Triangle Triathlon 7/13/08

That race was SO fun!! Maybe I was just so stoked at the fact that I could race at all, but I had a blast the entire time.

The lake we swam in was gross...there was a no swimming sign right next to the start...whats that about? The swim was a mass start, and I got stuck in the middle of it, hating life. I got trampled by a bunch of chicks wasting their energy. The water was opaque. You couldn't see your hand an inch under the water's surface...questionable...I tried not to swallow it but I'm sure it happened. It was also about 80 degrees..HOT!

After I got out of the water my best portion of the race started....the bike!! It was crazy. The hills weren't super steep but we went up and down and up and down...a great challenge. I got up to 36mph flying down one of the hills!! My HR was sky rocketed the entire time, I pushed and pushed and pushed. LOVED IT!! My goal was under 45min on the bike, I did 42:22, averaging 21-22mph.

One other thing about the bike ride...I felt some friction in my pedals the whole time, but figured it was just because I have a new tire on the rear wheel or something...either way, I wasn't about to stop to figure it out....after the race I checked over my bike only to find that my rear brake must have been bumped when I was getting my bike out of the car because the brake pad was sitting against the rim. That essentially means I was riding the whole race with my brake slightly engaged!!! Makes me wonder how much faster I could of gone...

The run is what really gets me. Keep in mind I tried to go into this race with few expectations because I haven't been running for 3 weeks, and the Dr. only just let me try running 2 days ago. The run was mostly shaded, the hills weren't too bad, and I didn't know it at the time but I was evidently on a mission! The run was 5k (3.1mi), my previous 5K personal best (not in a triathlon, just the run) is 24:54. My time yesterday was 23:44!!!!!!!!! WHAT!? I can't even believe it. I'm thinking maybe this no training approach is working for me.

I will definitely do this race again. It was a great challenge and I love the hills. Next time however, I'm going to place! I came so close this year. (check out my online photo album for more pictures)

750m swim: 14:47
T1: 1:27
15mi bike: 42:22
T2: 1:35
5K run: 23:44

overall time: 1:23:54

Age group place: 6/29
overall females: 33/200