Sunday, June 7, 2009

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New Bri Tri!

I honestly forgot how fun a triathlon is. It's the Rock n' Roll of endurance sports! I realize that I have not been active long with endurance events with only 2 marathons, 1/2 marathon and now 3 sprint tri's but tri's have a completely different feel. I'm not sure why! Is it the transition area preparation?, Is it the music? Is it the instructions and cheering before the race? Is it the suits?, wetsuits?

Either way, there is an excitement at the beginning of the triathlon that just isn't rivaled by any marathon  I've run or marathon start that I've witnessed.

And I was exceptionally blessed that my Dad and son were at the beach to watch me. I was able to see my wife, mil and daughters on the bike as well! That was sweet.


The Swim - I was just too chicken to go out and warm up! 48 degrees at start time is what I am told. The water was nice and warm, at least with a wet suit it was. My fear was not warming up but coming out of the water after my warmup.
Anyway, I somehow wasn't anxious. A little worried but not anxious. I was only in a lake twice last year before June 13th and those swims were not so good. My only other 2 open water swims were in 2007. Would I be able to swim freestyle? Or will I panic? I haven't been swimming because of marathon training, what if that hurts my progress. And so on!
Despite those thoughts, I was positive. I have swam .5 miles before with very little freestyle and survived. I knew at the least that I could get through it.
I swam all freestyle for the first 1/3, almost 1/2 actually. It was amazing!!! Once the horn blew I just casually ran out until it was time to dive in and then started freestyle. I was in a crowd but nobody on top of me so I just kept swimming using the other swimmers as my mark on what direction I was going. Suddenly I looked up to see where I was and "where the hell is the buoy?" I looked back and was already past it. Saweeet, freestyle is fast. So I went back to swimming. My form was nowhere right and I was still too "anxious" to swim with bilateral breathing and I was taking a breath with every stroke. Things weren't as well once I was at the turn around buoy. My second half was much slower but I was able to always go back to freestyle even if it were only for 25 to 50 yards at a time.
After the 2nd turn around to come back to the beach, I reverted to my old swimming. It's weird, how can I be trying to swim, think I'm going straight but be going left really strong? Once I was half way back I was able to sight other swimmers again and then go straighter!

Pro's:      I was able to do freestyle, something that alluded me on other OWS's!
              17:01 for 1/2 mile

Con's:     Not able to freestyle the whole 1/2 mile
                17:01 for 1/2 mile is still pathetic.

Future goal: 14 minutes, then I'll go for 12! In other words freestyle the whole 1/2 mile.

The Bike:

I just felt pretty good on the bike. There wasn't much for hills so that helped with my lack of training. And I just got stronger and faster with every mile. The truth is, I didn't want it to end. It was my first outdoor bike of the year and it felt awesome. In fact I think that it's only my second outdoor bike since the accident.
That needs to change!

Pro's:     About a 20mph with only having trained 60 miles in the last two months.
               I passed many and was passed by few!


Con's: I'm very lucky that the little hills we did have didn't kill me. They seemed to slow down a lot of people that were around me though!

Future Goal:     I can do this so much faster. I'll be back!



The Run:

I wasn't sure about the run at first! My legs felt so heavy and I was breathing hard. But after about 1/2 mile, they loosened up and I ended up finishing in 24 minutes. The time mat must have been bad at the finish because everybody was given a run score rounded to the minute. What if I ran the 3 miles in 23-1/2 minutes meaning I finished in less than 1:28.

Pros:     Felt good, the marathon training did me good here
             Passed many, only passed by a couple

Cons:   None, this is my speed now and I didn't push this race!



Overall: A good effort by me. Improvement shown in the swim and run. I need to learn to open water swim! I can do this race faster than 1:20 or better if I master the swim.

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