It's Okay to Crawl!!! The 2013 Crabman Sprint Triathlon

Still here, so I did something right!!!  I finished my first (and not last) sprint triathlon today (Official place 305 of 500-ish?, total time 1:25:05), and I'm incredibly relieved.  Results here:

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/13/ri/Jul28_Crabma_set1.shtml

Saturday night after packet pickup, I ran over to Gazelle's to get my truck gussied up with his bike rack, due to technical issues beyond his control.  After getting it set, I raced back to the house to eat a quick meal, pack my gear, and get right to bed, as I had to be up for 4:00 a.m....

Of course my nerves got the better of me and I spent the entire night awake, staring at the ceiling, counting down the hours and running through every worst-case scenario you could think of.  Finally got up at 3:55, made some coffee and managed to get ready in the dark and without waking the family, including the dog!

 

My thoughts on getting up this early, as described so eloquently by Cameron Frye...

Got on the road and made it to Gazelle's place, where they were just wrapping up breakfast, and I jokingly accused Jeff of conspiring to get me into the "4:45 club."  Once we were all set with their bikes, we pick up Tommy FiveK and head down to the MTK.  Inside the transition, everyone peeled off to their respective areas to lay out their gear.  I think I did a pretty good job of laying everything out for the transition, and went to take a look at the swim course, my only problem area.  Thankfully, the Ocean had calmed down considerably, and other than a small swell, it was clean with a light offshore breeze.  Awesome.  Once they dropped the buoys I felt even better.  Didn't look that far at all, and my nerves eased a bit...

Part 1:  The Swim

So they start the race in waves, and I'm in wave 3.  Soon enough, I'm lined up with all the other orange-capped dudes, and the race director yells "GO!"  I hung back.  I wanted to take my sweet time with the swim, knowing that I'd make it up on the other two parts.  So with my barely passable swimming skills, I used a combination of freestyle/breaststroke/sidestroke/ and a back-floating paddle-type thing to get it done in 13:55.  Slow enough that some of the ladies in the wave behind us blasted right by me, but I made it!  Dragged myself out of the water, saw Rhody Seth and high-fived him, and trotted up the path to the transition.  All cake from here!

Part 2:  The Bike

Changed up in the transition (nobody seemed to care that I stripped down to my underwear, but I guess that's part of the "triathlon" thing?) and jogged my bike out to the road.  Got on the bike just as some dudes from the first waves zipped by on their second lap (two lap course) going FAST.  No problem, my strategy was to maintain a comfortable rhythm, and push as much as I could while leaving something in the tank for the run.  BLS was flagging at the first big turn and gave me a shout out!  Thanks Beth!!!  People were flying by me, including FiveK on his second lap, cool to see him keeping a fast pace.  Second lap highlight?  Slowing down long enough at the turn to high-five Beth, and getting to the last part of the bike.  Bike in 40:48 officially for 12 miles.  Legs went Jello-y at the transition, but I got out of there pretty quick and started the run.

Part 3: Part 3: The Run

Around the first turn I see Tom, who's already done and gave me some encouragement...further up, I see Mark Walker coming toward me and looking strong at the finish.  The Jello legs went away and I started passing lots of people, offering some words of motivation along the way.  Saw some familiar faces, some people I surf with and had a great run overall.  Sprinted through the finish and done!  Run in 25:22 officially.  My first Triathlon in the books.  Cooldown swim in the Ocean with the crew, who all did great.  FiveK came in 23rd at his first tri, Shira slayed it and came in first in her age group and fifth overall for the ladies, Jeff collected an age group award, I survived...and had a great time!  I know how important it is to develop well-rounded skills as an athlete, I just have to put more effort into it.  Great job by Beth, Mark, and all of the 100 or so volunteers who donated their time for this awesome day.  Loaded the truck up and headed out:

Got Bikes???

In conclusion?  Yes, I'm a headcase when it comes to "event" races.  Yes, my training could be loads better.  Yes, there's most likely several unflattering pictures of me flailing around in a wetsuit that should never see the light of day...but Hell, I'm having fun with my WTAC crew, and my other running peeps, and we had a great time today.  Next up?  My first race ever in '09, and annual favorite, the Run4Kerri.  My favorite race. Got me hooked.  Love it...