First Triathlon ( a narrative)

What follows is a journal entry from a triathlon I completed at Falls Creek Falls, TN on August 17, 2008. It was my second triathlon (the first being a shorter tri at Herb Parson's Lake, TN at the Fit City Triathlon I did one week earlier to prep myself for the oly at Falls Creek Falls:

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Race morning stared at about 5:30 for me & I went down by myself to get ready. It was quite exciting & I fiddled with my gear & talked with a few racers until time to head to the water. I found everyone down by the water & I did some warm-up before almost missing my wave. The swim was very difficult & a ton of racers (I found out later) cut the course short. The run out of the swim was a monster, too. But it was great to have a huge cheering section & a personal photo crew… Dana on the back of Ed’s Harley snapping-away with her SLR. She was in heaven. Anyway, the bike was hard but fun & I passed a bunch of folks & was passed only by a few at the beginning (and when I threw my chain!). Not too far from the turnaround, I heard some heated bickering & saw two cyclists who’d already made the turn arguing about drafting. The most impressive curses were hurled from the female accused. I had no idea to expect such a smashmouth confrontation right in the middle of a race. Triathlon is awesome.  I almost wrecked the bike coming into transition as I unclipped from my right pedal and brought my leg over to the left side without unclipping properly from the left peddle. So, my right leg (on the left side of the bike) was my only contact with the ground as I came to an abrupt, right-banking stop. I managed to stay upright with a few desperate hops as I was met with a chorus of hoorays & applause (& more than a few "idiot" comments muttered by knowing cyclists I’m sure). Anyway, on to the run where I expected at least (based on previous BRICKS) a half-mile of discomfort. Imagine my surprise when my half-mile of discomfort blossomed into 2 miles of agony accompanied by at two retches and a full-blown yuke (courtesy of an ill-advised 24 oz electrolyte “load” at T2 . I couldn’t believe my training hadn’t prepared me more successfully. Thankfully, as I left a section of trail I started feeling like I might find a rhythm. I did & completed the remainder of the race with the only irritation being an omnipresent Harley-Davidson, one father-in-law (fond of comments like: “did you get one of him walking for posterity?&rdquo & an overeager shutterbug (my sister) snapping no fewer than 100 pics of me suffering through the last 4 miles of the Falls Creek Falls Olympic Triathlon. The finish was great & I didn't know until I'd crossed the line that my daughter (5), nephew (3), and son (3) had ducked the barrier & sprinted the last 40 meters behind their Dad. It was a great time.

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