Big Fish... didn't get away

Well, it's over... and it really happened. I finished my first Olympic distance race. I have to say I was a little freaked out, but overall... I was confident I could finish. I just didn't want to embarrass myself in front of all the people there. For the most part... I am very happy with the race, the day and the first official event for Tri for Life. Here is the race recap....

Saturday - Terry (recipient of my brothers heart), Jerry (kidney recipient) and his daughter Chase (ok, sometimes things get really weird) came into town for a little pre-race get together. We went over to the course and setup the tent and showed them the course layout. After some good food and vi sting... it was off to bed early.

Race morning... Woke up around 4:45, had a bowl of oatmeal and started drinking water... We were out the door by 5:30 or so. We arrived at the park and I took all my stuff to the transition area to get setup. It was then off to the tent to make sure everything was in place and accounted for.

I heard that my heat was going first... first in the water. This is the only course I have done where it is 2 loops on the swim. I think that was a good thing for me. I didn't have to get intimidated by seeing a full 1500 meter swim course. That is a long ways. At about 7:45 I jumped in the water for a little warm up swim. I thought the water temp was perfect and I was suddenly very confident that I could do this. It was going to be a long slow Sunday morning cruise for me.

I was not as nervous when the race started... I started towards the back of the pack and went out pretty slow. I really didn't know what to expect being this was my first Olympic swim distance so I stayed slow and steady. The first 500 meters was a true battle... people pushing and kicking... climbing over, you name it. But I settled in and just cruised. Before I knew it, the first lap was over and I felt pretty good. The second lap was pretty uneventful...except for the couple of sprint wave athletes that were swimming on the wrong side of the buoys, coming head on into me. But I was fine getting out of the water... maybe a little "too" fine. I left a lot in the tank, but being my first one... I know what to expect next time.

Transition 1 - went fine... I have a new bike computer and while pushing the bike out of the transition area... it popped off. So I had to take time to go back and get it and pop it back on. Lesson learned... I can't push the bike by the stem next time.

Bike - I was pretty good on the bike. Although, it is the one area of the race I was hoping to do better. I was hoping for a least an average of 20 mph, I ended up with 19.5 mph. I can understand it... given my philosophy of trying not to blow my legs out before the run. I knew that was going to be a killer. So I took climbing the hills a little easier than I should have. except for the big one... that thing stays in the back of you mind the entire time... and when I got too it... I just blasted up it. So bike was good, not great.

Transition 2 - Smooth and pretty fast. Next time I will keep a small thing of water available and not rely on my bike water bottle. I think I could have been faster if Trevor's crap wasn't in my way. I mean he had a big enough lead... he didn't need to resort to that... just kidding Trev. It feels great when we are side-by-side like that. Looking back, that is a small memorable thing that really sticks out in my mind.

Run - Well, what can I say... I knew this was going to suck. I started out way too fast but couldn't slow down. During our training runs, I ran a 9:15 per mile pace. I told Trevor that if I could run 9:15 on race day, with those hills and follow the first 2 event... I would be ecstatic. The first 2 miles went by pretty quickly, I talked to a lot of people while running was enjoying myself. But after the sprint turn-around, things thin out a bit. I saw Trevor on his way back in, just as I was getting to the hills and he was coming out. The middle 2 miles really kicked my butt and I hit the wall at that point... I was running 9:30 or slower most of the time. I shuffled (or at least it felt like it) back to the park entrance... and I know its deceiving how far you still have to go. So I maintained the "keep some in the tank" mentality. I actually didn't start "running" until I saw the Finish area.

Overall, I achieved my goal of under 3 hours. But more than that, it was a great day. I met and talked to a lot of people. Several people came by our tent. Terry was introduced to the crowd and was well received. He was also able to hand out the awards after the race. What a great way to end the day. Lots of family and new friends on hand to see this. Very cool!