Specialized BicyclesI knew going into this past weekends triathlon that I was not a strong swimmer. I knew that would be the weak spot in this event. My goal was to finish the swim without stopping and book it on the bike and run portion.
I got to the rec center around 6am, got body marked, and picked up my time chip. (I was not going to forget that this time!) I setup my transition area and headed for a warmup run. I ran over to the pool, and went in to see what the venue was like. I then walked from the pool to where the transition area was just to make sure I knew where my bike was. Then I ran a bit more, and I heard them call us to the pool area. So I took off the warmups and barefooted it over to the pool. Brrr....39 degrees!
I was in the 12 minute group, so I had to wait quite a while before it was my turn to get in the pool. The elites went off first, and then the faster swimmers took off. Finally around 9:15 it was my turn to get in the pool. When I got in I was suprised at how good the water felt. I did a good push off from the wall, and I was under way. My first 100 felt great! When I was about half way through my 2nd hundred I felt my timing chip starting to come loose on my ankle. WTF! I ended up hanging onto the wall at the end of 200 and readjusting my timing chip. I was pissed.... I finished my slow 440 yards, but I was happy to be done. I ran out of the pool and down to the transition area.
I ran to where I thought I knew where my bike was, but when I got there, I could not find my bike. Again...WTF! Where was it? I searched for what seemed like 5 minutes, and finally located it. It was right where I thought it was. I threw on my jersey, socks, bike shoes, and helmet and headed out with my bike. I mounted, and I was off on the bike part of the race. I was pissed at this point and punched it. I came around for my 2nd lap and I was feeling good. My legs were starting to come around. There were several good climbs on the course, and I passed an uncountable amount of people. At one point I passed this dude, and he crabbed onto my wheel. Now in triathlons, there is no drafting, but this guy decided to draft off me. I looked back at him in shock, and he just stayed right there on my wheel. I bet I pulled him for over a mile, and then I had had enough. I jumped out of the saddle and punched it. I think he got the hint, and backed off. I finished my 2nd lap and came into the transition area. This time I was able to locate my stuff easily and I had a good transition. I threw my running shoes on and away I went. I think I averaged around 20.6 for the whole bike.
When I started off on the run I was feeling a bit tired, and out of breath. There was a slight uphill right off the bat, and we headed over a bridge, and finally a downhill section. I was able to catch my breath a bit and found a good rythm. Before I knew it 2 miles were done, and I pushed toward the finish. There was a guy quite a ways ahead of me, and I made it my goal to catch him, but I finished just a few seconds behind him. Damn... But never the less I finished strong and completed my first triathlon. I averaged 7:08 minute miles which I thought was good. I think my total time was 1:19:53.
Several other people from Jeff. City competed in the event as well. Here is the website that has the times listed according to age group. Congrats to all who competed and finished!
http://www.ultramaxtri.com/timing/2008_Race_for_Sight/Division.htm
Here are some crappy pics from the race. My wife forgot our camera, so she had to borrow and older camera which does not take good pictures. I guess a few are better than none.
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