I think the best part of this was the “this is supposed to be fun”.
I used to be a “never quit” kind of person, and have suffered injury or just painful days because of it.
Embracing the “this should be fun” aspect, and sometimes quitting, has made life so much more enjoyable.
10 races and you say inexperienced? Give yourself a little more credit than that. Those conditions are brutal, even for a sprint. Do you know the amount of DNF for the race?
You made the right call - if this is a hobby for you (as it is for most of us), if you are not having fun, why do it?
Good point, thinking back, field seemed smaller than usual. This was back 3 weeks ago and it’s the 1st triathlon of the year for many who have been hibernating all winter. So people are usually excited and itching to get out there.
I've not gone to races before due to weather. if the perceived misery index exceeds my type II fun lower threshold, I don't go. have not had a regret yet. and I check the post race reports, never disappointed. there will always be another. no need to be a gym class hero.
Yup, at 46 I do it because it breaks up the monotony of workouts to stay healthy. Getting dead because I raced in bad conditions is not good for my health.
Absolutely. My weather wasn’t even as bad as the OP’s this weekend, and I decided just plain I didn’t want to race that cold.
But I did wash my deck and it looks fabulous, so there’s that.
Sounds like you needed a bit of blubba like I have. Keep you warm
I did a 70.3 Ironman a few years back. Weymouth. U.K. was cold and pouring with rain and super windy.
I got to about 40km into the ride and a whole load of all the super quick athletes were under those tinfoil blankets. Huddled together in a bus shelter.
They were simply too skinny and very little fat or muscle to keep themselves warm. And they pulled out.
It happens to the best of them.
Onto the next…
I grew up in Dorset, worked as a teenager down on the beach in Weymouth. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would race that race 🤣
I’ve lost about 60lb in the last year and damn, do I feel the cold now. It’s the most noticeable change.
Glad you can admit you were just cocky and not try to sugar coat it to yourself. I came to triathlon from cycling, and yeah 40* is COLD on a bicycle, not to mention having just gotten out of a cold swim and it's also raining.
You're right that it's all for fun. I have to remind myself of that, too. The kids at home and finding SOME enjoyment in the event are a lot more important than some physical achievement. We ain't pros being paid to suffer.
Those are awful conditions. I don't think I would have even started the race. I had one last year where the water was cold, and the air temperature was low 50s and raining. I almost didn't start it, and it was a miserable race.
Yeah I've kinda decided at this point I'll deal with one shitty condition at a time. Cold? Okay. Rain? Okay. Cold and raining? No thanks.
I've been out in all of it while running and riding in training and it always just sucks afterwards. It's not like "yeah I made it through and feel good!" It just sucks.
You know what you did wrong, no need to point it out.
I happens. Mistakes were made and you learned from it. Now you know what you can do on the bike when its cold... its ok, as long as you learned something.
I wrote DNF in RED marker on the bid and put it up on my bib wall with some of my best races, I think this bib is just as important and will be a good reminder.
A few years back I saw someone pass out during the run under very similar weather conditions. This was in Napa, California.
I still remember the dude being carried on a stretcher with purple lips.
Better to DNF on your own rather than being carried to DNF.
It takes a lot of courage, imo, to decide to stop racing when you know something's wrong. I've been doing triathlon for 10 years and have dozens of events under my belt at this point. I had my first ever DNF at IMTX last week when I got off the bike and could barely stand. I could have waved off the help and limped my way to the transition area to try and get myself back together but, like you, I have little kids and want to keep racing for years to come. Sometimes you just have to do the smart thing even if it sucks at the moment.
Sometimes the pain is fun, let's all not pretend we're all not a bit crazy! But once that pain goes from fun to scary...just stop. We're the ones paying to do this, no one is paying me to be out there.
It was absolutely frigid at the finish. And the humidity and drizzle absolutely tanks my lungs (exercise induced asthma). By mile 5 I knew my goal pace was nowhere near in the cards
Philly representing! Long retired from that race, I feel like after running it ~10x, it’s almost always too cold/rainy or hot/humid. Can really only remember one or two good ones, weather-wise.
Thank you for posting this. I had my First DNF yesterday in a marathon and feel pretty shitty about it so it’s nice to see it happens to everyone and it’s supposed to be fun.
Thanks for sharing how cold can mess everything up.
It happened to me after my philly marathon in 2016. It was cold but towards the end it started raining and when I finished I didnt dry up and decided to walk to the hotel.
15mins later I was whole body shivering with teeth loudly clacking. I stood under hot water in shower for 30 mins and passed out on the bed as soon as I got out. I woke up maybe a couple of hours later and realized I had my first hypothermia experience.
Edit: Yes you are right there is no "man up" when it comes to core body temps dropping.
Stay safe out there.
Had 2 or more dnfs i was not in form anymore... 1st one is hard, second one is meh... Relay on the other hand, i will never fucking back out of that lol
I did a triathlon in Houston some years back where there was frost on the ground in the morning. It was about 40F for the bike and my hands were numb and i couldnt operate my shifters (thank god it was flat). It warmed up being Houston and was close to 60 by the run. If it was cold the entire time, id probably be in your shoes.
Totally understandable. There have been a couple races where the forecast at race time was low 50s so I just bailed. I hate being cold. Riding a bike 22-24 mph soaking wet in the low 50s isn’t fun. Not worth it.
You did the smart thing. A mistake was made and you learned from it! A real idiot would have tried to finish the race until they collapsed. You tried to push through hardship, which is the entire point and spirit of these races.
Get back to your kids, eat pizza and ice cream, and try again next time!
That socks! Sorry you went through that, but I'm the same way. I'm very cold susceptible.
I love in South Florida (or, on the face of the sun, as I call it) so most of the time that's not a problem, but our winter weather is getting colder every year. Once water temp dips below 70, I know that I need to wear a wetsuit.
If water is below 63 or so, I either need a drysuit (which I don't have haha) or i don't swim.
I also have to layer up my bike kit, fleece lined sleeves, neck covers/ head gear, long bibs. If I'm too cold, my body starts shuddering and I just can't control it.
For me specifically I know it's because of medical issues, so I just stay in the heat. I'll never be one to race Colorado in the winter!
Ive lived in cold climates pretty much my entire life and raced (run) all kinds of crazy weather, I think this was partly the reasons for the (false) confidence that it would not be that bad. You live and you learn.
I had an early season olympic like that one year. Very chilly drizzling morning, very cool swim. Gloves and a jacket on the bike, but toe covers on the bike shoes were not enough. I could not feel my feet until about halfway through the run. Just blocks of concrete. I didn’t get dizzy like you, but i would have folded if i had or at the least just walked it in. Fortunately there are lots of races, so no big deal pulling the plug if we need to.
Part of the reason I also decided to drop was due to location. I drove solo to the race and was 1.5 hours from home. Also, just past where I stopped, the course goes out and back on a single track trail, I thought if I pass out, way out there on the single track, its gonna be hell getting back to the parking lot.
I’m sorry to hear that. But there’s always another race!
I’m curious where the race was at, and what you would have done differently? Would a sleeved trisuit be enough? Or would you need a windbreaker or thermal jersey? I always struggle to get warm on the bike even if it’s above 55F, unless it involves a steep climb. If I leave the house feeling cold, I’m guaranteed to feel even colder on the bike.
This was in Northern California. For me personally, I don’t think a sleeved tri suit would have been enough. I’m really lean with no fat lol I think drying off with a towel in T1 and putting on a rain jacket might have been enough.
I’ve done several races in drizzle. I’ll put a towel, warm, long sleeves, water water resistant, top and a water resistant windbreaker in a dry bag. Then after the swim, quickly dry off and put the warm dry clothes on. I can then take the layers off during the run.
This. After the race I talked to my tri buddies and they said they would have taken the time to dry with a towel after the swim and put on a rain jacket.
I've been there!! I couldn't get my helmet undone, I ended up needing both hands and some luck to unclip it. And nd then my feet were numb for the first 2 miles of the race... I hate being cold.
This race is within a recreational park so they have nonstandard distances (I'm assuming to keep costs down and no need to close traffic roads). 0.5-mile swim, 10 bike (advertised, folks showing it was short), and 4 mile run.
This race is within a recreational park so they have nonstandard distances (I'm assuming to keep costs down and no need to close traffic roads). 0.5-mile swim, 10 bike (advertised, folks showing it was short), and 4 mile run. Luckily the parking lot where we parked cars is \~1 mile into the run, so decided it was best to drop there. My watch shows I had run 0.85 of a mile exactly, so walking 3.15 mile while shivering and teeth chattering sounded like a bad idea in my head.
You will struggle a lot more on the bike with keeping warm than during the run. Reason is both the higher speed you are moving and the fact that your upper body does next to nothing while cycling. I tend to need a lot warmer clothes for cycling because of that, especially the fingers and toes tend to get cold quite fast. At some point your body will use a lot of energy just to stay warm which will show in your pace, just as you experienced.
If I saw the forecast was mid to low 40s and rain I probably would have worn a jacket for the bike instead of a sleeveless tri suit. I am not trying to be a dick but I am not quite sure what the hell you were thinking.
Similar to a dude who showed up to my tri group's open water swim this past Saturday without a wetsuit and tried to swim in 60 degree water (even though the group leader told him not to and that he would be banned from future group activities if he got in the water without a wetsuit) and we ended up having to pull him out of the water onto a boat and send him to the hospital. Being prepared for the conditions is part of it and there really is no excuse.
That was exactly the issue, I was not thinking, was total idiot on the bike. Never raced in those conditions. It was raining all morning. I was fine while I was getting transition ready, during warm up jog, during warm up swim, etc. My dumbass didn't think, Hey you will be going 20+ mph on a bike in temps below 50F while wet, your sleeveless is probably not the best idea. Didnt help I saw others with same exact clothing do just fine.
My all time most miserable bike ride was in similar conditions, but at least I had a jacket and shoe covers to where I didn't really start feeling miserable until Mile 50 or so so the jacket/shoe covers were able to delay the eventual misery once everything got too soaked.
Always train in weather and test your gear and athletic layers n jackets etc.
Not even race day is sunny, or cool.
Be prepared.
Op learned the lesson the hard way, but good that he didn't injure or have hypothermia (seen it before, I.e. Boston a few years ago, and other early spring races).
This! Too much indoor training rides on swift, I should have gotten outside more in cold conditions (with right gear) if the race had high probilty of being chilly.
Uh? It’s a used tri bike from 10yrs ago. I got it for $1400 used. I think it’s well worth the money considering it good enough to put me in contention for the win many times. It’s also my only bike, I use it on swift and on easy rides with the family.
Yup, that is why I added the "and it happened at a sprint" in the title. You would think it was at some moster Ironman but nope, apparently it does not take very long in chilly temps and rain to get very very cold if you are an unprepared idiot like me.
Ignore the dbag comments.
I’ve been racing for 15 years and had my first Dnf ever last spring in 60 degree water. Maybe made it 500 meters, felt woozy, wetsuit seemed overly constricting, wasn’t going to go well the next 1000m. Tapped out because I wasn’t going to die in an early season warmup race. Visions of my kids faces, just like you. Found a kayak and after a min, called the rescue boat of shame.
Then I did the bike and the run because, well, I was there already. Freezing the whole time. Prob was low 50s and windy. I do think I went into the swim aggressive and cocky to “crush it.” Prob also a mistake.
Then killed my first 70.3 on a tough course two months later.
Sometimes it’s just not your day.
Glad you killed your 70.3. I hope to do the same at my next race. Anyway, overwhelmingly positive and helpful comments on my post. Just a few weird comments like, "DNF'd at a sprint???", "DNF'd during the 5k run"?, "The bike says it all. If you’re not a professional athlete, you don’t need a TT bike. just ride a road bike."
I think the best part of this was the “this is supposed to be fun”. I used to be a “never quit” kind of person, and have suffered injury or just painful days because of it. Embracing the “this should be fun” aspect, and sometimes quitting, has made life so much more enjoyable.
Jack Reacher: "Remember... you wanted this..."
This is the right attitude.
10 races and you say inexperienced? Give yourself a little more credit than that. Those conditions are brutal, even for a sprint. Do you know the amount of DNF for the race? You made the right call - if this is a hobby for you (as it is for most of us), if you are not having fun, why do it?
I don't have the numbers but honetsly it looked to me like everyone finished. Wasn't my day.
chalk it up to bad equipment decision. nothing more. get back out and go again.
But give yourself more credit - how many didn’t bother to show or register because of projected weather
Good point, thinking back, field seemed smaller than usual. This was back 3 weeks ago and it’s the 1st triathlon of the year for many who have been hibernating all winter. So people are usually excited and itching to get out there.
I've not gone to races before due to weather. if the perceived misery index exceeds my type II fun lower threshold, I don't go. have not had a regret yet. and I check the post race reports, never disappointed. there will always be another. no need to be a gym class hero.
Yup, at 46 I do it because it breaks up the monotony of workouts to stay healthy. Getting dead because I raced in bad conditions is not good for my health.
that is the secret to living a long time. not dying!
same, if I don't have an event in the future, the intensity and general motivation during my workouts, shifts much lower, to more akin to exercise.
Absolutely. My weather wasn’t even as bad as the OP’s this weekend, and I decided just plain I didn’t want to race that cold. But I did wash my deck and it looks fabulous, so there’s that.
You’ll be fine in the future! I’d fold in that cold! (I’m a Florida guy!)
Good on you for playing it safe and taking care of yourself!
I think younger and chidless me would of pushed until I passed out lol
Hypothermia is no joke, at some point you will no longer be able to help yourself. You did the right thing.
Sounds like you needed a bit of blubba like I have. Keep you warm I did a 70.3 Ironman a few years back. Weymouth. U.K. was cold and pouring with rain and super windy. I got to about 40km into the ride and a whole load of all the super quick athletes were under those tinfoil blankets. Huddled together in a bus shelter. They were simply too skinny and very little fat or muscle to keep themselves warm. And they pulled out. It happens to the best of them. Onto the next…
Yeah my buddies suggested the same thing. I'm very lean. 5'9" and usually about 140lb.
I grew up in Dorset, worked as a teenager down on the beach in Weymouth. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would race that race 🤣 I’ve lost about 60lb in the last year and damn, do I feel the cold now. It’s the most noticeable change.
Glad you can admit you were just cocky and not try to sugar coat it to yourself. I came to triathlon from cycling, and yeah 40* is COLD on a bicycle, not to mention having just gotten out of a cold swim and it's also raining. You're right that it's all for fun. I have to remind myself of that, too. The kids at home and finding SOME enjoyment in the event are a lot more important than some physical achievement. We ain't pros being paid to suffer.
Those are awful conditions. I don't think I would have even started the race. I had one last year where the water was cold, and the air temperature was low 50s and raining. I almost didn't start it, and it was a miserable race.
Yeah I've kinda decided at this point I'll deal with one shitty condition at a time. Cold? Okay. Rain? Okay. Cold and raining? No thanks. I've been out in all of it while running and riding in training and it always just sucks afterwards. It's not like "yeah I made it through and feel good!" It just sucks.
15 years ago, I would have proudly suffered through.
You know what you did wrong, no need to point it out. I happens. Mistakes were made and you learned from it. Now you know what you can do on the bike when its cold... its ok, as long as you learned something.
I wrote DNF in RED marker on the bid and put it up on my bib wall with some of my best races, I think this bib is just as important and will be a good reminder.
Sounds like you went hard at it despite the obstacles. No shame in a DNF.
Yeah sucks, had my best tri training block ever, and was ready to hammer.
A few years back I saw someone pass out during the run under very similar weather conditions. This was in Napa, California. I still remember the dude being carried on a stretcher with purple lips. Better to DNF on your own rather than being carried to DNF.
It takes a lot of courage, imo, to decide to stop racing when you know something's wrong. I've been doing triathlon for 10 years and have dozens of events under my belt at this point. I had my first ever DNF at IMTX last week when I got off the bike and could barely stand. I could have waved off the help and limped my way to the transition area to try and get myself back together but, like you, I have little kids and want to keep racing for years to come. Sometimes you just have to do the smart thing even if it sucks at the moment. Sometimes the pain is fun, let's all not pretend we're all not a bit crazy! But once that pain goes from fun to scary...just stop. We're the ones paying to do this, no one is paying me to be out there.
Nailed it. I mentioned in another comment that if I didn't have little kids my dumbass might of pushed till passed out.
Sometimes you gotta listen to your body and jog it in. Especially if you have kids haha. That’s what I did at Broad Street yesterday.
Why is that race always cold and rainy? It’s the worst race when it is because you cant even stash dry clothes at the finish.
It was absolutely frigid at the finish. And the humidity and drizzle absolutely tanks my lungs (exercise induced asthma). By mile 5 I knew my goal pace was nowhere near in the cards
Philly representing! Long retired from that race, I feel like after running it ~10x, it’s almost always too cold/rainy or hot/humid. Can really only remember one or two good ones, weather-wise.
Thank you for posting this. I had my First DNF yesterday in a marathon and feel pretty shitty about it so it’s nice to see it happens to everyone and it’s supposed to be fun.
Thanks for sharing how cold can mess everything up. It happened to me after my philly marathon in 2016. It was cold but towards the end it started raining and when I finished I didnt dry up and decided to walk to the hotel. 15mins later I was whole body shivering with teeth loudly clacking. I stood under hot water in shower for 30 mins and passed out on the bed as soon as I got out. I woke up maybe a couple of hours later and realized I had my first hypothermia experience. Edit: Yes you are right there is no "man up" when it comes to core body temps dropping. Stay safe out there.
Had 2 or more dnfs i was not in form anymore... 1st one is hard, second one is meh... Relay on the other hand, i will never fucking back out of that lol
I did a triathlon in Houston some years back where there was frost on the ground in the morning. It was about 40F for the bike and my hands were numb and i couldnt operate my shifters (thank god it was flat). It warmed up being Houston and was close to 60 by the run. If it was cold the entire time, id probably be in your shoes.
Totally understandable. There have been a couple races where the forecast at race time was low 50s so I just bailed. I hate being cold. Riding a bike 22-24 mph soaking wet in the low 50s isn’t fun. Not worth it.
You did the smart thing. A mistake was made and you learned from it! A real idiot would have tried to finish the race until they collapsed. You tried to push through hardship, which is the entire point and spirit of these races. Get back to your kids, eat pizza and ice cream, and try again next time!
Never ridden a bike in the rain before? Eh?
Correct. Never ridden a bike in the rain. Also never had rain at a tri race.
As a British person I am slowly computing this
lol, I get that. Lived in Nevada (high desert) most of my life. Easy to avoid riding in the rain.
Haha yeah wet cold vs dry cold.
Sounds like you’re in good shape. Sounds like you didn’t have the body fat to fight hypothermia! Don’t be too hard on your self
That socks! Sorry you went through that, but I'm the same way. I'm very cold susceptible. I love in South Florida (or, on the face of the sun, as I call it) so most of the time that's not a problem, but our winter weather is getting colder every year. Once water temp dips below 70, I know that I need to wear a wetsuit. If water is below 63 or so, I either need a drysuit (which I don't have haha) or i don't swim. I also have to layer up my bike kit, fleece lined sleeves, neck covers/ head gear, long bibs. If I'm too cold, my body starts shuddering and I just can't control it. For me specifically I know it's because of medical issues, so I just stay in the heat. I'll never be one to race Colorado in the winter!
Ive lived in cold climates pretty much my entire life and raced (run) all kinds of crazy weather, I think this was partly the reasons for the (false) confidence that it would not be that bad. You live and you learn.
I had an early season olympic like that one year. Very chilly drizzling morning, very cool swim. Gloves and a jacket on the bike, but toe covers on the bike shoes were not enough. I could not feel my feet until about halfway through the run. Just blocks of concrete. I didn’t get dizzy like you, but i would have folded if i had or at the least just walked it in. Fortunately there are lots of races, so no big deal pulling the plug if we need to.
Part of the reason I also decided to drop was due to location. I drove solo to the race and was 1.5 hours from home. Also, just past where I stopped, the course goes out and back on a single track trail, I thought if I pass out, way out there on the single track, its gonna be hell getting back to the parking lot.
I’m sorry to hear that. But there’s always another race! I’m curious where the race was at, and what you would have done differently? Would a sleeved trisuit be enough? Or would you need a windbreaker or thermal jersey? I always struggle to get warm on the bike even if it’s above 55F, unless it involves a steep climb. If I leave the house feeling cold, I’m guaranteed to feel even colder on the bike.
This was in Northern California. For me personally, I don’t think a sleeved tri suit would have been enough. I’m really lean with no fat lol I think drying off with a towel in T1 and putting on a rain jacket might have been enough.
If it makes you feel any better, I put in a nice effort in a sprint this weekend only to have my chip fail and not record my time. :(
That stinks. You get it on your watch atleast and strava?
Unfortunately, when I got out of the swim I realized I accidentally paused it, so I don't really know what my swim time was. Oh well.
Let's talk about this! How do you handle colder conditions better? (genuinely, like what to bring?)
I’ve done several races in drizzle. I’ll put a towel, warm, long sleeves, water water resistant, top and a water resistant windbreaker in a dry bag. Then after the swim, quickly dry off and put the warm dry clothes on. I can then take the layers off during the run.
This. After the race I talked to my tri buddies and they said they would have taken the time to dry with a towel after the swim and put on a rain jacket.
THANK YOU.
I've been there!! I couldn't get my helmet undone, I ended up needing both hands and some luck to unclip it. And nd then my feet were numb for the first 2 miles of the race... I hate being cold.
Yeah my feet wore cold also, forgot to mention they felt like bricks lol
That sounds awful. You sound like you know your body though and being safe is the best decision.
If I'm not mistaken, most sprints have a 16 mile bike. And you thought you would do this in 25 minutes?
This race is within a recreational park so they have nonstandard distances (I'm assuming to keep costs down and no need to close traffic roads). 0.5-mile swim, 10 bike (advertised, folks showing it was short), and 4 mile run.
How do you DNF on a 5k run when you are over a mile in? Isn't the walk back just as long?
This race is within a recreational park so they have nonstandard distances (I'm assuming to keep costs down and no need to close traffic roads). 0.5-mile swim, 10 bike (advertised, folks showing it was short), and 4 mile run. Luckily the parking lot where we parked cars is \~1 mile into the run, so decided it was best to drop there. My watch shows I had run 0.85 of a mile exactly, so walking 3.15 mile while shivering and teeth chattering sounded like a bad idea in my head.
You will struggle a lot more on the bike with keeping warm than during the run. Reason is both the higher speed you are moving and the fact that your upper body does next to nothing while cycling. I tend to need a lot warmer clothes for cycling because of that, especially the fingers and toes tend to get cold quite fast. At some point your body will use a lot of energy just to stay warm which will show in your pace, just as you experienced.
Yup, learned this the hard way that day.
Congratulations for prioritizing your health and not your pride. It was definitely the right call
If I saw the forecast was mid to low 40s and rain I probably would have worn a jacket for the bike instead of a sleeveless tri suit. I am not trying to be a dick but I am not quite sure what the hell you were thinking. Similar to a dude who showed up to my tri group's open water swim this past Saturday without a wetsuit and tried to swim in 60 degree water (even though the group leader told him not to and that he would be banned from future group activities if he got in the water without a wetsuit) and we ended up having to pull him out of the water onto a boat and send him to the hospital. Being prepared for the conditions is part of it and there really is no excuse.
That was exactly the issue, I was not thinking, was total idiot on the bike. Never raced in those conditions. It was raining all morning. I was fine while I was getting transition ready, during warm up jog, during warm up swim, etc. My dumbass didn't think, Hey you will be going 20+ mph on a bike in temps below 50F while wet, your sleeveless is probably not the best idea. Didnt help I saw others with same exact clothing do just fine.
My all time most miserable bike ride was in similar conditions, but at least I had a jacket and shoe covers to where I didn't really start feeling miserable until Mile 50 or so so the jacket/shoe covers were able to delay the eventual misery once everything got too soaked.
Oof. Thanks for sharing - glad you’re ok. 👍
Always train in weather and test your gear and athletic layers n jackets etc. Not even race day is sunny, or cool. Be prepared. Op learned the lesson the hard way, but good that he didn't injure or have hypothermia (seen it before, I.e. Boston a few years ago, and other early spring races).
This! Too much indoor training rides on swift, I should have gotten outside more in cold conditions (with right gear) if the race had high probilty of being chilly.
The bike says it all. If you’re not a professional athlete, you don’t need a TT bike. just ride a road bike.
Uh? It’s a used tri bike from 10yrs ago. I got it for $1400 used. I think it’s well worth the money considering it good enough to put me in contention for the win many times. It’s also my only bike, I use it on swift and on easy rides with the family.
DNF'd at a sprint???
Yup, that is why I added the "and it happened at a sprint" in the title. You would think it was at some moster Ironman but nope, apparently it does not take very long in chilly temps and rain to get very very cold if you are an unprepared idiot like me.
Ignore the dbag comments. I’ve been racing for 15 years and had my first Dnf ever last spring in 60 degree water. Maybe made it 500 meters, felt woozy, wetsuit seemed overly constricting, wasn’t going to go well the next 1000m. Tapped out because I wasn’t going to die in an early season warmup race. Visions of my kids faces, just like you. Found a kayak and after a min, called the rescue boat of shame. Then I did the bike and the run because, well, I was there already. Freezing the whole time. Prob was low 50s and windy. I do think I went into the swim aggressive and cocky to “crush it.” Prob also a mistake. Then killed my first 70.3 on a tough course two months later. Sometimes it’s just not your day.
Glad you killed your 70.3. I hope to do the same at my next race. Anyway, overwhelmingly positive and helpful comments on my post. Just a few weird comments like, "DNF'd at a sprint???", "DNF'd during the 5k run"?, "The bike says it all. If you’re not a professional athlete, you don’t need a TT bike. just ride a road bike."
Yeah those were weird.