Another Tri

This past Sunday, I competed in my third triathlon. Held in Redondo Beach, this one was a bit short, even by "sprint" standards: 1/2 mile in the Pacific next to King Harbor, 6 miles down Catalina Ave. and The Esplanade on the bike, and a 2-mile wrap-up run through King Harbor. With a 7:30 start time, I was up at 5:00 to eat a light breakfast and start battling the butterflies. At these distances, I wasn't really stressed, but competition is competition and in the back of my mind lurked the ugly truth - I'd not trained as hard as I had for previous events.

Held close to home, it was a quick and easy drive to the event. I arrived about 6:00, determined to get a good spot in the transition area. I staked out my territory with my mountain bike and assorted gear and waited for the "professionals" to fill in around me with their $5000 racing machines. I've modified my bike a little from its rugged beginnings by replacing the big nobbly tires with racing slicks and a nice aerobar. Yes, an aerobar does look a little odd on my rig, but it's proven to be one of the best "enhancements" I've made. It took a little getting used to, but I am so much more comfortable (and faster!) on the bike with it. I highly recommend it. I also added a small bike computer which does just about everything but tell me the pressure in my tires and the best time of day for bass fishing.

The start was reasonably uneventful and the water warm. I wear a sleeveless wetsuit which provides good freedom of arm motion and doesn't overheat me, even in summer So. Cal. waters. The really big benefit is the added buoyancy! Although there was no surf to speak of, the course turned out to be annoyingly choppy and I found myself struggling a bit to keep a good rhythm. After 1/2 mile, I was ready to get onto the bike. But first, after exiting the water, we had to run 100 yards or so, some of it up a flight of stairs to get back to the transition area. Nothing like a little extra oxygen-debt to make things interesting. As I emerged on the bike, I was several minutes behind my anticipated pace.

The bike course was 2 laps around a predominantly flat 3-mile course with a fun little downhill/uphill diversion at one end - just to make those legs scream a bit louder. Determined to make up some of the lost time, I worked pretty hard around the bike course and managed to shave off a couple of minutes. I had a very quick transition #2 and set out on the run.

Now, I've found that by the time I get to the run, my legs are low on fuel. This often causes my calves to hint at cramping. This time, I was ready for it and eased my pace a bit in the first 1/2 mile until the body could adjust from riding to running. As before, I soon found I could press on at a brisk pace. I completed the run course in acceptable form, but the lack of training made itself known in the late stages, keeping me from making up any more time overall. I finished just 9 seconds over 1 hour, happy - but pretty tapped out.

All in all, it was another rewarding triathlon experience. I'm definitely hooked. The variety of events and the challenge of performing them well back-to-back is unique. I've not had this much athletic fun since my days of competitive rowing. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I'd managed to finish 8th out of 24 in my age division and 105th overall. Not too bad. I'm psyched for the next one!