About three months ago three of my co-workers asked me if I wanted to do a triathlon with them.
The Training
I joined the Y to have access to a pool. On my first swim I could barely do 100 yards, and I could not do it freestyle. I had to breast stroke and backstroke. My first few workouts I did mostly backstroke to get a bit of endurance up. I slowly started working on the freestyle. It took quite a while to get into a groove. It was a balance between going so slow that I wouldn’t sink and going fast enough to not get exhausted.
I bought a center mounted snorkel so I could concentrate specifically on the stroke and not the breathing. It was nice, worked well, and I was able to quit using it within a couple weeks. The only negative with the center mounted stroke is that your throat and mouth get painfully dry.
Eventually I was able to swim a half mile in 20-22 minutes.
My wife has a nice treadmill which I began using regularly. On the first runs I was doing about 10.5 minute miles but about a week ago I was down to around 8.
I wasn’t too worried about the bike, because I do a lot of biking.
I lost 12 pounds during the training. It wasn’t my goal to lose weight, it just happened.
The Swim - .5 miles (19:40)
The water was choppy and 65 degrees F. I was wearing my new DeSoto wetsuit. I did not get cold, but I had some problems. My goggles were leaking and I had to try to readjust them a few times. I was nervous and anxious, and could not get into a groove. I was running into people and being run into. It was havoc and reminded me of the scene in The Titanic, just after it went down.
At about 200 yards I ran into my boss who was treading water and complaining of shortness of breath. He had not trained much and is a few pounds overweight. I had a moral, ethical and possibly career threatening decision to make: leave boss to have heart attack or drown, or continue race.
I raced on and left him to the fates.
Well, he said he was okay, a kayak came over which he grabbed, and he encouraged me to go on.
I had not secured my timer chip tight enough around my ankle and it came loose. I was worried that it would fall off. I tried unsuccessfully to tighten it, and just had to hope it would stay on.
Because my goggles were leaking and because I could not get into a groove I relapsed to various other strokes, i.e. side stroke, back stroke, and breast stroke. I was continually checking to see that I had not lost my timing chip.
T1 (2:57)
I made it out of the water and headed for T1. The night before the race I had listened to David Warden’s tri-talk podcast ‘Lost in Transition’. David said it might be hard to use your fingers after coming out of cold water and recommended, among other things, using quick laces and going sockless. I did have trouble with my fingers. I could not get my cycling gloves on and after several seconds just pitched them on the ground.
I had a moment of confusion when I saw the person next to me putting on running shoes. Why? Was the run next? As he hopped on his bike I saw that he had cages on his pedals.
The Bike – 14 miles (40:29)
The bike course rolled through a beautiful park and part of the surrounding suburb. It was a gorgeous day, and I was passing people by the scads. In fact I passed two of my co-workers who had started in the first wave, five minutes ahead. I played cat and mouse with a couple other cyclists and averaged almost 21 mph. I could hardly believe my odometer, my speed was faster than any of my practice TTs.
T2 (1:52)
No complaints here. T2 went pretty well.
The Run – 3 miles (27:21)
Despite having listened to the advice in ‘Lost in Transition’ I took off on the run with my helmet on. I realized this the moment I passed the chip timer. I took off the helmet, and pitched it to the crowd. A young mother with a stroller caught it.
I paid for my good bike time in the run.
The run skirted a lake and went uphill into the woods. My legs were like lead, and I guessed I would probably do about 10 minute miles. There was a Clydesdale who was bigger than a tree ahead of me who was barely moving. I finally passed him at the top of the hill.
I think my pace picked up about half way through the run. At one point, there is a turn-around. Immediately after the turn-around I saw one of my co-workers who I had passed on the bike. I stepped it up a notch.
As I came toward the finishing gate they announced my name which inspired me to do a 50 yard dash to the finish.
The Finish (1:32:18)
It was a great feeling, just fantastic. I was so pumped and thrilled to feel so alive.
I am 54. In my age group I finished 7/13 in the swim, 6/13 in the bike, 9/13 in the run, and 9/13 overall.
I have no where to go but up. I’m still at the stage where big improvements can be made in time. I was 17 minutes slower than the winner of my age group.
Notes
My boss hung on, survived, and finished the race.
After the race, the kind young mother found me and returned my helmet.
One last mistake. As I was gathering my gear in the transition zone I asked my neighbor what I was supposed to do with the timer chip. He said I should have turned it in at the finish. Apparently I ran right past the chip collectors. I turned it in a bit late.
In the parking lot when it was all over I asked the girl parked next to me how she did. "I think I took first," she said. "In your division?" I asked. "Overall women's," she responded. "I guess you did pretty good then,” I replied.
She was 23, had been a University of Minnesota swimmer. Her swim time for the half mile was 10:35. Of the top ten swimmers, her time was the best, followed by nine men. And indeed, she was the top woman, ahead of even those who were in the 'elite' category. Nice. She was awarded a brand new helmet.
***
My seven year old son also had a big day (end of season soccer awards)
My daughter comforted me afterward.
