Tri Me!
Hey, everybody, I just completed my 5th trialthon, and I feel great! Man, tri's are way easier than half marathons. It's hours later and my legs aren't really sore. :-)
It was a beauty of a day-- sun shining, calm ocean, lots of happy, excited people waiting to swim, bike and run. I don't know what it was about today, but I was very relaxed. Now, I always love race day, but normally I'm all excited and full of anticipation. But today I was set on having fun and not worrying too much about my time due to the lack of training. (One month of sinus infections and one week of forest fires have been my excuses for not working out.)
Bumped into a teacher friend of mine (Jess) while I was gearing up for the swim. I had forgotten that I had suggested she sign up for this tri, as the last one we did together was the Oxnard Strawberry Fields Triathlon, the one where the swim was cancelled and we all ran through the surf instead. bleh. I really wanted her to have one good tri experience and felt that today's, the Carpinteria Triathlon, was just right for her.
Well, we walked to the swim, marvelling in the day and ready to cheer on the Olympic Distance athletes who all started before us. We also found Tim who slept in after I left, as my wave didn't begin almost 2 hours after I got to the transition area.
The water wasn't all that cold and I was starting to regret my decision to wear my thick 6mm farmer john wetsuit, then it was my turn to start and as soon as I began to swim I was awakened by an influx of cold ocean down the back of my neck all the way to my hips, so I guess the wetsuit was a good idea. :-) I'm quite proud of my swim, as I actually swam the entire distance free-style! In the past, I've had to alter my strokes from fatigue.
Once out, I jogged most of the way to the transition area-another first (usually just walk). I was having difficulty breathing since my cardiovascular fitness has declined since the half mary. But I didn't want to spend too much time changing. I was so focussed on getting ready that I forgot my timing chip! Of course, I didn't notice it was missing until mile 7 on the bike.
Ah, the bike. Where any headway I may have made in the swim is lost. OK, OK, who am I kidding, I was among the last in my age group to get out of the ocean, and still I get passed up by everyone. And by everyone I mean everyone who are in the age groups after me so, yes, by old people. But I take heart when I'm passed by a 66 year old man because I want to be like that when I'm in my 60s. I'm on my way as I'm so much more active now than when I was in my 20s.
On the bike I passed two people who had bike troubles. One woman was changing a tube and another woman, about 2 miles from the transition area, must've had something major wrong because she ended up carrying her bike the rest of the course!
I couldn't believe how I good I felt for the run. Remembered to strap on my timing chip, which was a good thing. I jogged out of the TA and for about 3/4 mile before I felt the need to slow down and walk. I passed two people (one was 12 years old in his first tri. very cool). The cheering at the finish line gave me the courage to push through those last few yards as fast as I could. I was a bit nauseous once over the finish line, but not as much as the little boy in front of me who puked.
Overall a very good day indeed! Total time for 2006- 1:41:46. Yeah, me!
Tim cheered me on and took some pix if you want to check them out.
It was a beauty of a day-- sun shining, calm ocean, lots of happy, excited people waiting to swim, bike and run. I don't know what it was about today, but I was very relaxed. Now, I always love race day, but normally I'm all excited and full of anticipation. But today I was set on having fun and not worrying too much about my time due to the lack of training. (One month of sinus infections and one week of forest fires have been my excuses for not working out.)
Bumped into a teacher friend of mine (Jess) while I was gearing up for the swim. I had forgotten that I had suggested she sign up for this tri, as the last one we did together was the Oxnard Strawberry Fields Triathlon, the one where the swim was cancelled and we all ran through the surf instead. bleh. I really wanted her to have one good tri experience and felt that today's, the Carpinteria Triathlon, was just right for her.
Well, we walked to the swim, marvelling in the day and ready to cheer on the Olympic Distance athletes who all started before us. We also found Tim who slept in after I left, as my wave didn't begin almost 2 hours after I got to the transition area.
The water wasn't all that cold and I was starting to regret my decision to wear my thick 6mm farmer john wetsuit, then it was my turn to start and as soon as I began to swim I was awakened by an influx of cold ocean down the back of my neck all the way to my hips, so I guess the wetsuit was a good idea. :-) I'm quite proud of my swim, as I actually swam the entire distance free-style! In the past, I've had to alter my strokes from fatigue.
Once out, I jogged most of the way to the transition area-another first (usually just walk). I was having difficulty breathing since my cardiovascular fitness has declined since the half mary. But I didn't want to spend too much time changing. I was so focussed on getting ready that I forgot my timing chip! Of course, I didn't notice it was missing until mile 7 on the bike.
Ah, the bike. Where any headway I may have made in the swim is lost. OK, OK, who am I kidding, I was among the last in my age group to get out of the ocean, and still I get passed up by everyone. And by everyone I mean everyone who are in the age groups after me so, yes, by old people. But I take heart when I'm passed by a 66 year old man because I want to be like that when I'm in my 60s. I'm on my way as I'm so much more active now than when I was in my 20s.
On the bike I passed two people who had bike troubles. One woman was changing a tube and another woman, about 2 miles from the transition area, must've had something major wrong because she ended up carrying her bike the rest of the course!
I couldn't believe how I good I felt for the run. Remembered to strap on my timing chip, which was a good thing. I jogged out of the TA and for about 3/4 mile before I felt the need to slow down and walk. I passed two people (one was 12 years old in his first tri. very cool). The cheering at the finish line gave me the courage to push through those last few yards as fast as I could. I was a bit nauseous once over the finish line, but not as much as the little boy in front of me who puked.
Overall a very good day indeed! Total time for 2006- 1:41:46. Yeah, me!
Tim cheered me on and took some pix if you want to check them out.
posted by Hi! I'm Janola. at 6:08 PM
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