Race Recap: 2013 Big Fish Triathlon

I have completed my next step towards my goal of completing a 70.3 triathlon in 2014. I have completed my first triathlon in over a decade. Back in 2003 I did the Ann Arbor triathlon and I was way under trained and under educated. Back then I felt so bad during the run leg that I had to walk most of it. It took me 10 years to redeem myself, but I finally did.

Going into the Big Fish Triathlon I was much better trained. I actually followed a training plan this time. I was also much better educated on proper fueling, proper gear, and the proper state of mind. It really paid off. I was very happy with my final result. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The day started off a little cloudy with a slight chill in the air. The very mild spring we've had so far made me worry about the temperature of the water. Two weeks before the race I went swimming in the channel by my friend's house that was about 65 degrees. Although I was wearing a wetsuit, the chill of the water shocked me. So when I heard that the water temp for the race was in the upper 60's I had expected to freeze once again. Then when I look out into the lake and see the buoys that I have to swim around my anxiety heightened.

But I knew that no matter what I was going to finish this swim so I tried to put all worry out of mind. It was a big help that my friend Julie was doing this race as well. She only had one triathlon under her race belt as well so we both in the same boat, only without a boat. So all decked out in our rented wetsuits we awaited our turn for the water.

Julie's wave started about 20 minutes ahead of mine so I made a little side challenge for myself when I decided to see if I could catch her before the end of the race. I wasn't trying to prove anything, I just thought it would be a good distraction from the nervousness of the race.

I watched Julie start her swim leg and 20 minutes later it was my turn to get in the water. I was pleasantly surprised when I set foot in the lake. It was much warmer than I was expecting and I openly expressed this fact, ignoring the sour looks from the guys shivering without wetsuits.

At the start of my wave, I stayed behind the fray for the count of 10 before I started swimming to calm my nerves and steer clear of the "washing machine" created by the faster swimmer in my wave. My goal was to just stay relaxed and get the swim out of the way I was not going for speed. I was very surprised how easy the swim was, I fast I completed it, and how many people I passed. Looking at my race results today I noticed I was the 10th fastest swimmer in my heat, finishing my 500M in 11:37.

After a short jog up to the transition area it was time to get ready for the bike. 

Although I streamlined my transition plan the night before the race, I probably could have been a little faster.

But I was still feeling good physically and mentally and remembered to get some fuel in me before I even started the bike.

The bike was a 20K out and back so once I was in the saddle and moving along I started to keep an eye out for Julie. The bike was quite hilly and challenging. Every time I passed someone on a mountain bike I tried to give them words of encouragement, but, at the same time, I was very happy that I purchased a road bike after my duathlon last month.

It was shortly after my first 5K when I say Julie on the other side of the road. I was not surprised to see a smile on her face. After hollering words of encouragement to her I started doing the math. I figured I was about 7K into the race which meant she was about 13K which put her 6K in front of me. If I average 18 MPH...ack...swallowed a big bug...where was I...to hell with it, just ride your bike.

I hit the turn around point and head back toward the park, with the clear knowledge that I had a huge hill to climb at the end. Trying to keep a balance between riding well and reserving something for the run I made my way toward the hill. When I finally got the hill, I think I may have cursed allowed as I shifted gears and plowed up it at a very slow speed. "Just keep peddling...just keep peddling..." was my mantra as I made my way up the brutal climb. Eventually I reached the top and was very happy to see the park entrance before me. My legs felt much better than at the end of the duathlon biking leg so now it was time to run. But not before making sure to get some fuel in my system. I finished the 20K bike leg in 44:41.

Now it was time for the run. Only 3.1 miles until I was done and I was still feeling good. I was about 500 yards into my run when I saw a girl with a pink hat about another 200 yards ahead of me. I had a strong feeling it was Juile, but I was not so caught up in passing her that I did something stupid like sprinting to catch her. Instead I just stayed at my current pace and ran my own race. I did eventually catch Julie around the 1 mile mark. I ran with her for a little while exchanging friendly banter before our different paces separated us.

During the last two mile of my run, I was passed by three guys in my age group. I won't lie and say that I wasn't upset by that. But I was wise enough to know they were just plain faster runners than me and that I would do myself no good if I tried to keep up with them.

Eventually I reached the finish make sure to take the time to give my sons a high five before crossing, finishing my 5K run in 26:31.

I had done it, I had completed step 2 in my triathlon venture, with an overall time of 1:25:59