Mud Water Triathlon

My first real triathlon race was last weekend at Lake Afton, near Goddard, Kansas. It was a sprint triathlon, which is the shortest distance, and included a 750 meter swim, followed by a 15 mile bike, followed by a three mile run. I was confident about the bike and run after my duathlon went so well but was pretty nervous about the swim. I train the least on swimming when I should probably train on it the most. I had never actually swam 750 meters straight in my life. The most I had done in training was about 500 meters.

I actually ended up kicking some serious butt on the swim. I think it was a combination of nerves and competitive spirit swimming next to so many people. Open water swims are much different than swimming laps in a pool. Pools are nice a calm and you have your own lane and its all very peaceful. Open water swims are in choppy lakes that sometimes have currents and you have to deal with other athletes swimming all around and sometimes on top of you. It is all very chaotic.



So I took off on the swim and kept trying to tell myself to slow down and get my pace but my body wasn't listening and I ended up in the top 10 or 15 coming out of the water. I swallowed about half of the lake and was a bit woozy headed to my bike but confidence was high. I got on my bike and headed out on the road for the 15 mile loop and I could tell that I was pushing hard because I wanted to stay towards the front of the pack. I was feeling great and making great time.

About half a mile into the course, my front tire blew out. Not just the tube, but the whole side of the tire. I immediately thought my race was over because I didn't have a spare tube or tire with me. I didn't really know what I was going to do when I got there but I decided to grab my bike and jog back to the transition area (the place you change shoes and everything between events, as fast as you can). Carrying a bike on your shoulder for half a mile in cycling shoes will wear you out almost as much as swimming 750 meters as fast as you can. When I got back I spotted the guy from a local bike shop who had been doing maintenance on bike before the race. I looked at him and said "I had a blowout!" and he quickly jumped up and changed my tube and tire for me. Overall I lost about 20 minutes between running back with my bike and getting the tire changed, but I decided to finish the race anyway. I had come this far and I still wanted to see how I would hold up. So I started over on the bike and managed to have a decent time if you take away the 20 minute delay.

After the bike I slipped on my runners and took off for the 3 mile loop. I did pretty good on that but I could tell I wasnt running my best since there was no one around me to race. I was way in the back with all the really slow people by that point so it was hard to push myself too much. Plus, that blowout had a serious negative affect on my psyche. I was pretty down, especially since I had done so well on the swim and was feeling good.

Anyway, I finished and afterwards I felt good. Physically I was tired but not dead. I felt pretty good about finishing the race and not quitting because of some bad luck, which I hope I got out of the way for future races.

Next race is mid August in Edmond, Ok. This one is the olympic distance: 1500m swim, 25 mile bike, 6 mile run. Which reminds me, I need to go work out!