Saturday, April 15, 2006
Treasure Island Sprint Triathlon
Today was super-fun. The coaches setup a practice triathlon that mimiced the exact course of the Treasure Island Triathlon. This was a great time for us to practice our transitions, and figure out the logistics of the whole event while doing shorter distances in each segment. A sprint distance triathlon consists of:
The Swim:
Given my swim in the lake last weekend, I was hoping that this would go relatively well. Unfortunately, we had a "mass start" which involved everyone rushing into the water at the same time. The bottom was disgustingly slimy as we ran out, and as soon as we were deep enough to swim everyone began to bump, kick and swim over eachother in an attempt to get out of the fray. I did my fair share of bumping into people that seemed to be going slower than me, but I never felt confident enough to pass them so I always dropped back. In the end, I just couldn't wait for the swim to be over. I left the water after 17:35 - roughly 95% of the people in the real Treasure Island Tri (and our practice tri) finished faster than I did.
The Bike:
I was ecstatic to finally hop on the bike. The hard part was over, and I knew that I could recover some time on the bike and the run. I headed out onto the course and rode around the wet pavement somewhat cautiously as there were lots of turns, loose gravel and potholes. Sadly, Josh got a flat tire which almost doubled his bike ride. He had a huge piece of glass lodged in his tire. I was able to finish pretty well, and eat and drink a fair amount while on the bike (this is going to be a bit harder in the Wildflower as there are steep hills and it will be HOT). I defititely need to work on eating and drinking even more on the bike in order to give myself enough energy for the run. In the end, I finished the bike ride well, with only 36% of the people finishing faster than me.
The Run:
I jumped off the bike as quickly as I could and switched into my running shoes. I almost ran off with my helmet still on and had to run back a few steps to drop it off. The run was flat, so I tried to go at a decent pace. It was an out and back, so I got to see the other people running back with victorious looks on their faces. I tried to focus on the fact that soon, I would be one of them, but it was hard. I ran at a pretty good pace, for me, averaging 8:22 minutes per mile. I finished the run with only 31% of the other triathletes finishing faster than me.
Overall:
Even though I was faster than most people in the bike and run, my slow swim time led me to finish the entire race in 1:27:39. Around 60% of the others finished the race faster than me. It was a great learning experience for me and I know I can do better in the swim if I work at it a bit more. There are only a couple of weeks left so that doesn't leave me much more time. I think some lessons might be in order.
- a 500 meter swim
- a 12.4 mile bike
- a 3.1 mile run
The Swim:Given my swim in the lake last weekend, I was hoping that this would go relatively well. Unfortunately, we had a "mass start" which involved everyone rushing into the water at the same time. The bottom was disgustingly slimy as we ran out, and as soon as we were deep enough to swim everyone began to bump, kick and swim over eachother in an attempt to get out of the fray. I did my fair share of bumping into people that seemed to be going slower than me, but I never felt confident enough to pass them so I always dropped back. In the end, I just couldn't wait for the swim to be over. I left the water after 17:35 - roughly 95% of the people in the real Treasure Island Tri (and our practice tri) finished faster than I did.
The Bike:I was ecstatic to finally hop on the bike. The hard part was over, and I knew that I could recover some time on the bike and the run. I headed out onto the course and rode around the wet pavement somewhat cautiously as there were lots of turns, loose gravel and potholes. Sadly, Josh got a flat tire which almost doubled his bike ride. He had a huge piece of glass lodged in his tire. I was able to finish pretty well, and eat and drink a fair amount while on the bike (this is going to be a bit harder in the Wildflower as there are steep hills and it will be HOT). I defititely need to work on eating and drinking even more on the bike in order to give myself enough energy for the run. In the end, I finished the bike ride well, with only 36% of the people finishing faster than me.
The Run:I jumped off the bike as quickly as I could and switched into my running shoes. I almost ran off with my helmet still on and had to run back a few steps to drop it off. The run was flat, so I tried to go at a decent pace. It was an out and back, so I got to see the other people running back with victorious looks on their faces. I tried to focus on the fact that soon, I would be one of them, but it was hard. I ran at a pretty good pace, for me, averaging 8:22 minutes per mile. I finished the run with only 31% of the other triathletes finishing faster than me.
Overall:
Even though I was faster than most people in the bike and run, my slow swim time led me to finish the entire race in 1:27:39. Around 60% of the others finished the race faster than me. It was a great learning experience for me and I know I can do better in the swim if I work at it a bit more. There are only a couple of weeks left so that doesn't leave me much more time. I think some lessons might be in order.
// posted by Zack @ 6:55 PM 
Comments:
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so competitive! but i LOVE all the pictures, everywhere. WHO takes them?? i want to know the secret to having photogs around to shoot you in action. i need it badly for my thesis...no one is around to take exciting pictures of me piercing holes, covering them w/tyvek squares that i have also cut by hand, and then piercing & sewing them again.
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