Saturday, May 31, 2008

Pawling Triathlon



Actually, it was all over in one hour and twenty minutes. And yes, it was painful. I went into the water too fast and my heart rate went through the roof. I had to swim slowly until it dropped. Once I got my rhythm it was all good. The water was fine and I was in the first wave, so I didn't have many people swimming around me. I felt really good coming out.

I peeled off the wetsuit, pulled on some socks, bike shoes, helmet and glasses, grabbed Morgan and off we flew. The bike was fast- rolling hills and some flats. A couple of bigger hills. There was a shirtless, buff dude who kept trying to pass me. I punched it hard, so he had to keep dropping back. Finally, in the last stretch, he was determined to ride along side me. I was determined not to let him get in front of me, so we raced that way to the finish. Not sure if he lost points on that, but it sure was fun. As a result, I could barely breathe when I got to the next transition.

I ripped off my bike shoes and helmet and slapped on my sneakers. I was trying desperately to catch my breath. The run is always hardest for me, but I have been training hard for the past few months. I was hoping it would make a difference. For the first five minutes I wondered if I was going to be able to make it. It really hurt. Then, I found my groove and ran strong. I even had enough juice to blast up to the timing gate.

My time was several minutes faster than last year. In fact, I was seventh in my age group. I am pretty proud of myself and I had a great time with my friends. I saw lots of training buddies and John and Jill were there to support and cheer me on. At one point I was sitting on John's shoulder as he knelt down to massage my calves. I was moaning loudly with pleasure to the delight of all those watching. What a scene. I can't wait for Philly.

3 comments:

Jon said...

Way to go! 1:20 mins is FAST!

Kttrue said...

Well, for me it's fast. Thanks Jon.

The Fool said...

Congratulations! I broke a personal record for myself last week as well. I pounded down a bag of Cheetos faster than I ever had before. There were tears in my ears. The crowd roared their approval. So what is your next challenge?