Triathlon Results

Chapter One
My 38th birthday triathlon was great. The swim was strong. I did 18 laps, with my sweetie watching me, timing me, and counting laps with me. My timing was consistent, with 7 laps at 11 minutes and 14 at 21 minutes. It was smooth. The transition was slow, but I suppose it could have been slower. I used the restroom, took a very quick shower, dried, and changed clothes. Jo was waiting for me outside the Y with my bike ready, helmet and bike gloves in hand. Jennifer, John, Meg, and Erin were there too, all smiles. John was mounted on his bike, helmet on. We were real slow out of the ramp and down the side walk (bus transit station, not supposed to bike at all), and fairly easy down the hill. Once we were on the Greenway we were off. I was hoping for an average of 10 miles an hour. But I pretty much pedaled constantly – other than mandatory stops where we crossed traffic. I frequently saw 11 and 12 even 13 mph on my bike computer. The last few miles were harder. Up the hill on William Berry was hard, and then around Lake Harriet I found myself going slower. I guess that’s good to know. I usually bike about 10 miles, and it makes sense then that the last 5 would be harder on me. The first 10 though, I was loving it. I was enjoying the speed, the ride, the weather, the route, and even singing a little. I used the porta-potty before I started walking. The walk was H-A-R-D. It was long, my legs felt really off, and I was just exhausted. It was amazingly wonderful to have Jennifer with me. We talked, and I ignored my discomfort for the most part. Three miles is along way. All the way around Lake Calhoun is a long way. When we got to the end, Jennifer asked me what time I thought I’d be done. I told her I was hoping for 12, but for sure wanted to be done by 1. She said it was just past 11:30. I screamed in jubilation! Whew Hew. I crossed the finish line at 11:40 or so. I was hoping to do the swim under 30 minutes, and did 28 minutes. I wanted to do the bike and the walk each under an hour and a half. I started the whole thing at 8:10. I was in the pool at 8AM, and did 3 warm up laps. I shook Joanne’s hand, and she started the timer when I pushed off. As I write this first draft, Jo still needs to add up the rest of my times. Overall my time was 3 hours, 25 minutes, and 27 seconds.

Before the event I was super excited. I had butterflies in my chest from the time I pulled up in front of the house after work, 7 pm, the night before. I did not sleep well, and I was super nervous and excited the morning of. I thought the butterflies would calm down during the swim. They didn’t. They were there the whole time. Sometimes, especially after pushing off from the other end, they were extreme. Other times, they were a little quieter. Sometime soon after I hit the Greenway on the bike ride they calmed down.

I have to say, Jo did terrific. She helped me pack and prepare before hand, and followed all of my instructions to a tee. I could not have done it without her, honestly. And, it was so nice to have John bike with me, Jennifer walk with me, and her Meg and Erin as added encouragement. Without Joanne the event would not have happened, I am sure. And, without Jennifer, I would have either stopped to rest, cried, or thrown up sometime during the walk (or maybe all three).

Chapter Two
Sunday we went to the YWCA Women’s Triathlon at Baker Park Reserve in Medina/Maple Plain. It was so good to be there. I learned a lot. I have a lot of work to do to be ready for next year. I heard the bike route was a lot of hills. OK, so 15 miles of a lot of hills. My route on my birthday was flat. It was good to see the transition area, especially how racers handled the swim to bike transition. It was good to be out there, get a sense of how things are set up and how they look out there. It was good to have Jo there, to have her get a sense of what it will be like for her (and me) next year.

Chapter Three: The times for my unsponsored, unofficial triathlon on 8/15/08 are IN

Swim (18 laps = just over .5 miles) 28:26
Transition 1 (swim to bike) 14:04
Bike (15.4 miles) 90:00
Transition 2 (bike to walk) 3.5 minutes
Walk (3.1 miles) 69:27

Total 3 hours, 25 minutes, 27 seconds

Final Results for 4 month training goal

My April through July results are in!

Goal: Swim 26.2 miles (932 laps), bike 500 miles, walk 100 miles.
Final: Swam 28 miles (991 laps), biked 500.75 miles, walked 111.1 miles

Net: swam 1.5+ miles over goal, biked .75 miles over goal, walked 11.1 miles over goal.