Goal #2, post a slow time so that I can be assured of setting a new PR at my next race.
All goals accomplished!
A triathlon is an event including swimming, biking, and running. A sprint triathlon consists of a 500yd swim, then a 30K bike ride (a little over 18 miles), followed by a 5K run (3.16 miles).
I expected the swim to be easier for me. I had swam in high school. Admittedly that was a few years ago, but isn't there such a thing as muscle memory? Truthfully, there was too much muscle memory. The surf is pretty rough off this coast, and we swam out into eight-foot surf with water temperatures in the low 60's. I came out of the first couple of waves and started stroking and discovered immediately that the low-rise head turn I had cultivated during school to minimize effort of taking a breath does not work well in surf. Coughing and choking, I dodged the attendants that had already been pulling people out of the water. Jim and I had planned out angles of attack to keep the rip current from taking us off course, and I made it efficiently, if not quickly, around the two buoys and back to the beach.
I was surprised to see Jim coming into the transition area as I was leaving. He had started in the next wave behind me, and was not planning to have a fast swim. He has about 20 triathlons under his belt, and experience is a big help. He ended up passing me in the first five miles of the bike part,and his split time for the biking was just under an hour.
I kept up a steady pace in the biking. I had borrowed Jim's mountain bike, and we had forgotten to adjust the seat to my height. With the lower gearing compared to the road bikes, I did not let the people passing bother me. My split turned out to be 1:20:00.
I did not have a lot of gas left for the run. I tried to maintain 10:00/mile pacing, but could not. Jim is a talented runner and did the 5K in 26:28. I managed only a 37:46. I was sure glad to see the finish line!
My final time was 2:23:03, which was last in the mountain bike division. In comparing my times, though, I found that I had beat at lease one person in all the civilian male divisions over 25 years old. Not bad for a first timer.
I am looking forward to another tri. My slow performance may even have encouraged Jim's twin, Joel, to give it a "tri".
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