It's all about the bike

Or so I was told repeatedly by many of the triathletes that I talked to. The bike is such an important part of the triathlon that it is in your best interests to a) have a good bike to ride, and b) ride it often.

I'm currently on a 1997 vintage Giant Perigee that I paid about $150 for (new) so that I had something to ride to work and to occasionally ride around the neighborhood. Not exactly a $2000 racing bike with carbon fiber wheels, but it would do.

Since The Stef was my first triathlon, I was pretty nervous, and I got there extra early so that I could get my bike and gear set up and have some time to relax before the race. However, there were some parking issues, and that, coupled with the pre-event ceremonies (for this, just read the website. Have some kleenex handy.) delayed the start of the race by about 45 minutes, to about 7:45. Luckily the humidity was low, so even though the delay made the sun a bit of a factor during the run, it wasn't as bad as it could have been on a really miserable, August sauna kind of a day.

The swim was a pool swim, with two people starting from adjacent corners of the pool and making their way toward the middle, four laps in all. I was in the 75th pair to start, and finished the swim in a mediocre 4:13. I haven't been swimming long, or frequently, and that was apparent in the way my form completely went out the window when the adrenaline rush kicked in. But I held my seeded spot--the guy who started 15 seconds behind me never caught up. I got through the swim, climbed out of the pool, and peeled off my swim cap and goggles as I jogged barefoot down the sidewalk to the transition area.

When I got there, I made the split second decision to leave the socks on the towel rather than try to pull them onto my wet feet. I threw on my helmet and running shorts, put my running shoes on my bare feet (clipless pedals are for wimps. Or people who actually know what they're doing) and ran my bike out of the transition area and hopped on.

Since I haven't really been biking lately, either, I had no idea how this was going to go. Maybe I held back a little too much, or not, but it was a flat course. Passed a few people, a few people passed me, and I managed the 6 mile out and back course in 19:26, for an average of 18.2 mph. A bit slow for such a short course, but given that my training consisted of one spin class last Thursday, I'll take it. :)

Had a decent T2, since all I had to do was take off my helmet, re-rack my bike (lost a few ticks here, because I'm not really used to racking a bike quickly. Or slowly, for that matter.) throw on my singlet with my number attached and my hat, and head out the gate. My quads were a little quivery as I took off for the run.

The run. Ah, yes, something familiar. The run was good. 12:39.

Total time was 38:50, only 2 seconds out of 3rd place for my age group. Not bad for a rookie. :)

So I had a great time! I don't think I'm destined to be a triathlete, but it's probably something I'll do from time to time for a change of pace. I'm registered for Try Andy's Tri in October, but it's the same day as the USA 10 Miler, so I'll have to flip a coin on that.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the lower humidity.

Carpe Viam!