Oh, yeah, that was fun. I say that now, but I do recall thinking - during the first half of the 15 mile bike portion - why am I doing this? Just after the bike turnaround, though, I started to feel better and pick up speed. One by one I picked off many of the people who had passed me.
Then the first half of the 5K run was even more of a struggle than the first part of the bike. My lower legs just throbbed, probably because I stood up to pedal every so often to pick up speed on the bike. That improved my bike speed, but I sure paid for it in the run.
Then, halfway through the run, just like in the bike leg, I started to feel like normal. I have always considered the bike my weakest part of the triathlon, but yesterday my run time was really slow. Of course, I knew my run would be a good bit slower than my usual 5K time, but it was five minutes slower. I didn't expect that.
I guess that's the way it is with triathlons. The adage 'live and learn' was never more apt. It's a complicated sport for sure, but that's part of the attraction. With three disciplines to train for, there is a lot to consider. I now realize that if I'm going to stand up to pedal, I have to do that in training and not just in spinning class. Then I have to simulate the race by running immediately following that. I did do many bricks in training, but they were often just after a spin class and not after hard on-road bike miles.
I also made a strategic error at the start of the half mile swim. As I observed a prior wave of swimmers, I noticed a group of people who were swimming backwards to get around the starting buoy because they had tried to swim out straight from the beach, but had been swept sideways beyond the buoy before they were far enough out to swim around it. Noting that, I walked down the beach to the far side of the purple cap wave, thinking that the current would quickly push me to the buoy. Bad idea. I don't know if the current shifted or what, but I ended up swimming probably a whole extra minute just to get to the buoy. Oh, well. Every race is a lesson in what to do, what not to do, and what adjustments to make next time.
I've done, by my closest estimation, sixteen triathlons, but the first dozen were - uh - 23 years ago. I'm happy to say that I don't really feel all that much different. Back then, most people didn't even know what a triathlon was. Now, triathlons are drawing more people each year, and there are plenty of sprint distance events.
I'm also excited about the technology utilized in tri bikes. I'll be purchasing one in the near future by the way. Sunday I used my husband's Trek road bike. It worked pretty well, but it's definitely too big for me.
I had done the Mad Beach Tri in 2007, and I am happy to say that this year I took ten minutes off my time, finishing in 1:43 for 8th out of 15 in my age group. Good enough for a great souvenir mug.
Now I'm trying to decide on my next event. Will it be Morton Plant Mease, Dunedin, hmmmm. So many decisions, so much fun.
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