Winding Trails Tri #9 Race Report

I felt crappy all day. I don't know whether it was lack of sleep, too much work, or drinking too much Coke and getting that phlegmy feeling in my throat. I did get a nap in the afternoon, but I did really think about not going.

But then, it came down to this:

Today is my birthday. I am 50 years old. How do I want to remember this day? And do I want it to signal how I will live the rest of my life?

I had to race.

I got there late. The transition area was very crowded, but I managed to lean my bike against a guard shack, only halfway in the woods. No place to lay out my stuff.

I paid my $15 fee, which is very reasonable, and was marked with the number 658. I thought 600 people, you've got to be kidding. It turned out they just assigned high numbers for some strange reason. There were 212 adults in the race and another 50 kids in a separate kids triathlon.

I went down to the water just as they were getting ready to start the swim. The course was a rectangle inside a roped in area. There were buoys in each of the far corners of the rectangle, with not a whole lot of space between the buoy and the rope. I was warned that this race was a slugfest.

I decided to swim as easy as I could. My goal was just to finish -- to get through the run without having to stop.

The water was clear with a sandy bottom. The race was extremely crowded. They did two waves. Men first. There was a lot of banging, but I didn't get hit too hard and I don't think I clubbed anyone. I swam somewhat of a diagonal into the first buoy instead of swimming straight with the bigger crowd. The way I got around the buoy was grabbing it and pulling myself around it. I didn't swim particularly well and got very tired. I did some breast stroke. I didn't feel my stroke kick in until maybe the last 50 yards of the 400 yard course. When I got out of the water, I felt sort of queasy, and burped a few times as I walked over the timing mat and then up to the transition area. I took my sweet time, putting my socks and sneakers on, and my helmet and gloves. I tried to out my googles on, but they were all fogged up, so I put them in my pocket instead. I took a drink of gatorade and then started off on the bike.

The bike went great. I got passed by only a couple people, even though I wasn't even trying to go too fast. I rode the whole way in the upright position, but I was flying. The course was only 7-8 miles, so it went quickly. It was a flat easy ride on shaded street and through farmland. I finished in 29:18.

My transition to running was quick. I just drank some gatorade, and was off. The run was on a trail and was hilly. I had to stop briefly to tie was shoe and then a couple minutes later, I stumbled on a tree root, and ended up doing a couple of three-sixtys. I scrapped my knee and was bleeding, but got quickly to my feet and kept on. The run was tough and I was very tired. It seemed to go forever, but I never had to stop to walk, so that was a success. I did get passed by quite a number of runners (at least 30, maybe more) and only passed one.

I didn't get the times until much later, so here they are.

Total: 1:10:59 145 out of 212 (27 out of 41 road bike division).

Swim: 8:13
Bike (includes transition) 29:18
Run: 33:28

So overall, I think I did great.

I can certainly improve my swimming. I need to get back in the pool as I have clearly lost some swim conditioning. I can be quicker in transition with a better set up. The bike I can concentrate on speed next time. And running, well, running I'll just need better conditioning.

Winding Trails #9 Triathlon Results

I went home and ate lobster, clams, corn and drank two Bud Lights with Lime.

Happy 50th Birthday to me.