Spotsylvania YMCA Sprint Triathlon

I did a triathlon today. I heard about it last week from one of David's friends and decided to run it on Thursday of this week. I hadn't been on the bike or in the pool since KC's triathlon in October. I was less than prepared for this, but I wanted something fun to do.

Pool swim for 500 meters, 15 mile bike ride around Spotsy, 5k run on challenging course. If you preregistered, they seeded your swim time and gave you a race bib based on your seed. Since I signed up yesterday, I was automatically in the third wave with the other late registrations. Other suckers were lined up to get in the water at 7am when they knew full well that they had to wait. I just sat on my bucket at my bike until probably 7:30 before I even looked at the pool. I was so casual that I even forgot my goggles. So I strolled back to get them and then still had time in line to make friends with the 10 year old girl and her family that were behind me. I seeded myself at 10 minutes, and swam in the mid 8's. I went out fast and got tired, but am happy.

I went out WAY too hard on the bike. I hadn't been in the saddle in so long, I had no idea what was happening. I got rocked on the hills but tried as hard as I could the whole time. My legs were pretty tired, but I was breathing well. It was getting hot so I drank a lot of water while I was out there. I passed a bunch of people too. I was only passed by one person, #102, after about 13 miles. He had a full aero set and was even wearing one of those bullet helmets. I thought "Good! Someone to catch on the run!" I powered home in a satisfying low 46 minute ride. Sitting on my bucket to change my shoes was hard. I didn't want to get back up.

KC was at the run transition and told me that I was the 58th person to start running. So I passed roughly 40 people on the bike. Pretty sweet. The course was rough. Mostly mulch and wet grass. It was hard to go fast at all. I started slow, probably a little too slow, and ran 6:11 for the first mile. I could have easily run 6:08 for the first mile instead. The second mile was 6:01, and that was all mulch, so I should have gone faster on the first for sure. Mile 3 was practically all up hill, and there mark for mile 3 was removed since 6am when I arrived, so I split 6:08 for the last 1.1. I knew I was moving quickly at the end, but not quick enough. A terrible 18:19 was my reward for a slow first mile. Pathetic.

I ended up getting 2nd place overall as an individual. I got beat by 3 seconds by a guy who definitely trained more than I did (almost hard to not train more than I did if you trained at all), and two teams. One was David's friend's team, and another probably of some Mountain View kids. I am amazed with the result of 2nd place, all things considered. I think the serious people who beat me should be pretty upset. It was sad to lose to me. But I'm also mad at myself for not winning since I was so close.

Afterwards I cooled down with Sarah Ellis from VA Runner. 8:40 of slow, painful dragging of feet through the parking lot. In hindsight, I should have run more. I had plenty of time.

I had a lot of fun and that's what was important. KC had to stay until at least noon, so I just hung out for a long time. I had about 5 pieces of pizza and a boat load of liquid, but still was dehydrated. When the Y finally opened at noon, Bob came to meet me and we lifted while KC finished up. It was a long day and we didn't get home until close to 2pm, after leaving before 6am.

I'm getting a massage tomorrow. I need it badly. SPCA in a week, so we'll see if I can break 18 then. Good Lord, that is a terrible thought.

I didn't wear my Garmin. Maybe I should have. But results can be found here.