4 weeks to TRI

My bet is that your gearing on your bike is all wrong for your current
fitness level and for the course.
More than likely you need a rear cassette with a broader gear range.
Something like a 12-27 on the back. The 27 will make it much easier to climb
hills.

"Amanda White" wrote in message
...
Hey guys, I'm new to the whole world of triathlon and am in crisis. I
currently have 4 weeks until race day, and I'm competing in a sprint
distance (beginners) triathlon. Just this last weekend I went with my
mom, who is competing with me, to bike the actual bike course. Having
been training heavily at the gym, I was expecting the actual bike run
to be rough, harder on my body than I was used to..but oh boy. The
bike course has pretty extreme hills- not something I would expect to
see in a beginners event. Needless to say my normal time for the 12 mi
bike portion on hill plus level 10 at the gym is 42 to 44 minutes.
When we did the actual course on our bikes, it took ONE HOUR- to do
HALF the distance- 6 miles. And i had to get off and walk several
times. It was insane. I am so nervous now that I only have 4 weeks
left that I am no prepared for the race, it's stressing me out, and I
feel like even though I SHOULD be tapering in preparation for race day
that I am forcing myself to go harder than ever because it's going to
be so much harder than I had imagined. What do I do? How often should
I go back and do the bike course leading up to race day? What else can
I do to help prepare? any advice would be appreciated!

It’s really great post.