Chesapeakeman

The triathlon has now come and gone. It was really a lot of fun. Whitney deserves a big thank you for supporting me. She watched the kids while I was doing 12 weeks of early morning exercise, put up with hours of my research and incessant discussion of triathlon details, and was there to cheer me on. The race started with the swim. The bottom of the Choptank was sandy and smooth. I expected muck and other stuff. When the horn blew to start the race the wetsuit kept me on top of the water and I cruised on adrenaline for the first 400 yards. Then I had to swim. It was harder to spot the course marking bouys than I anticipated. People were veering all over the place. I had to muscle a couple of people out of the way who were crossing my bow. I kept it steady and came out of the water 11th. Luckily, I didn't get stung by jellyfish. One guy in the changing tent was complaining that he got stung all over his face. The first transition was smooth. I didn't fall over taking off the wetsuit, which I did in practice. I got on the bike and felt good, at least at the beginning. About three miles in, on open road, it started to drizzle a little. I was going as fast as I could, which wasn't very fast. I got passed by a couple people and that motivated me not to let others pass. Around mile 10 my legs were burning and me seat got really uncomfortable. That's when I had to start to endure. Its also when I got passed by a few others as I took a drink and adjusted my position. The last mile and half I felt better as I knew it was almost over and the second transition was coming. I was the 27th fastest biker with an average speed of 17.7. Lots of room for improvement there. The run transition was easy. I just took off my bike helmet and started running. My legs needed a little while to get going because I got so tight on the bike. I slowly sped up as my legs stretched out. but never got going very fast. I got passed by a few and passed a couple of people myself. One Navy cadet passed me saying "good job sir." Coming into the finish I looked back and saw a lady coming so I started to speed up. Right at the finish I forgot about her and she caught me. Grrrr. I've learned that's called getting "chicked," when a woman passes you at the finish. Won't happen next time. My run was respectable, the 16th fastest with 8:23 minute miles. Overall, according to unofficial results I finished 12th of 70, 8th of 32 men. I was surprised I did that well in my first one. The hours of training paid off. Even more surprising was that the swim was my best sport. I've never swam in my life till last May. Now I have winter to train and plan for the next race. I've heard and now experienced that triathlons are addictive. I might be hooked after one.