Last Saturday I completed the Windsor Tribute Triathlon. 500 yard swim. 18 mile bike. 3.1 mile run. It was a lot of fun and I'll probably try to do a couple more races next year. I might have said earlier that I've always wanted to do the Shawnee Mission Tri. I intend to sign up for it again next year. I still need to finish that thing.
Anyways, back to Windsor. 12 minutes something coming out of the water. Pathetic. An hour and two minutes on the bike. 24:47 on the run. 1:42:04 officially for the whole thing. Nothing to brag about. Middle of the pack for my age group.
It's easy to be intimidated when you show up for one of these things. There's a lot of athletic-y looking people there with great bikes and cool spandex outfits. I don't have such a great outfit. At my last tri I had a hard time getting my bike jersey on, so this time I cut the sleeves off of an old Old Navy tee shirt and wore it with my bike shorts. Perhaps not so cool, but I got that shirt on a lot faster.
One more thing. The girls at these races are very fast. I got beat by two of them. I can tell you though, at Shawnee Mission I would've been bested by scores more.
Enough about that. I have my eyes on another race. There is a cyclocross race in Hermann, MO in September. Time to start training.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
First Triathlon Race Report
My first triathlon ever was called due to rain and lightening. Bummer! To be fair it was a heck of a storm. It followed us back home to Clinton and blew over a bunch of trees and limbs, including a large maple tree limb in my yard.
Probably the best way to do this is using the Socratic method. I will provide the answers.
Q. So, overall, how did it go today?
A. Well, I didn't die, if that's what you're asking.
Q. No, just trying to get a general impression. Um, how was the swim?
A. Horrible. The water was a hot eighty-some degrees, which I'm sure sapped my strength, causing me to almost drown two times. I did finish in like 27 minutes or so, in spite of the thick water in SM Lake.
Q. Thick water?
A. Yeah, I wasn't used to it.
Q. OK...let's talk about transition one. Had you practiced transitioning from swimming to biking during your training?
A. Why would I? I already know how to put on a shirt and shoes.
Q. So, you didn't have any problems with T1?
A. Well, actually, it took like 15 minutes to get my shirt on. My torso was wet with that thick lake water, and all my shirt wanted to do was wad up in my pits and above my nips. It was embarrassing.
Q. Wow. So on to the ride. Were you able to make up any time after dealing with the, uh, you know, thick lake water?
A. Actually, again I was at a disadvantage. Everyone else had high dollar bikes with clipless pedals. I got passed like an arena league football.
Q. So do you think you should've trained differently?
A. I said they had clipless pedals. Did you not hear me?
Q. How was the route?
A. The route was up hill the whole way.
Q. I thought it was a loop.
A. It was.
Q. Hmm. OK, I'm done. Goodbye.
And there you have it. Just like the race report, the race ended when I was on the bike. I really wanted to finish, and I think I could have. The swim was harder that I expected, the biking about as hard as I suspected it would be. The run? I'll never know. Oh well, I have another race in two weeks in Windsor. See you there!
And now for some pics:
Probably the best way to do this is using the Socratic method. I will provide the answers.
Q. So, overall, how did it go today?
A. Well, I didn't die, if that's what you're asking.
Q. No, just trying to get a general impression. Um, how was the swim?
A. Horrible. The water was a hot eighty-some degrees, which I'm sure sapped my strength, causing me to almost drown two times. I did finish in like 27 minutes or so, in spite of the thick water in SM Lake.
Q. Thick water?
A. Yeah, I wasn't used to it.
Q. OK...let's talk about transition one. Had you practiced transitioning from swimming to biking during your training?
A. Why would I? I already know how to put on a shirt and shoes.
Q. So, you didn't have any problems with T1?
A. Well, actually, it took like 15 minutes to get my shirt on. My torso was wet with that thick lake water, and all my shirt wanted to do was wad up in my pits and above my nips. It was embarrassing.
Q. Wow. So on to the ride. Were you able to make up any time after dealing with the, uh, you know, thick lake water?
A. Actually, again I was at a disadvantage. Everyone else had high dollar bikes with clipless pedals. I got passed like an arena league football.
Q. So do you think you should've trained differently?
A. I said they had clipless pedals. Did you not hear me?
Q. How was the route?
A. The route was up hill the whole way.
Q. I thought it was a loop.
A. It was.
Q. Hmm. OK, I'm done. Goodbye.
And there you have it. Just like the race report, the race ended when I was on the bike. I really wanted to finish, and I think I could have. The swim was harder that I expected, the biking about as hard as I suspected it would be. The run? I'll never know. Oh well, I have another race in two weeks in Windsor. See you there!
And now for some pics:
We celebrated our anniversary in Overland Park. Here's a view from our hotel. We stayed overnight since I had to be at the park so early.
Trying to be brave, before the swim.
My wife tried to get a shot of me swimming. That's me under the surface of the water, drowning.
Transition 1, and The Lotus.
How do these pedals work?
Weeeee!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
This is It
Tomorrow is the umpteenth running of the Shawnee Mission Triathlon, and I'll be running, along with biking and swimming, though not in that order.
All the training is done. I may be in the best shape of my life, or in at least as good of shape as I've ever been. I'm down to 156 pounds, which is where I hovered throughout most of my time in the Navy when I was 21-25 years old. My training consisted of free weights, running two or three times a week, swimming a couple of times a week, and biking a couple of times a week. In total it added up to about an hour a day on average. I took Sundays off. I didn't change my diet one iota. I'm not exactly a glutton, and I don't live on junk food, but I pretty much ate what I wanted.
People keep asking me, "Are you ready?" To which I say, "I guess." Like I said way back when I decided to run, I won't be competitive. However, I hope to turn in a respectable time. I'd like to finish in the 25th percentile of my age group, but I have no idea what kind of time that would be.
For more info, and maybe even some race results later, check back here.
Swim .62 miles, bike 18 miles, run 4.5 miles. Pray for me.
All the training is done. I may be in the best shape of my life, or in at least as good of shape as I've ever been. I'm down to 156 pounds, which is where I hovered throughout most of my time in the Navy when I was 21-25 years old. My training consisted of free weights, running two or three times a week, swimming a couple of times a week, and biking a couple of times a week. In total it added up to about an hour a day on average. I took Sundays off. I didn't change my diet one iota. I'm not exactly a glutton, and I don't live on junk food, but I pretty much ate what I wanted.
People keep asking me, "Are you ready?" To which I say, "I guess." Like I said way back when I decided to run, I won't be competitive. However, I hope to turn in a respectable time. I'd like to finish in the 25th percentile of my age group, but I have no idea what kind of time that would be.
For more info, and maybe even some race results later, check back here.
Swim .62 miles, bike 18 miles, run 4.5 miles. Pray for me.
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