HAVASU TRIATHLON- 1500m swim, 40K bike, 10K run
It was a very windy day in Havasu. Luckily it wasn't too bad at the very start for the swim. The water was cold, but it only took a couple minutes to get used to it. Swimming in the pack at the beginning is definitely not my thing. Once I separated myself from the other swimmers I got into a groove and really enjoyed the swim. Doone says I was out of the water at 28 minutes, but my official swim time was 31:11.
I felt good getting out of the water and spent 2:30 in transition to the bike. Off I went with the wind at my back. Unfortunately as I was reaching the turn around point the wind really picked up over to around 25mph. That made for a brutal finish to the bike. I was hurting and really wanting to get off the bike. Time on bike 1:18:35
The transition from the bike to the run goes quicker as you only have to take off the helmet, hang up the bike, and put on the running shoes... 55 seconds
Right from the start of the run I knew I was in trouble. I felt like I was at the 20 mile mark of a marathon that I had gone out too hard on. I pressed forward as best I could. I some how got a rock in my sock during the transition and about 3/4 mile into the run stopped and fixed the problem. This probably costed me 45 seconds, but at least I don't have a nasty blister on my foot now. I ran the best I could, but was too spent from the hard bike ride. I ran a very disappointing 45:51 10K and was passed at the very end by someone in my age group, knocking me into 4th place in my AG.
My overall time was 2:39:06. I was shooting for 2:30, but with the wind it really slowed everyone down. I was only a little less then 4 minutes off of first place in my AG. I wish I had my normal running legs. I should have been able to run a 40 minute 10K, but was just too beat up from the bike. Next time I do a triathlon, I'm going to concetrate my on my cylcling. For now, I'm getting back into running to train for the Havasu Half in April and UVM in June. | 