Wendy's Triathlon 2008

This race recap is going to be a lot better than the last one.

Dave and I decided last Thursday to do the Wendy’s Triathlon on Sunday. The race was expensive, but we figured because it was shorter and geared more toward beginners that it would help boost our confidence after last week’s mess. And it did.

Because I usually do my open water swimming at Alum Creek, the swim was more comfortable for me. Plus, this race swims from one side of the beach to the other so at any moment you’re freaking out, you can just stand up in the water and walk. I wish all swims were like this. The swim was longer than in previous years but I still managed to do pretty well and only stood up once and that was because another person freaked out and floated right in front of me to get to shore. Y’all would be so proud too! As I approached the exit from the water, I did dolphin dives to continue my momentum. Yeah, I’m awesome. :) I ran up the beach and got through transition really quickly.

I did forget one thing in transition, though. See, I’m allergic to my wetsuit and I wear a surfer’s rash guard underneath it to prevent rashes (makes sense, huh?). About a mile into my bike I realized, I never took off that shirt. Oh well. It’s pink and stylish. :)

The bike was longer than what the officials said which means my average doesn’t look so good, but I had a much better bike than usual. I pushed on the flats, stayed in a big gear, and tried to stay in contact with groups. I did have to yell at a person on the course, though. As we were about 200 feet from the dismount line, we had to corner and I was ahead of a pack. That pack decided they wanted to pass me on the corner and yelled at me to get out of the way. I said, “Excuse me! Jerk!” Who does that?

I transitioned quickly to the run and I was in my element. I kept my steps small and light and started picking people off. I reminded myself that it was only three miles and to just put one foot in front of another. Dave saw me on the run and said it looked like I was feeling good. And I was. In the last mile and a half I caught a ton of people and sprinted all the way into the finish line.

I finished 10th out of 28 in my age group, which I find as a victory. I was only 7 seconds out of 9th place and only three minutes out of third place.

Swim: 15:48 (1/2 mile)
T1: 1:33
Bike: 59:51 (16.8 miles—I had over 17 miles on my computer)
T2: 1:17
Run: 25:35 (5K)
Total: 1:42:44