So on Sunday I did a "Sprint Tri" in Mission Bay. It was the first time I've tried a triathlon or any sort of multi-sport. This was the People's Tri which consisted of 500m sea swim, 20km bike, and a 5km run all on the flat. Work had organised free entry earlier in the year and I figured it sounded like a good idea at the time.
I finished in 1:20:44 which was well back in the field. But I wasn't last.
Swim:
I found out fairly quickly that swimming 500m in the ocean is not the same as 500m in the pool. There are waves, masses of people, and the water is salty. Actually had a bit of a panic attack after a mouthfull or three of seawater and not being able to touch the bottom. The time for the swim was about 17 mins which including a minute or two run to the beach and putting my shoes on for the bike. About 4-5 minutes slower than it should have been. Quite embarrassing really.
On the plus(?) side I was only one of about 4 or 5 people I saw doing the thing without a wetsuit and just in togs. It wasn't that cold (18 deg C) but the added buoyancy may have helped.
Lesson for next time is to do some open water swimming before the event...
Bike:
Not bad considering it was on my hybrid commuter bike with pannier rack. Not the worst bike of the day but it was close. Averaged 29 km/hr in total including the turnaround points on the laps. Passed a surprising number of people on much flasher bikes than me which was good stuff. That said there a few people of very flash bikes that overtook me like I was standing still. Those guys must have been doing 50+.
Run:
5km run on the flat is nothing really. However coming off a 41 min flat out bike ride the legs were quite tight. Took it easy for the first part of the run - could feel cramp might be an issue, then pushed the pace a bit once the legs felt a bit better. Passed a few more people. The run was probably in the order of 22-23 minutes.
Overall the tri was good fun especially since work paid the entry fee. I didn't train properly for it and it showed. The transition from the bike to the run was a bit ugly. The swim was the worst though and I really need to work on that. Not into triathlon enough to justify a competitive bike but I will enter again next year.
Certainly room for improvement.
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6 comments:
I'm told the wetsuit makes a huge difference to the swim. And yes, those bikes are rather expensive.
Well done on giving it a go!
Well done mate, top effort!
I can certainly sympathise with your panic attack over the ocean swim. I've done three tri's and have not enjoyed the swim once. The first time I completed it but nearly drowned, the second one I got kicked in the guts at the start and nearly drowned and backed out. The third I decided to opt out of the swim leg. I'm sticking to the pool from now on, my Tri career is over!
Great work! That's a great average speed on a hybrid. Imagine how fast you'd be on a $5000 red bike :)
The swim is all about just getting through it for me. Lake swims are much easier than the sea. So when you doing Ironman?
Congrats. That sounds like a great time to me. I've never done one myself but it is on my goal list.
I've been quietly following your blog for a while now and thoroughly enjoy it. You've got a couple of years of exercise and fitness on me but other than that we're in the same boat
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