I competed in an International distance triathlon last Sunday. I placed second in the Athena category with a time of 2:59:40, only 17 seconds away from first place. Jamie completed her first triathlon ever, and finished in third place, just a couple of minutes behind me.
The swim was full of plastic-feeling plants that got caught in goggles, bra straps, shorts and ankle straps. I felt like the creature from the black lagoon when I emerged, covered in green plants in my slowest time for a tri swim yet: 28:45.
The bike ride was much hillier than the description led me to believe. It was quite hilly for the first 15 miles, with a flat, fast second half that led me to an average speed of 18.5 mph. When I got out of the water I decided it was warm enough and I was brave enough to forgo my jersey and ride in my new flowery sports bra. Eight miles into the race I decided it was time for a chocolate gu and realized my oversight. I'd left my nutrition in my jersey, sitting next to my goggles in transition. I had some super concentrated gatorade and a bottle of water, which got me through the bike ride, but going into the run I was nearly spent.
The run was hot, hot, hot, and didn't have much of a view. We ran the same course as the start of the bike; a long out and back that had a nice twist at the end when we ran through the campsites and woods at the edge of Smallwood State Park. If I wasn't feeling utterly miserable at that point I would have enjoyed it immensely.
With 5 minutes left before my cutoff (under 3 hours), an arbitrary time I set for myself after my first race, I realized I was running much slower than normal and picked up my pace to ensure I would finish in under 3 hours.
I didn't train for this race. In fact, I anti-trained. I did nearly nothing the weeks leading up to the race. The fun of the race for me is to see if I can execute the plan I've practiced. When I haven't practiced, some of the fun is gone from the race.
Lesson learned: Training for a race makes the race not only easier but more rewarding.
CDA: complete!
15:42, sporting my finisher hat
3 comments:
Good job and, oooo, 17 seconds! 17 seconds would make me crazy. I'd spend days and nights perseverating on what I could have done that would have made me 17 points faster. (Sleep well!)
I was wondering if you were going to notice how close you were. I say that was a great race for anti-training!
You are awesome. Did you do General Smallwood? I am so jealous of your bike speed. I have Diamond in the Rough on the 12th....very scared.
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