August 30 2015 - My Way or the Tri Way

First in my Age Group!

A few weeks ago, I completed my second Sprint Triathlon of the year.  This Triathlon permitted participants to do swim bike run in any order.   There was also an option to only do two disciplines in any order.   I chose the traditional swim-bike-run but was competing against others doing all 3 disciplines in their chosen order. I'm not sure how the race directors keep everything organized but Racing Underground did a great job. Registration, packet pickup, and every aspect of the event went great for me. 

 The Triathlon was held at Aurora Reservoir in Aurora Colorado. I really enjoy swimming in the reservoir but knew the course would be tough. The bike ride and run are especially tough with plenty of rolling hills. I arrived at the reservoir around 610am. Parking was easy with a short walk to transition. There were lots of people already set up in transition so I was pleased to find an available spot close to the bike exit. It was also close to a couple other folks from the Arvada Triathlon Club, which made the event more fun. 

Once my transition was setup I went to get my timing chip and body marking. My race number was 114. One of my friends told me this was a good sign since 1-14 is my birthday! Next I put my wetsuit on and headed down to the water. I dipped into the water and swam around a little to get my heartbeat up. I was now ready for the swim but also noticed how far it was from transition to the water. Running down to the water wouldn't be too bad but running back up to transition was gonna be a little more challenging. 

 About 5 minutes before the start, I took a gel. Other than water, this was the my only nutrition during the race. I carried another gel but didn't use it. We started the race in Transition. Around 730am, all men, and the women from relay teams, started running for the water. I am a slow swimmer so let all the fast swimmers get in the water first. Once in the water, I tried to relax and swim at a comfortable pace. The sun was in our eyes until we made our first right turn. I veered toward the wrong buoy but corrected once I realized the mistake. Once I was back on track, I swam past several folks and felt the swim went well. 21:52 sounds dreadfully slow for a 750 meter swim. I think the run to and from the water probably added about 2-3 minutes to the time. When I compared my swim to the other folks, it was slightly above average and first for my age group. 

T1 went fairly well. I didn't set any records but was out of transition and on the bike in 2:29. This is probably an area where I could improve. Getting out of the wetsuit can be difficult and takes time. 

Once I was on the bike, things got fun. It was so much fun to get into aero position and zoom by people. I was really impressed when I passed folks on Tri bikes. Overall I felt the bike ride went excellent. I wish my legs could push faster through the up hills but was very satisfied with my bike time (43:13). 

T2 went great too. I was off the bike, into my run gear and back out of Transition in 1:01. The only thing I forgot was my race belt that had my bib number. Luckily no one cared! The run was really difficult for me. Not only was the course tough (rolling hills) but I was also kinda spent from pushing too hard on the bike. I ran most of the course but walked the tougher hills. The run was the one area that I was disappointed in. My time was 36:13. I'm not sure of the exact run distance but this was probably about a 10:30 pace. It felt really great to cross the finish line. 

As I approached, the announcer called my name and stated I had run half marathons in 12 different states. A couple  of my ATC buddies (Jeff and Cliff) cheered me on at the finish. I really appreciated them being there. I went over to the timing table and about fell over after seeing the results. I was 1st in my age group! There were 11 old guys in my age group. 6 that did Swim-Bike-Run and the other 5 did the 3 in a different order.  Technically I was tied for first with one of the old guys that did a different order.  This was my first time on the podium so I was so excited!!

Stats from the race:

Finish Time: 1:46:38 

Swim: 21.52 

T1: 2:29 

Bike: 43:13 

T2: 1:01 

Run: 36:13 

Dash from Transition to the finish line: 1:47 

Overall: 120th out of 366 

All Men: 85th out of 167 

Swim Bike Run AG (55-59 M) 1st out of 6 

All Triathlon AG (55-59 M) - Tied (1st) out of 11

What's next for me?

A half marathon hopefully sometime soon in the future.