‎24th Annual Summer Sprint Triathlon

This morning I competed in my 1st every triathlon. I've only started working out again on April 20th but concentrated primarily on just running and swimming. About 4 weeks ago I did a spin class with Brooke on a Sunday and really enjoyed it. It motivated me to add biking into my workouts which made me realize I swim, bike, and run every week, which are the 3 components of a triathlon, so I might as well compete in one. So 4 weeks ago I kicked my workouts up a notch by increasing my swimming distance and biking and running on the same day. I looked at the times from last year and set a goal of an hour and a half for this race. I ended up finishing the 1/4 mile swim in 9:13, 14.3 mile bike in 57:09, and 5K run in 27:33 for a total time of 1:33.56.

Swim Portion

I've done all my training in the pool at the YMCA so I wasn't sure how it would be swimming in Lake Erie. Since I grew up with a pool as a kid, this was my first time really swimming in the Lake so I was a little concerned going into this. I had no idea what to expect at the start of the swim race. I was thinking I would run out about as far as I can then start swimming. The more seasoned tri-athletes started off like dolphins. No joke, they would run dive in, jump out, dive back in, etc...just like dolphins. I was shocked and did my best to position myself closest to the break wall to cut down my distance. I was able to separate myself in about the middle of the group so I had plenty of room through most of the race. When I could finally stand in the Lake all I could think about was that I still had to bike and run over 17 miles still. So I trudged through the water to conserve energy and started running again once I hit the beach.

Bike Portion

I had never practiced swim to bike so I was concerned how my body would react to the change. To my surprise Brooke and Dominic were at the bike rack in the transition area to wish me luck and give me some much needed encouragement. I started off pretty strong and at about the 6 mile mark I started feeling really nautious. In my head I'm thinking I need to call Brooke to pick me up, I can't do this. My fruit breakfast was not sitting well at this point. This is something I'll have to change for the next one which is something I realized as I had to pull over to speed puke. Yes, that's right I threw up. It's gross but the best thing I could have done. I immediately felt better and was able to pick up my pace the rest of the bike portion. I realized if I want to get serious with this I need a true racing road bike. I was using my brothers hybrid bike which was good but with a true road bike I could probably improve my time by 5-10 minutes easily.

Run Portion

I felt pretty good after the bike leg of the race and was able to transition pretty fast to the run stage. My time at this point was about 1:06 so I knew I was close to my goal and just had to push through. Again, Brooke and Dom came through with some much needed encouragement rooting me on as I started the run. I felt like I was running in slow motion for most of this portion but was able to stay motivated and finish strong. I actually even considered puking again, since it helped so much during the bike portion. Just kidding, no puking for this leg. For some reason the sun was blazing for just 9:00am which just added to the already exhaustion I was feeling. I made it my goal like I do in all my workouts to sprint through to the finish and ended the race strong in 1:33.56. I was greeted by Brooke and Dominic at the finish line and couldn't feel more relieved and accomplished.

Post Race

This experience was both rewarding and educational. I was able to realize I could complete the race and finish strong and I was able to learn what I did wrong or could do better the next time. I wasn't sure what to expect which is something I won't have to worry about the next time. Hopefully I'll have a better bike for the next race and can set my target goal at sub 1:25.