Did my first tri (Oly) this past weekend

Wow - what a great adventure, I can see how folks get hooked on these.

Back story - I am a long time swimmer, been a "runner" for the last 10 or so years and 2 years into road biking. Got a bike after too many running injuries.

Anyways - nice local event - Island Lake triathlon (MI) - there was a much "bigger" event same weekend, so mostly this field was amateurs and a few experienced folks.

Swim - 27:19 - as soon as the Olympic wave wen toff, I swung quite wide and just gave myself space, knowing I was a strong enough swimmer to keep up/pass people and not get caught in the chaos. Worked well, after the first turn, I was in a group of about 4-5 swimmers nearby who were all similar in speed and had minimal traffic. Once we made the second loop we came up on some sprint folks who went off after us, but it wasn't too hard to pick my way through.

T! - 2:35 - I know, terrible. I really didn't practice transitions much, and I also decided the morning of to put on my shoes vs. mount with them clipped in, as my bike corral was near the mount line. I took time to have some water, and was really careful not to forget anything.

Bike - 1:15:57 - this was quite a bit faster than I planned. Since I did well in the swim (came out of water 7th overall) most of the cyclists I was in with were top folks on aero bikes or at least in a good tuck on aero clip ons. I have clips ons as well, and while I wanted to pace myself a little slower, I really felt good so just tried to hang the best i could. Had some gel and lots of water as temps were climbing to the mid/high 80s.

T2 - 2:50 - This was always going to be my issue. Due to a tendon issue in my left leg, I pretty much tape my foot every time I run anything over 3 miles. So in T2, I actually dried off and taped my foot before putting on socks and running shoes. Had more water before heading out slowly.

Run - 1:01:19 - this was the only "goal" i set for myself and didn't hit. I wanted to run in under an hour, and I wanted to run the whole 10K without walking/stopping. Around the 2 1/2 mile mark, my stomach was in absolute knots and I simply could not push through it. Ended up walking a few stretched of the course, maybe 3-4 minutes total, running the rest. Finally felt good again around mile 5, and ran through the rest.

Coming down the stretch, i saw the clock nearing the 2:50 mark and broke out into a dead sprint to try and beat it out. Ended up at 2:49:58 - good for 18th overall (out of 72), and 5th in my age/gender. Immediately collected my medal, took off shoes and went right back into the lake to cool off.

It was really a great time - lots of people on the course encouraging each other and congratulation each other at the finish. Not sure when my next tri would be, I have been interested for a while now in OWS, and I'm thinking of doing a 10K swim that's held late next summer that i think I have time to train for. I think with that training, I could possibly sprinkle a sprint tri in the mix, but who knows what the future holds!

Edited by H2OhNo 2015-09-09 8:05 AM