Hawk Island Triathlon - Triathlon

After lining up with the 30-39 male age group (confusing how they did this, I had signed up in the 25-29 age group, but they marked 30 on my leg for how old I would be at the end of the year, but I ended up being clocked in the 20-29 age group). I got near the front, since I was sure I was going to do six minutes for the swim. 400 yards isn't that bad, right? I went out pretty quick, and was going ok at the beginning, but at the first buoy, anxiety was starting to pick up, and I had to stop to fight it down. I treaded water for a little bit, and then backstroked before reducing it to just kicking on my back. After a little while of that, I flipped over and was able to do the last 100 or so freestyle. I came out of the water at just about eight minutes flat. I'm really disappointed that didn't go better. I had much higher expectations. I'm not sure if the anxiety came on because I couldn't see, because there were other people around, or because the weeds were just about touchable the entire swim.

I'm hoping that since I've clocked my first OWS now, that I have emptied the tank on the anxiety. The swim isn't that bad. Just settle down and swim.

Oh man, this is tragic. I didn't swim with my tri top because it would have been a drag. But when I got to transition to put it on, it got stuck. The bottom kind of rolled up and lodged right below my arm pits. I was pretty much helpless and couldn't do anything about it. One of the volunteers had pity on me and came to help me out. "Wow, you're really stuck aren't you."

Oh bother.

I'm going to try riding without socks to get used to that. Until I get a wetsuit (prob not this year), I'll likely not race with the tri top, and use the team's run top instead. It'll be easier to get into. I also need to get a race belt. The pins tore little holes into my tri top.

The bike was probably my best segment here. I was really hoping to average 22 mph, but I guess that's wishful thinking for something that's not super flat, but surely at least over 20 mph.

The wind was at our back on the way out, and there were times when the wind combined with a downhill to send me upwards of 27 mph or so. I was catching lots of riders from the age groups that started ahead of me. There were also a few riders that passed me, but I was headed in a good direction. I was playing tag with one guy. I passed him, he passed me back on hills, I passed him on downhills and flats. I finally shook him on a flat section. In general I was trying to push myself hard and feel some discomfort.

The bike got difficult when we headed back into the wind. Speeds dropped to 17 and 18 mph. Had to keep pushing away at it. In general, this section was as good as I could have expected.

I need to do less of my riding on flat bike trails, and more out on the roads so that I can build more strength.

Pretty straigtforward. Just need more practice. The transition area was long and narrow, so that adds time.

I knew the run wasn't going to be as fast as I wanted it to be. My knee has been keeping me from running except for the week previous. But I gave it a go. It was really cool to see people from Team Revolution on the trail ahead of me. It gave me something to look for, and I was able to high five people as we passed each other. Definitely a boost.

I got a bit winded toward the midpoint of the 5k. It was such a strange sensation! Winded on a 5k? It's been such a long time since that has happened. That's what being out injured will do for you.

All in all, it was a good time and effort for the condition that I was in.

I was cheered on to the finish by my teammates, and we stayed at the end of the course until all of our people finished. We went and checked times. One of our teammates is a coach, and had a real solid time. Another of our guys is real strong on the bike, and he posted a good time. I beat a friend of mine by a minute, and we're working on arranging a rematch. We followed up the race with a picnic. Good times. I'm looking forward to doing the race again next year.


I know I am capable of going under an hour on this course. Fixing the swim, doing transitions properly, being healthy on the run, and a bit strong on the bike will make it happen next year.