September 2015

I successfully completed my first triathlon today! This is a goal I've had for over 10 years. I have my friend Tim to thank for motivating me into buying a bike and signing up for a local race.  Finish time: 1:33:12

The race went a lot like I had anticipated it would:

SWIM - 12:37
I had purchased a "Tri Suit" to wear for the entire race.  Although this Tri was "wetsuit legal", I decided against wearing one. As I prepared for the swim, the announcer suggested the strong swimmers go near the front of the start buoys and recommended the beginner swimmers hang back a bit and let the more experiened swimmers start a bit ahead so people weren't swimming on top of each other.  I felt like if anything, I was probably among the better swimmers, the bike and run I would never say the same.  Therefore, I inched my way up to the front of the start buoys and as the countdown started, I prepared my cap and goggles.  The horn went off and I began swimming long and strong.  My following take on the race is simply factual:  I was out in front, a few guys held with me for a minute but I was gaining ground each stroke.  I immediately hated my "tri suit", it might be what people wear in these races but they're horrible.  As I approached the last bouy, an earlier swimmer from the longer tri group rounded the buoy the wrong way and we collided head first.  I kept swimming but I was a bit dizzy, nothing serious but it didn't make my trip running out of the water easy.  I finished strong into the beach, swam till I was in about 2' of water.  I stood up and ran through the water towards the shore.  I don't typically run through water on sand, I nearly tripped and fell face first into the water.  I heard the spectators clapping but I think they do that for everybody.  My transition was a bit slow and clumsy since I hadn't ever done one.  Overall the swim went well, as I mounted my bike, I looked back and couldn't see anybody in the transition area.

TRANSITION 1 - 1:48
Without a little strap for my number, I had to manually pin on my number, it was a clunky transition to say the least.  I could save a lot of time here 

BIKE - 39:53
I held my own on the bike, the huge lead I got during the swim created a situation where the first 3 miles of the bike was very peaceful.  Not a single other rider, it was an open road and it was just an awesome feeling to be in the lead for a bit.  Each mile after that seemed to yield another biker passing me but I never felt like I was really in that bad of shape during the bike.  Later I would compare my times and see that I was simply average and just happened to start out with a huge lead.

TRANSITION 2 - 1:08
Pretty smooth transition, I imagine it could be done in 40 seconds if I was good though 

RUN - 37:47
Wow.  The most appropriate word to describe my performance seems to be "pathetic".  I was simply wiped out after the bike.  Combining my fatigue with low running ability and you get a very slow time.  I was getting passed left and right, it was humbling for sure.

I'm proud of myself and I learned a lot during my race.  It was a great experience!