When we got there they had the buoys setup and I was like "There is no way that is 1000 M." Eric was like "It is, it just looks close together cause we're so far back." I was still doubtful. When it was about 45 minutes to start time, a boat went around and moved each of the three to probably double the distance apart. Eric was gone to the bathroom and when he came back, he said "Holy Crap!"
I laughed. 1000 M is a long way. This race was setup with alot of heats. It was supposed to be timed out so that the age group male and females compete against each other with the difference in heat start times. Sounds like a good idea. When my heat started I was on the front line and timed with my watch just as the gun went off for my heat. I was dealing with alot of splashing but quickly took the lead for my heat. By the time I broke away I was running into white capped ladies from the heat ahead of me. I came upon a woman who must have been treading water as I clothes lined her with my left arm. I stopped to look to make sure she was OK and say sorry. But then I went back on. I was passing people from the previous heat and coming into people from two heads ahead. I definitely was the first one out of the water in my heat. They had all the heats separated by cap color and I was the first red cap out of the water.
I didn't have any cramping issues with all the potassium pills I've been taking, the banana's and the salt pretzel's I've been loading up on! When I got out of the water I saw Cathi struggling to get off her wetsuit. I tapped her on the head and said, "Good job Cathi!" and ran to the transition area to take my wetsuit off.
When I got there the suit came off fast and I was able to start my bike part pretty quickly. I wasn't very fast getting my shoes on. I probably was about 15 seconds slower than I could have been had I been smarter.
Now the biking portion is where I'm just a little better than average, but that's it. When I got the point where I could mount my bike I stopped and a lady next to me tried mounting on her bike, but she went too fast and slipped and fell. She was OK, but made me glad I wasn't going too fast. During the ride I had gatorade splashing out of my aerodrink bottle all over me and my bike. Duane Ralphs told me about that mistake, but I guess I didn't listen well enough cause man that was a bad move! I passed probably 25 women on the bike portion, but I got passed by probably 15 guys so there was no way I was gonna place in my division. My average speed according to my GPS was about 21 miles per hour. I didn't have it on when I started so I didn't get an accurate start reading, but got the gyst. I'll have to rely on milliseconds to report my times.
When I started the run I popped a Buzz bite in my mouth. I already took one about 15 minutes before the swim and thought a second one would be good since I already spent alot of energy. But after 10 minutes I couldn't take the flavor anymore. Don't get me wrong, they're yummy, but when running and you're thirsty, they're just too rich. I spit the rest of it out. They had water stations every mile. When I got to mile 1 I took water and ran and drank at the same time. When I got mile two, I wanted two drinks so I walked so I could down the first cup, get another and then move on. But at mile two we started our way back and it was on a hiking trail that was only about 24 inches wide in some areas, which winded around and up and down hills. It was a nightmare. I was passed by around 30 people on the run, but I passed 3 unfortunate souls. I got killed on the run! But I ran the whole time except for the half way point where I walked for about 15 seconds.
I was very happy with my performance. My times aren't anywhere near where I wanted, but this is my first Sprint(PLUS) tri. The distance on this tri was:
Swim - 1000 Meters (1094 yards)
Bike - 15.3431 Miles
Run - 4 Miles (Which I think is low. If you look at the map, it doesn't follow the trail exactly. But its pretty close) They should have had someone run it with a GPS to make sure.
My goals/actual were:
Swim - Goal = 14:00. Actual = 15:39.08 (1:26/100 yard average)
Bike - Goal = 47:00. Actual = 43:38 (21.09 mph average!)
Run - Goal = 33:00. Actual = 37:41 Boo! Hiss!
Transition 1 - Goal = < 3:00. Actual = 2:30.5 Yes!
Transition 2 - Goal = < 1:45. Actual = 1:45.5 Whoah close!
Overall - Goal = 1:38:45. Actual = 1:41:14.49
I did the best I could given the route that I faced. The run was way hillier than I thought and the bike wasn't exactly flat. My goal on the swim with 14:00 obviously not very realistic for me. That would have been 1:19/100 yards average and that is booking for open water.
I'll have Cathi report her results separately here. Overall the event was very well organized, the booths were awesome, the shirt was average and the watering stations were the perfect distance apart and well staffed. Excellent job overall, except for a couple things on the timing which was done by milliseconds.com, but that's another post.
Here are my official results. But I'm not sure how accurate it is due to the timing problems I noted.
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