Lake Compounce Triathlon 9/21/2008

The Lake Compounce triathlon was only my second triathlon of the year. I did my Winding Trails in August on my 50th birthday. Last year—my first in triathlon – I did six; ending with Lake Compounce where for the first time I managed to complete the run with walking any. Despite my best intentions this year my training volume was down by a quarter due to a second job and my joyous new daughter born in January. I need to learn better how to take advantage of time to train earlier in the day as I found often something would come up to interfere with a planned evening training.

I wish I was more excited before a triathlon. I never find I am looking forward to it as I used to look forward to my softball games when I played in a competitive league. I have to force myself to get in my car and drive, knowing how bad I will feel later if I am still at home after the race would have been over.

This year driving to Bristol it seemed darker out and certainly chillier. I put bike in a rack in the transition area and went to get checked in. They passed out paper numbers this year and I couldn’t decide what shirt to pin them to. I wasn’t certain how warm it would be by the time I got on the bike. I had a summer running shirt, a cotton tee-shirt and a warm fall running shirt, which in the end is what I decided to pin the number to because I didn't want to freeze on the bike. Just as I did last year, I set a towel, my sneakers and a pair of running socks by the stairs to one of the rides near the lake so I could change into my sneakers without having to deal with a hectic, crowded transition area and then also so I wouldn’t have to run barefoot the quarter mile or so through the park from the lake to the transition area.

There was fog rising of the lake and the air was nippy, but the water was quite warm. The race director asked the elite swimmers to get in the front of the pack and then all told swimmers they were permitted to start waist deep. I’m not an elite swimmer, but I’m six-eight so that might have put me a good deal of distance ahead of anyone else to start. I took a position toward the front on the far right.

The swim went well. I swam very easy. Every time I looked up I was staring right ahead at a buoy. It seemed foggier on the way in – I couldn't see the beach until I was right on it. I came out of the water in a good time and then went over to where I had laid out my gear. Inexplicably, while I toweled my head and body off, I forgot to towel my feet and not only did I have a hard time getting my sox on, but my sneakers were soaked. Once they were tied, I ran at a measured pace to the transition area, already knowing I would have to change to some dry socks after the bike. Fortunately, I had another pair.

This year I finally got a road bike and what a difference it made. I am not a good rider at all, and while I was passed by quite a few people, including a couple mountain bike riders, I felt like for the most part I held my own, passing a few riders and never having to struggle on any of the modest inclines. I think I could go much faster than I do – I just have never quite overcome my fear of bikes and a bad accident I had when I was in first grade – going over the handlebars on my new Schwin Speedster. Since I got my road bike I have already been over the handle bars twice – once in a parking lot when I was trying out the bike and ran smack into a precisely cut foot wide wire ditch running the length of the lot and was unable to stop in time or failing that Evil-Knevil it and then once at a much slower speed when trying to turn a circle I slowly hit a curb and landed in the grass. I tried a couple times to get in the low position, but for some reason my bike would creak like it was breaking apart so I stopped trying that.

My transition was slow due to having to take my sneakers and wet socks off and then put dry ones, and then find my Gatorade in my bag, only to knock over my bike and two next to it. I was very slow on the run. My lower back was tight – a problem I had last year in my earlier races. But instead of walking and trying to stretch, I decide it was more important that I had just keep running at a pace I knew was slow. I attributed the tightness to the colder weather – last year it was much warmer. I made it though, and even managed a bit of a kick at the end with the crowd urging us on.

There were plenty of bagels left at the finish, as well as bananas and cold water. I got in line for the free massages, but after standing there for twenty minutes and the massager still working on the person who was there when I got in line, I left. The sun was out now and the warmth was starting to my back feel better.

Driving home, I felt really great. The sky seemed bluer than it was yesterday, the greenery of the Connecticut landscape brighter.

I was looking ahead to a day off with the family, roasting some chickens, watching some of the Red Sox game, and in the evening having a couple cold beers

***

Results

I came in 151 out of 187.

Swim/Run to transition 0:15:15 (85th)
Transition Bike 0:55:14 (144th)
Transition/Run 0:31:15 (165th)
Total 1:41:41



Surprisingly I lost almost 2 minutes in the swim.
I picked up five in the bike
and only lost 5 seconds in the run.

Here are some photos of the race: Smugmug

There are pictures of me on Page 3, 28 and 40.