I am an official triathlete!

rmattison78 - 2007-08-07 7:53 PM

Hey BT'ers
Up front thanks for all the great feedback on the BT forums.
I completed my first sprint triathlon, the Top Gun Tri in St. Pete, FL.

The swim went great. I trained with one of my coworkers who was a National Champion Synchronized swimmer and I was more than prepared. I was in the first wave with the elites (due to my age not ability), so I started in the back. However ended up stuck behind a wave of five or six swimmers, so I swung around wide and ended up out with the farthest kayak.

The bike went pretty well. I saw some fancy equipment from aero helmets to disc wheels. I think I did pretty well on my Giant OCR 3, but my under the seat bag must have weighed 3 pounds. (I noticed most people did not have bags, but I had to finish b/c I had a large cheering section waiting for me and I did not want to risk a DNF secondary to a flat). I even passed some people but I think it tired me out for the run.

The run was brutal. The heat was horrible and a whole mile of the course was in the sand. The atmosphere was awesome. One time I did have to stop and several people encouraged me and asked if I was OK. At the halfway point there were towels soaked in ice water which was key.

My goal time was 90 minutes and I finished in 80. Next up the Sand Key Tri in Clearwater, and I plan to purchase aero bars and bike shoes. I am addicted.
thanks