Today was my first triathlon. Other than the sequence of events, never having done a triathlon before I did not know what to expect. As is typical for me, I was one of the first ones there (along with my very lovely wife, of course...she is a great support). I got my bike set up and then went and had my number written on my arms (if you are unacquainted with triathlons, this is typical so that you can be identified in the water). The race started at 8:00. Time always seems somewhat surreal, and also passes quickly for me while waiting for a race to start.
The starting time of 8:00 came all too soon. We were asked to line ourselves up according to when we expected to finish the swim. I lined up almost next to last, maybe with only 4-5 people behind me. The water was the only part I was nervous about. I am not a swimmer. I have never had lessons. I know I am a powerful swimmer, as far as having the strength to do it, but my form and technique are highly lacking. My best practice swim thus far for 300 yards has been around 10:30. A good swimmer can do double that distance in the same amount of time. My time to enter the water came. I did my best to calm myself down. I started off well, for me, and actually passed a few people. Remember though, those were people that were far back in the line to begin with. I did stop to rest a couple of times, but I just pushed through it. I ended in about 8:44, which for me is amazing, but I was out of breath. Leaving the water I was probably only ahead of 10 people, at the most. As I ran over to the bike area, I step on a fairly large rock. I could only hope it would not affect me on my run.
My transition to the bike went fairly smooth, but I knew it took me too long. I soon headed out and began to pass numerous people. I knew I could make up a lot of time on the bike. It felt good to be on the bike, something I feel highly confident in, and it gave me a chance to catch my breath somewhat. No one would pass me, but I passed 30-40 people. The ride was 5.65 miles and took me 19:27. Still too long. I knew before I ended my bike ride that swimming would be tough and I would have to abandon my plan for going for proper form.
Now was the time for the run. The run was 1.69 miles. I already knew that the run and cycling were a little longer than advertised. The thing about the run is I misread the map. I had run it in my practice runs on Monday in the wrong direction (basically going backwards, NOT running backwards, basically starting at the end and finishing at the beginning). I could feel the spot where I had stepped on the rock and that it was tender. But I was determined to not let it be an issue. I was out of breath almost the whole run, which really was a hold over from the swimming. I did not go as fast as I wanted, but no one passed me. Again, I passed 10-15 people. That is one advantage to being near last...there are all sorts of people in front of you to pass. I managed to finish the 1.69 miles in 12:37, an overall 7:27 mile pace.
I made the transition back to the swim in better time than the first transition. I abandoned good form and relied on my arm strength to make the laps across the pool. I kept my head above water while I swam almost the whole time. Unfortunately, my wife did not see me transition to the pool so I do not know what my time was for this leg of the tri. It felt not too much different in time than my first swim, but it could have been slower.
My transition back to the bike went much smoother and faster this time. Despite being tired, I was bound and determined to go as fast as I could. Once again, I began passing numerous people. I used every person in front of me as a goal to get to, and of course there was always somebody in front of them to aim for next. About halfway through, one cyclist passed me. He was the obvious leader and was from the first wave of swimmers. I was happy I made it this far before the fastest swimmers lapped me. But I was determined that no one else would lap me, and no one did. I finished the 5.65 miles in about 17:50 (I do not know my exact time because I was already a half mile into my ride before I remembered to turn on my watch, but going off my average speed came to this time). I was much happier about that. With about a half mile to go there was a woman far ahead of me that, when I first saw her I thought she was just too far ahead of me for me to catch. But with every passing pedal stroke I was nearing her. We were on a slight incline taht has a short lived 3% decline that comes right before the last hard turn and I decided I would pass. My garmin says that I got my speed up to 31.5 mph. I passed her within about 15 yards of that turn, and quickly had to slow down to not take the turn too wide and avoid an oncoming car.
I was still out of breath, but my adrenaline was running high. I made the transition to the run even quicker and took off. Once again I passed a number of people, and nobody passed me. It was great to know that I was nearing the end of this, but I still had to finish strong. It felt great and was a wonderful confidence booster to pass people in this late stage of the race. I finished in 12:22, a 7:22 mile pace.
Overall time for the tri: 1:29:15 (my goal was 1:30:00 or less)
I finished 37th out of 148 participants. (That means on the bike and run I passed a total of 100 or more participants : )
I took second place in my age division (out of 11)
A very big thank you for my wonderful and loving wife to be there the whole time to support me. Also, a big thank you to my daughter, Suzanna, and my granddaughter, McKayla, for coming out to support me. People never realize how much it helps to have your loved ones cheering for you. It does help you go that much faster, or just that much further.
One last word. Frequently a person may think that to back off a bit on their speed will not matter in the overall results, as long as no one passes them. Normally that is true, but because everyone started their time when they actually began swimming, there was no way of knowing if the person you just passed was on an overall faster pace than you. Each of the top three in their age division was given a medal according to their place and we got to stand on the podium. It was very nice. We each congratulated one another on a great race. I did not know until the results were posted that I beat the third place finisher by seven-tenths of a second. Every second does matter.
The starting time of 8:00 came all too soon. We were asked to line ourselves up according to when we expected to finish the swim. I lined up almost next to last, maybe with only 4-5 people behind me. The water was the only part I was nervous about. I am not a swimmer. I have never had lessons. I know I am a powerful swimmer, as far as having the strength to do it, but my form and technique are highly lacking. My best practice swim thus far for 300 yards has been around 10:30. A good swimmer can do double that distance in the same amount of time. My time to enter the water came. I did my best to calm myself down. I started off well, for me, and actually passed a few people. Remember though, those were people that were far back in the line to begin with. I did stop to rest a couple of times, but I just pushed through it. I ended in about 8:44, which for me is amazing, but I was out of breath. Leaving the water I was probably only ahead of 10 people, at the most. As I ran over to the bike area, I step on a fairly large rock. I could only hope it would not affect me on my run.
My transition to the bike went fairly smooth, but I knew it took me too long. I soon headed out and began to pass numerous people. I knew I could make up a lot of time on the bike. It felt good to be on the bike, something I feel highly confident in, and it gave me a chance to catch my breath somewhat. No one would pass me, but I passed 30-40 people. The ride was 5.65 miles and took me 19:27. Still too long. I knew before I ended my bike ride that swimming would be tough and I would have to abandon my plan for going for proper form.
Now was the time for the run. The run was 1.69 miles. I already knew that the run and cycling were a little longer than advertised. The thing about the run is I misread the map. I had run it in my practice runs on Monday in the wrong direction (basically going backwards, NOT running backwards, basically starting at the end and finishing at the beginning). I could feel the spot where I had stepped on the rock and that it was tender. But I was determined to not let it be an issue. I was out of breath almost the whole run, which really was a hold over from the swimming. I did not go as fast as I wanted, but no one passed me. Again, I passed 10-15 people. That is one advantage to being near last...there are all sorts of people in front of you to pass. I managed to finish the 1.69 miles in 12:37, an overall 7:27 mile pace.
I made the transition back to the swim in better time than the first transition. I abandoned good form and relied on my arm strength to make the laps across the pool. I kept my head above water while I swam almost the whole time. Unfortunately, my wife did not see me transition to the pool so I do not know what my time was for this leg of the tri. It felt not too much different in time than my first swim, but it could have been slower.
My transition back to the bike went much smoother and faster this time. Despite being tired, I was bound and determined to go as fast as I could. Once again, I began passing numerous people. I used every person in front of me as a goal to get to, and of course there was always somebody in front of them to aim for next. About halfway through, one cyclist passed me. He was the obvious leader and was from the first wave of swimmers. I was happy I made it this far before the fastest swimmers lapped me. But I was determined that no one else would lap me, and no one did. I finished the 5.65 miles in about 17:50 (I do not know my exact time because I was already a half mile into my ride before I remembered to turn on my watch, but going off my average speed came to this time). I was much happier about that. With about a half mile to go there was a woman far ahead of me that, when I first saw her I thought she was just too far ahead of me for me to catch. But with every passing pedal stroke I was nearing her. We were on a slight incline taht has a short lived 3% decline that comes right before the last hard turn and I decided I would pass. My garmin says that I got my speed up to 31.5 mph. I passed her within about 15 yards of that turn, and quickly had to slow down to not take the turn too wide and avoid an oncoming car.
I was still out of breath, but my adrenaline was running high. I made the transition to the run even quicker and took off. Once again I passed a number of people, and nobody passed me. It was great to know that I was nearing the end of this, but I still had to finish strong. It felt great and was a wonderful confidence booster to pass people in this late stage of the race. I finished in 12:22, a 7:22 mile pace.
Overall time for the tri: 1:29:15 (my goal was 1:30:00 or less)
I finished 37th out of 148 participants. (That means on the bike and run I passed a total of 100 or more participants : )
I took second place in my age division (out of 11)
A very big thank you for my wonderful and loving wife to be there the whole time to support me. Also, a big thank you to my daughter, Suzanna, and my granddaughter, McKayla, for coming out to support me. People never realize how much it helps to have your loved ones cheering for you. It does help you go that much faster, or just that much further.
One last word. Frequently a person may think that to back off a bit on their speed will not matter in the overall results, as long as no one passes them. Normally that is true, but because everyone started their time when they actually began swimming, there was no way of knowing if the person you just passed was on an overall faster pace than you. Each of the top three in their age division was given a medal according to their place and we got to stand on the podium. It was very nice. We each congratulated one another on a great race. I did not know until the results were posted that I beat the third place finisher by seven-tenths of a second. Every second does matter.
Total running miles for week = 32.4
Total cycling miles for week = 28.8
No comments:
Post a Comment