600 yard swim (20:29) + 15 mile bike (50:57) + 5K run (28:17) = Final time of 1:43:06
My primary motivation for giving this a shot was to have another opportunity to have a good time with my brother (he has done several of these). My goal for my 6 months in the States was to run a marathon and do a Sprint Tri. I’m happy to report that mission has been accomplished, plus a half-marathon trail run! I am so blessed!
I just barely pulled it together in time for this Sprint Triathlon. First of all, my nutrition and training really dropped off about a month ago. The thought of returning to South Asia has us all busy trying to fit in fun experiences and over indulging in fun foods. My swim training has also been very irregular. I think I did four mile long workouts of easy freestyle in preparation (no open water training). I got my bike about two weeks before the race and fit in one 18 mile ride. My clip-in bike shoes arrived the day before the race! O’well, besides just spending time with family, I just wanted to experience a Tri to learn, not so much to compete (good thing!)
The swim was an out and back that went around two bois and skirted a small island. In the excitement, I started out way to fast. It wasn’t long until I was feeling the pressure of people swimming up beside me. Then the water got really choppy and my mouth filled with water a couple of times when turning to breath. I really needed a few good breaths and ended up having to dog padel to get them. When I stopped, I felt like a rock and had a brief, and private, panic attack. I was actually looking for a boat to call out to for help, but none were around. I just started easing toward the island and seriously considered quitting. When I got to some shallow water, I noticed several guys walking to catch there breath. I did the same and managed to pull it together. I headed out with a slower pace and found a comfortable rhythm. On the final stretch, I felt pretty strong and felt great when I hit land.
Transition 1 was uneventful, but not really fast (1:52). More room for improvement.
The bike was a blast! Yes, I managed to get clipped in. No, I did not fall over when I came in for T2 (by God’s grace!). I could tell the clip shoes were giving me more control and power on each rotation. A lot of folks passed me on their 2-5K bikes, but I did overtake a few folks myself. It felt good to be racing.
At T2 (1:37), for some idiotic reason, I decided to run without socks. I know… stupid. I had never trained without socks. What made think this was a good idea? I dun’ no. Anyway, it didn’t take long before I felt a holes being rubbed into both of my arches. Ouch! By the end of the race I had some fat blisters. Before that, however; I experienced to joy of running like a man who’s legs felt like they were just run over by a truck. BRICK training would have also been a good idea. Even with the pain of hot spots, after the first mile I got my legs back and started to feel much stronger on the run. I was pretty pumped when I finally smocked a 65 year old guy I had been trailing for half of the run.
Despite the fact that I had no open water experience, very little bike training and such a painful run; I really had a great time and would love the chance to do it again. We need to do one of these in Dhaka!
Joyfully in Christ,
Will
Please join Robin and Dave and the rest of the Dhaka Trathlon Club this Saturday! We will leave at 6AM from the ARA. We will be 'stepping back' to 10 miles, but AS ALWAYS, runners can run any distance. Lorinda is just over a week away from running the KL half marathon! So, lets come out and join her as she tapers and wish her luck!
