jack's generic triathlon
the night prior, i couldn't get any sleep. the sleep that i did get brought along two dreams: (1) austin was hit with an ice storm and the swim was closed, and (2) barry bonds hit his record-tying homerun ball into mccovey cove and i was swimming to get it.* water was most definitely on the brain after dark. my first open water swim loomed. i put full faith in past experiences that have hardened me and what steven, k, and sandy have taught me.
still, it didn't help me sleep any easier.
my arrival at the ski ranch presented my first challenge: my bike's front tire went flat while in the car. quick diagnosis discovered a faulty stem, and i found myself changing a flat--illuminated by my car's headlights--before i had even checked in. fortunately, the rest of the pre-race went smoothly.
i was pleased to discover the water at 80-plus degrees that morning. nevermind the fact it was so dirty you couldn't see your hand in front of your face--warm water means relaxed muscles. our wave started on time--i positioned a little back and outside at our start, but still very much in the mix.
honestly, the swim seemed to end as soon as it started. i didn't take too many hits--in fact, i think i dished out many more hits than i received. i guess that's what an evening of swimming dreams will do to you. i felt solid the entire way; it still amazes me that i can actually do something like this today.
i clipped into the bike all fine and well; i wound up being a touch above average in my age, as i was pleased to discover. whenever a faster rider would drop me, i would study their chain and cadence... it seems that low torque/high cadence is the way to stay peppy throughout the course and i mimiced their behaviors. it seemed to work well.
i also observed that many people aren't terribly aggressive on the downhills, and that behavior i expressly did not assume! every downhill i hit hard, gaining momentum for the ensuing climb. the final decent i topped out at 37mph, which felt perfectly damn reasonable to me. and quite fun.
dismount, rack and run. legs felt great, calf felt spry. in front of me lay a vision my running eyes had never before seen: a sea of participants already running the course, most of whom had large calves, tree-trunk quads, tight hamstrings and broad shoulders. a sea of triathletes, which can also be described (from at least this runner's perspective) as fish in a barrel.
ZOOM! i weaved in and out of the pack, seemingly passing people with every step. the sun was up and out by this point, but it didn't bother me too much. i set a goal of negative splitting the run, and did so in solid fashion. i was pretty pumped as i broke the finisher's tape.
the post race barbeque was superb, complete with beer and veggie burgers. i saw many a friend and the weather was just great. it was during the post-race when i discovered a benefit of triathloning that runners don't get to experience: your bike jersey has three giant pockets in the back, which are perfect for loading up on food and drink as you walk through the chow line.
it's official: i've been deflowered. innocense lost. and perhaps like many of those before me, i find myself asking "why in the world did i wait so long?" i can't wait to fire this up even more.
*****
145/758 overall
27/95 in age
11:34 swim (2:19 pace, 65/95 in age)
02:04 T1
45:19 bike (19.6 mph, 36/95 in age)
02:15 T2
18:38 run (6:12/mi, 1/95 in age)
*****
___
* note: i hadn't read that bonds actually hit his record-tying home run that night. weird.
still, it didn't help me sleep any easier.
my arrival at the ski ranch presented my first challenge: my bike's front tire went flat while in the car. quick diagnosis discovered a faulty stem, and i found myself changing a flat--illuminated by my car's headlights--before i had even checked in. fortunately, the rest of the pre-race went smoothly.
i was pleased to discover the water at 80-plus degrees that morning. nevermind the fact it was so dirty you couldn't see your hand in front of your face--warm water means relaxed muscles. our wave started on time--i positioned a little back and outside at our start, but still very much in the mix.
honestly, the swim seemed to end as soon as it started. i didn't take too many hits--in fact, i think i dished out many more hits than i received. i guess that's what an evening of swimming dreams will do to you. i felt solid the entire way; it still amazes me that i can actually do something like this today.
i clipped into the bike all fine and well; i wound up being a touch above average in my age, as i was pleased to discover. whenever a faster rider would drop me, i would study their chain and cadence... it seems that low torque/high cadence is the way to stay peppy throughout the course and i mimiced their behaviors. it seemed to work well.
i also observed that many people aren't terribly aggressive on the downhills, and that behavior i expressly did not assume! every downhill i hit hard, gaining momentum for the ensuing climb. the final decent i topped out at 37mph, which felt perfectly damn reasonable to me. and quite fun.
dismount, rack and run. legs felt great, calf felt spry. in front of me lay a vision my running eyes had never before seen: a sea of participants already running the course, most of whom had large calves, tree-trunk quads, tight hamstrings and broad shoulders. a sea of triathletes, which can also be described (from at least this runner's perspective) as fish in a barrel.
ZOOM! i weaved in and out of the pack, seemingly passing people with every step. the sun was up and out by this point, but it didn't bother me too much. i set a goal of negative splitting the run, and did so in solid fashion. i was pretty pumped as i broke the finisher's tape.
the post race barbeque was superb, complete with beer and veggie burgers. i saw many a friend and the weather was just great. it was during the post-race when i discovered a benefit of triathloning that runners don't get to experience: your bike jersey has three giant pockets in the back, which are perfect for loading up on food and drink as you walk through the chow line.
it's official: i've been deflowered. innocense lost. and perhaps like many of those before me, i find myself asking "why in the world did i wait so long?" i can't wait to fire this up even more.
*****
145/758 overall
27/95 in age
11:34 swim (2:19 pace, 65/95 in age)
02:04 T1
45:19 bike (19.6 mph, 36/95 in age)
02:15 T2
18:38 run (6:12/mi, 1/95 in age)
*****
___
* note: i hadn't read that bonds actually hit his record-tying home run that night. weird.
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