Now back to the race.
I woke up nervous, I drove to Pueblo nervous. But once I arrived at the race I became somewhat relaxed. It was really weird. After setting up my transition area and checking out my bike I went to race registrations and got my timing chip and body markings. Then I got to check out the pool. It was a lot bigger than any pool I had ever been to. But the water was calm, blue, and crystal clear. And I felt good.
The swim was started right on time. I was in the first heat, lane 3, 3rd in the water. Although a longer lane than I am used to, I swam a nice relaxed first lap. Surprisingly, I passed the first swimmer in the lane and kept up a great pace. Following the first swimmer in the lane we finished together and headed outside.
My T1 was quick and uneventful. I think I practiced it enough to know what I needed to do and I grabbed my bike and headed out. I mounted and started pushing the bike hard. Biking is one of my strong points and I quickly caught up to all but the 1st swimmer out of the pool. The route was straight and uphill for the first 5 miles. The 6th mile was downhill to the turnaround point. After the turnaround it was back to uphill but I climbed out of the saddle and stomped hard. I remember glancing at my Garmin and seeing my speed at 19 mph, after cresting the hill I kicked it up to the big gears and again stomped down hard reaching a speed of 36 mph on the downhill. I debated pacing myself but quickly threw that out. The last 300 yards of the bike course I sprinted into the dismount area.
T2 went about like T1 and off I went. I lost about 30 seconds on the run because the course was not marked correctly. Once on the right course my pace stayed around an 8:15 mile and I could see the lead runner ahead of me but I just could not catch up to him before the finish line. I opened up my stride for the last quarter mile and finished my first Triathlon.
And there I was, no longer a virgin. I am a Triathlete. And to all my friends and relatives that encouraged me (yet thought I was nuts) I thank you. And to the question of will I do any more of these races and go on to a possible Ironman competition? I can only say one thing.
THIS SPORT ROCKS.....Sign me up for the next one tomorrow. Bring it on.
I will have my actual times as soon as they are posted. |
