Tri-ing again

Last year, I "competed" in my first triathlon, the Try-a-tri at the Chelanman Multisport weekend in Chelan.  The Try-a-tri featured a 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run and was intended to introduce newcomers to the sport in a non-competitive way.  Despite very challenging swim conditions and the fact that I am a very poor swimmer, I made it through and found it to be kind of fun.

Thus, early this past Sunday, I again found myself standing in Lake Chelan waiting for my wave to start.  This year, however, I was entered in the Sprint event (1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and 3.1mile run) and although many were there just to finish, this was definitely a competitive event.  As I mentioned, I'm not a great swimmer and knew I would be near the back when we came out of the water and would have to rely on my cycling and to a lesser extent my running for whatever result I might achieve.

The morning of the race blessed me with very calm waters and little wind which raised my confidence for the swim leg.  Soon the countdown was complete and I was underway dropping to the back of my wave with a mixture of backstroke, sidestroke, and occasional freestyle.  As the meters went by, I became a little more comfortable and gradually began to pass a few other swimmers.  I certainly wasn't threatening the leaders, but at least I wasn't going to be last out of the water.

The beach finally arrived and I headed for my bike with the knowledge that I was now going to be moving forward through the field.  I quickly got my jersey, helmet, and shoes on and headed out on the course.  My legs were a little noodly from the swim, but I was clearly going well and blasting by people like they weren't moving.  The rest of the bike leg continued well and I headed into the final leg feeling pretty good about my position.

I am lucky to not have difficulty transitioning from the bike to the run.  I've heard that it is common for it to take people quite a bit of distance to adjust to the change to the running motion, but for me as soon as I'm off the bike, I'm ready to run.  I headed out on the run and continued to steadily pass people and was only occasionally passed by others.  Passing through the final aid station with about a mile to go, I passed a competitor in my age group and soon heard his footsteps following close behind.  As the final short hill before the finish approached, I knew he would soon make his move and I just hoped I could match his acceleration.  Unfortunately, I was just unable to manage that and finished 10 seconds or so behind him.

All in all,though, my race had been a success,  I was 85th overall out of a field of 386 and 7th in my age group.  My swim leg was 358th overall ( I told you I was poor), but my bike leg was the fastest overall of the day.  I 'll have to spend a little more time in the pool before next year.