for the run well
Where I need to work. Looking forward to your cycling assessment. Body position, improve cadence. I can go faster given the engine.
Transition #2. Better, middle of field. Sat on ground. Nutrition and gear set up good. Jogged out of transition area.
Run. A tale of 2 cities … eased into the pace and the glute/hamstring and Achilles felt pretty good. Built to about an 8:45 or so pace. At .8 mile water station with a turn,I made a bit of an awkward moves reaching for a cup of water and felt the hamstring pull/strain. Could not continue the pace. Slowed to a walk for a bit. Worked to stretch it a bit as I walked. Intermittent jog/ walk for the next mile. Was able to build to a slow jog the last mile brought the pace up to between 10-11 minute mile. Labored across the finish. 10+ minutes slower than May duathlon on same course.
Positives. We did everything we could to get the injured glute/hamstring ready. Took the chance — Wasn’t meant to be. Good cadence out the gate. Very pleased with how I eased into it. After the injury, battled it to finish without causing further damage.
Where I need to work. Need to get the leg past these minor injuries and look forward to your assessment of my form etc. I can run well—at least historically—just need to get a good healthy baseline and build.
Overall. Conquered the swim and battled through an injury. Learned a lot. So great to interact with other FCC athletes and see them podium and do so well yesterday. At
The beginning of the journey and ever confident to get better.
Post race day—getting the hamstring massaged today. Full massage later in the week. Compression pants
Thanks for your coaching to get me through this first event!
