First Olympic

Several weeks ago I competed in my first Olympic Tri and I must say I am hooked.  

The 2008 Pat Griskus event was a trip to remember.  My wife and I headed out from Washington DC on a 7 hour car ride to Bloomfield CT on the Friday before the event.  You see my pal Griff got me a bit inspired with his triathloning, so I figured I should do a race in his neck of the woods so I could either thank him or yell at him for getting me into the sport.  The car ride was smooth (little to no traffic) and we arrived in CT in the early PM.  Griff suggested we go for a short ride to loosen the legs up, so off we went into the rolling hills of Bloomfield for a one hour ride and 30 min. run.  I thought he was crazy, but I think it actually helped.  We dined out at a great Italian place and I had a solid penne with scallops dish.  I am finding that pasta and fish is a good recipe for me on the night before races.

We got to the race early in the AM and the weather was great (slightly cool and sunny).  It was nice to set up for the second time and the experience of the first sprint really helped me out.  I felt confident, calm and collected.  I was a bit nervous about the swim (after the little pepper sprint scare) but I calmed down after getting into the water for a 200 yd warm up.  I knew if I focused on some of the total immersion concepts and paced myself I would be OK.  The gun went off and a wave of about 80 people were off.  Remarkably, I didn't really get kicked that much and my stroke felt really smooth from the get go.  I felt great in the water and made it to the first turn without a struggle.  The second turn point was way off in the distance, so I picked a house and swam toward it.  Once I got there I picked a dock out in the distance and kept on rolling.  I realized that I could navigate by focusing on the sun's position while breathing and I relied on sight breathing very little in the third and fourth lengths.  I was able to pick up my pace on the second half of the swim and I climbed out of the water with a 39.24 time (rank 187).

I made a quick transition (1:15 rank 46) and headed out on the bike.

The bike was a challenge.  I felt really good and I think the ride the night before prepared me a bit for the mental challenge of the hills.  The course was so hilly.  At one point a girl I had been riding closely too passed me and rightfully stated:  "This course sucks".  Seriously, it felt like 80% of it was up hill!  Nevertheless, I kept on going and finished the bike at 1:20:27 (Rank 77).  

My transition was quick.  I took my feet out of my shoes while riding the last stretch and was able to run off the bike at the dismount area.  Griff convinced me to run without socks so I slipped the shoes on quickly and got out of the transition area.  Unfortunately, the results did not capture the transition time for some reason, but I know it was much faster than my sprint time.  

Moving from the bike to the run was seamless.  My legs felt great and I felt strong and fast.  I took it a bit easy on the start, caught up to a guy and chatted for a few minutes, but hit a downhill stretch and opened it up a bit.  The course was an out and back (downhill/uphill) and we had to double back and do it again.  I knew after the first trip that I could go a bit faster, so I really ran the downhill portion fast.  However, I got a bit worn on the 2nd uphill.  I crossed the finish line with a 46:56 run (Rank 98) and my total time was 2:48:01 (Rank 94).  The only downside was that I crossed the finish line with a nice blister on my foot.

Overall, I was very pleased with this first race.  I didn't know what to expect on the 1 mile swim, but my fear turned out to be unnecessary!  I was very comfortable in the water and I think my training worked out well for me.  I know the next race (Timberman) is going to be a bigger stress, but I am confident I can get through that swim and I am finally hitting some really good long rides on the weekends.  Looking forward to the next battle!