Late last week and early this week was a time to relax; the midpoint of my training season for the TRR. I actually gave my legs six days off from strenuous training. I still biked, swam, and lifted weights during that time, but didn't do any 2, 3, or 4 hour runs. Oh, I also participated in my first two triathlons on Saturday and Sunday!
They were a great success. My swimming lessons paid off. I neither drowned nor was disqualified in either swim. The first swim was a half mile swim in a lake. I was terrified at the start, standing on the shore with dozens and dozens of people ready to sprint into the water. The gun went off, I hung back, and casually walked into the water at the back of the pack. Knowing that my swim time was going to suck, I just wanted to survive and not get kicked in the face. I went at my own pace and found it incredibly easy. Much easier than swimming in a pool, in fact. Not having to change directions every 25 yards really allowed me to get into a rythym and time flew by. I finished the swim in just under 18 minutes which is great considering I was thinking it would take me closer to 22 or 23 minutes. Granted, I was 204th out of 244 finishers, but I didn't care.
The bike went well, too. I averaged 21.0 mph for the 16 miles and actually finished 89th during that portion. I would have been happy with anything above 19.0. Then came the 4.0 mile run. That was the REALLY fun part! Seeing as how I'd been exercising for only about an hour at that point, I wasn't even close to being tired. Going out for 3 to 4 hour runs in the middle of the summer made this feel like a warm-up. So, I start the run and I'm flying by people like they are standing still! Over that 4 mile stretch I passed 35 runners and finished 14th for that portion. My final stats were: 82nd out of 244 finishers, 11th of 29 in my age group, and I missed winning the 'first-timer' category by just 42 seconds. Crap! Oh well. It was a great time and I'm very happy I did. I'm looking forward to doing more at some point in time.
That point in time was the next morning in Hagerstown MD. Another sprint distance triathlon. This time it was a 300 mtr pool swim, 12 mile bike ride, and 5k. The pool part sucked. First, because I registered so late, I was in the last wave in the pool. That means that even though the race started at 7:00am, the race proceeded with a staggered start of 12 people in the pool every 10 minutes. With 240 racers, that means the last wave (mine), didn't start until 10:20. Ugh. Not sure I'd do that again. My stats were similiar to yesterday...slightly slower pace for the swim, 20.6 mph for the bike, and virtually the identical pace for the 5k. The competition was definitely not as fit/athletic at this event compared to yesterday. Lots of first timers, I think, due to the easy 300 mtr pool swim. I finished 16 out of 196 finishers. I was 4th in my age group and just missed placing by 46 seconds! Crap! Crap! Crap! And, I'd have placed in any of the other age groups but the times in mine were the best. Now I'm really annoyed because I'm now of the mindset that I might actually do well at these things and have to prove to myself that I can place and excel.
Anybody out there have some extra time in their day that I can borrow? I really don't think I have time to actually work out more than I already do.
Big thanks to Haynes for getting me to do these and lending me all his shit!
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