2006 CapTexTri

My First Triathlon

I did it! All in all, it was way way easier than I thought it would be. I'm extremely happy with my results. I had three categories of goals: good, better and best. I did the "better" time for my swim and "best" time for both run and bike. Yay!! My transitions were a little long, but I had a long way to go to get to and from the bike in/out so I wasn't surprised.

My final results:
Swim 11:10.3 - pace 2:48/M (78th out of 210 men and women)
T1 5:14
Bike 24:26.8 - pace 15.2 mph (108th out of 210)
T2 4:09
Run 36:41 - pace 11:45/mi (150th out of 210)
Total time: 1:21:42 (122nd out of 210)

Pre-Race

We got on the road a little later than I would have liked. In the end that was fine because they started my swim wave later than originally scheduled. We found some free parking, although it was a bit of a walk and headed for body marking. My race number was written on both upper arms, both hands, and both thighs. My age (at the end of the year) was written on the back of my right calf. I have to admit it's a little strange to see how old everyone is just by looking at their calf.



We left body marking and headed for transition. When I arrived at my bike, it was moved over and there was another bike in between me and the bike on the end of the rack. The bikes were super close together and I was worried I wouldn't have enough space. The girl I met yesterday who was on the end (and was next to me until someone moved me over and squished between us) moved her bike a little more down to the end and gave me a little more space which I was very grateful for. I set up my transition area and pumped up my tires. Roger took my duffle bag because there wasn't really any place in transition to put it. I'm glad he was there because otherwise I don't know what I would have done with it.



After I set up the transition area we waited. And waited. I listened to my iPod a little bit to try to get some upbeat song stuck in my head. It was cloudy and began to sprinkle a bit. Finally a little before 10 we went over and lined up to get in the water. When we waded to the end of the dock, the water lapped up to my feet and it was seriously cold. They said it was 73, but it didn't feel 73. I'm not sure what the temperature at the swim race last weekend was but it was much warmer than today's water. I swam to the start and began treading water. After about a minute of treading water they announced that we had 1 minute left. I started my watch and then when the airhorn sounded we were off.

Swim

The swim wasn't that good for me. While I wasn't dealing with my timing chip, there were lots more bodies in the water starting at the same time than at last weeks race. With the olympic and sprint distance of the race, they had loads of waves starting, but they started the firstri people off in two bunches: men and women. I spent much of the first half trying not to kick or be kicked. I couldn't find a rhythm and the water still felt cold to me and it left me feeling out of breath. I mostly did a breast stroke, a tiny bit of side stroke after taking in some water and a slight bit of crawl when I was trying to pass someone or get out ahead of people. I finished the swim and looked down at my watch - a little over 12 minutes. Not too bad, but I had hoped to do better. I headed down the long corridor to transition - luckily it was grass all the way.

T1

I didn't run to transition like many did. I just didn't have it in me. I was feeling winded and a little dizzy. I arrived at transition and began to dry my feet. They were covered in dirt and grass. I got them mostly dry and grass free and put on my socks and cycling shoes, sunglasses and helmet and grabbed my bike. Being all the way at the far end of transition I had to go a long way to get out to the bike course. With the long walk from the swim and the long walk to the bike out, my T1 time isn't likely to be all that fabulous.

Bike

By this time the clouds had burned off and the sun was out in full force, but the bike was great. I felt so strong the entire time. I rode fast and passed a lot of people. I also got passed by people - mostly olympic distance athletes on one of their multiple laps. The rules do not allow you to draft (be within three bike lengths of another person in front of you) but there were so many cyclist out there, it was nearly impossible not to do it. I tried to drop back when passed, but it was hard. Some people really needed to be penalized because I rode past a couple of people riding right next to each other and a couple of people riding to the left. It was a hectic course but I did the bike really quickly. My bike computer said 22 minutes. It took me a minute or so to start it at the beginning of the bike, but I came in to transition and my watch said 45 minutes so the bike was definitely under 30 minutes and I was very gleeful about that.

T2

I was perhaps a bit leisurely with my bike to run transition. I pushed perhaps a little hard on the bike (but it felt great!) and I needed to drink some water (which I didn't do enough of on the bike). I was going to grab the GPS and race belt and put them on while walked out to the run start but I didn't. I'm really not sure why, I just put them on there. Next time I'll do it properly.

Run

I ran for about the first half mile before I started to walk a bit. My legs were feeling a bit rubbery and I wanted to take it easy - not to mention there was a really big hill. I made good time on the run despite the fact that I ran and walked a good deal of it. I talked with a couple of runners along the way that I was either leap-frogging or keeping pace with.

Around mile 1.5 I experienced a strange moment of self-doubt and I decided I was insane person for doing this whole thing (even though I was nearly done). I quickly tried to get one of my favorite running songs stuck in my head. It worked and I was fine. At mile 2, I passed two of my spinning students volunteering on the run course. I saw them leaping up and down screaming my name and I suddenly experienced a huge feeling of exhilaration and energy. From that point, I ran. It was great.

Suddenly I was at the end of the race. I realized I had a little energy left so I kicked it up and sprinted in. After I crossed the finish line, I looked at my watch and it said 1:25. Roger says his watch said I did 1:30. Either way, I did great. I reached down to take off my timing strap, got a head rush, stood up and then was going to get it again when one of the volunteers started hollering "No! I got it! Don't bend down!"

Post-Race

He took my chip and I wandered off. I got an orange popsicle, a banana, and a bottle of water. I wandered back to just outside of the transition where Roger and I had arranged to meet. I packed up my transition gear, grabbed my bike and headed home. I'm ready for the next one already! Next up: Rogue Women's Triathlon in July. Lets go!