Triathlon - sat., 06.18.2005

I did a full on international distance triathlon saturday. Although the run was only 5.5 miles instead of 6.2 miles it should have been (which, for the record does annoy me).

SWIM
The swim seemed long and was an out and over swim. It was crowded at the beginning, so I laid back a bit, knowing I would get unfettered access toward the end of the swim, and I did. Unfortunately, the swim was also poorly marked -- the last boy was out in the middle of the lake -- and we weren't required to swim around it, only by it -- some 300 yards away. It was quite confusing.

BIKE
I said to someone as I exited transition "that's it, I think I have slowest transition wrapped up." I probably did about 4 mins or so. But I'd rather simply be comfortable (with a dash of vanity) then be fast in transition. The ride was about 24.2 (instead of the required 24.8) -- but nonetheless pretty long -- and there were some decent hill climbs as well. I averaged ~17.3 mph.

RUN

The run was both short and long. Short because it should have been 6.2 miles; long because I haven't been running all that much. I did stop at one point and go to the bathroom. I just know that if I were 40-50 pounds lighter, I'd be an ultracompetitive runner in triathlon. The great irony is that running used to be my WAY strong event.

I also think my attempt at substituting rowing for running, is still a workable and intelligent solution.

OVERALL

Overall, it was a pretty good day -- although about 3 hours of heavy activity. I'm not sure I want to do more internationals, rather than sprints. I think part of it is the sprints are less competitive, and that sort of works better for my competitive nature.