As i wrote a month ago, i signed to do my first triathlon which happened this past weekend. Here’s how it went:
The Beginning: “Damn that bouy is far” (Objective: 1 mile swim)
The swim started with a bang and all the other swimmers left me in the dust. First off, we had to swim 100 yards just to get to the starting line! I knew i would need all the energy i had so i was pretty upset about this fact. Also, I was somewhat intimidated by the choppy open water and the madness of all the serious guys. The only advice i got from anyone was, “don’t get too close to the buoy or you’ll get pinched in between it by other swimmers.” Thanks dude. Anyway, the race started and I immediately found myself all alone – in last place! This made matters worse as i tried to catch up and just tired myself out. The 2nd buoy (1/2 mile) seemed to take forever to get to and i will confess that my trusty sidestroke was pulled out more times than i had wanted. But after the 1/2 mile marker, i hit a groove – especially in my breathing. It seemed that i wasn’t exhaling under water and once i realized this i was able to cruise. Nevertheless, i was by far the last guy out of the bay and a good 15 minutes behind every other male and probably 20 minutes behind all the females
Bike Leg: “This shit ain’t no joke” (objective: 27 mile bike)
The bike started off good. I got a little rest in after the swim and pounded some gatorade. The course was rumored to be “highly technical.” I had no idea what that meant, but i found out quickly at mile 2. At that point, i hit my first hill and my entire right calf cramped (this is understandable considering i had never riden my bike on a hill. I repeat never) Also it seemed that my gears didn’t work. These two happened on mile 2 and I dismounted, walked and stretched. I then got on Commodore Williams and decided to do the rest of course without shifting and using only my left leg. After all, i didn’t want to get a DNF on my first time out. I’m not that guy. Back on the bike, after only a few minutes i realized that my gears weren’t actually broken, i was just already on the lowest gear there is. This was both a great and horrible realization as you can imagine. But i continued on. Left-leg-only riding went well until about mile 15 and then the left leg started cramping. So i decided to use both for a while gingerly. It should also be said that around this point a super-hot woman came out of nowhere and decided to ride in front of me (not drafting, but about 20 yards) for about 8 miles. She was truly an angel (granted, i could have been delirious) and following her got me in the groove. The last 15 miles of the course, i was doing at around 20 mph and by the time i hit the “big hill” i was hauling ass. I climbed that bitch and got back to transition in good shape
I’d also like to say that the ride was beautiful. The scenery was a amazing and because of long swimming time i was completly alone. Even though i got completely getting dusted, i had great fun riding through Perryville.
I met my soul on one of the hills and we had a good discussion. It was good to see him. I haven’t exerted myself like this in a good 8 years and i really enjoyed the pushing.
Running Leg: “Please let me pass someone” (objective: 5 miles)
The run started and right away i knew that all the drinking of gatorade i did on the bike was going to be a problem as a i got a stomach cramp. That was the bad news, the good news is that i’ve finally caught up to somebody. In fact, I passed a few older gentleman immediately and that got my spirits up. I knew i wasn’t alone. I kept a pretty good pace for the entire run considering that my legs were shot and i had a cramp. I was able to pound out the last mile in probably 7 minutes which i was proud of.
Other items
Lesson to be learned: training more would really help. I need to swim more so i’m more comfortable in the water and i need to bike WAY more so my muscles don’t freak out when i’m pushing myself on the bike. As it was, they were bitching the entire time. I tried to put them in their place, but currently they’re young and whiny. I can’t wait for them to grow up.
Also, my sister is the real MVP of the event. She got up at 3:45 am to come help me figure out how to set all my crap up. I don’t know how anyone does these things for the first time. Anyway, she rocked. Thanks Liz.
Swim: 40:55 (transition: 2:22)
Bike: 1:39:03 / 16.4 mph (transition: 1:40)
Run: 39:34 / 7:55 mph
Total: 3:03:33
