Angel's Race April 13, 2008

As sit on the couch tonight, I feel good because I can say that I have completed a triathlon! And I don't feel too worn out. A little sore, but not bad.
I woke up at 5:30 this morning. I had a cup of coffee and the scrambled egg bagels I had fixed last night. My transition bag was packed so I put in the car and mounted by road bike on the roof rack. I wanted to be at the Y by 6:30 so I could set up my area and get a feel for the bike and run exits. When I walked in, there were at least a hundred people already set up. After I set out my stuff and racked my bike, I went over and picked up my timing chip. In order to keep up with everyone's time, we put radio frequency transmitters around our ankles. As you pass over each timing mat, located before and after each section, your time is automatically recorded. After dropping me off earlier, Jess got back in time to hang out with me before my start time. Soon after her parents got there and then Allen.
I soon had to go in and line up for me swim start. Holy Crap! The swim was very hard. I had been swimming some over that last few months and I was pretty far back in the field. But I still struggled. After a lap and a half, I was having to stop at the ends to rest and catch my breath. I was passed by at least four people in the pool. Finally after about eight and a half minutes, I got out of the pool. I almost slipped on the tile floor, but recovered. My transition was pretty smooth. I had a little trouble getting the socks onto my wet feet. My shoes and helmet were on next and I was off.
After unracking the bike I had to run with it about 100 yards before I could get on and pedal. Luckily I use mountain bike shoes with cleats. I saw a couple people slip and bust their ass because of the clunky road shoes. After I got on the bike, there was a series of sharp turns through downtown. Jess and the crew were at the second turn. I barely noticed them, I was concentrating and the turn and not crashing. Soon I was on the John Lynch bridge. They had a whole lane blocked off to traffic for us. The toughest part going out was on River Road, after pasing King's Road, there is a fairly long climb up to the railroad tracks. After that the road is narrow and curvy, with quick ups and downs. While on River Road, I must have passed about 25 to 30 people. The one's that were so much faster in the pool were not falling behind me. There is a very steep climb up to the bridge. After a quick trip back across the bridge, I had to climb back up through downtown. I was up, out of the saddle. When I got to the dismount area, I unclipped my left foot while I was still rolling, but my right would not come out. Finally, it came loose as the bike flew sideways. I almost fell, but I collected myself and ran to my rack.
I switched shoes, dropped my helmet, and took off running. My legs felt like jello. After riding so far, my legs were used to a slower cadence. I couldn't stop though, too many people watching and cheering. I realized that I had not taken off my gloves. So as I passed my cheering section, I tossed them to Allen. My legs started to loosen up, but it was still hurting. The turn around, past the tunnel on Blackwater Trail, was a welcome site. I think that I passed 6 or 7 people on the run. Coming up the two blocks of Hell, back to Main Street, was brutal! I had to walk some of it. I reached down and found a way to drag myself to the top. Coming down Main was incredible. People were all along the sides, yelling and clapping. The last block was packed. I saw Jess there and heard my name on the loudspeaker, so I had to pick up the pace for the finish. It was such a good feeling to cross the line. Everyone was there, Jess, Allen, Jess's parents, and Chris, Morgan, and Cashion came out for the end.
All in all, it was a great experience. I had a great time. The people were great. Everyone was friendly and supportive. The weather wasn't to bad for the competitors. The spectators were freezing. The only time that I felt cold was when I first came outside from the pool, but I quickly warmed up on the bike. I will post my times as soon as they are available online. I know that the bike was my best section. I may have to try some road races sometime this year. If I can find time! Pictures and video will be up soon too.






The results are in from the Angel's Race Triathlon. When I decided, pretty much on a whim, to do this race, I just wanted to finish a triathlon. As the time drew near and I had a little swimming and running under my belt, I was confident that I would finish, so I set my sights on not being lw in the pack. I ended up performing better than I thought I would. My total time was 1 hour, 25 minutes, and 17 seconds! That put me 78th overall for men and 90th overall for everyone. On top of that, only 8 of the 46 relay teams had better times.
Of course my slowest compared time was the swim. I had a time of 9 min. and 5 seconds. The fastest was 4 min. and 2 seconds. My time put my rank after the swim at 183rd. My transition times were fairly average. When I got on the bike, I felt at home. My total bike time was 46 min.. and 10 seconds. That put me 31th overall for men and 32nd overall for all individuals for the bike section. Only two people on relay teams beat my bike time and they were fresh. My run time was about average too. Maybe a little faster.
If I were to really get into triathlons, I would really need to work on swimming. If I had a 5 minute swim time, I would placed around 50th. But I am not a swimmer. Running is not too bad and I will continue to run a couple times a week. I really think that it helps my biking stamina.
I feel like gave my best and I am happy with my results. Plus it was just a really good time. I hope to see more people I know next year. Yes I am doing it again. I'm just glad that the swim is first. If it was last, I might drown.