A Black Friday Eve picThe average Thanksgiving Day meal contains 4,000 calories, twice the daily recommended number. Oh well. Too late now. So go ahead, have another piece of pie.
Race Report:
We were there by 5 a.m. to get good locations for our bikes in the transition area, then went across the street to Steve & Michelle's condo to hang out until about 6:30. It was raining when we arrived but by the time we emerged from S&M's it had stopped and didn't start back up again (!) which means we did the event in the wet, but no rain. Very good!
This was put on by an outfit called TriFamily Racing; they sponsor almost all of the sprint triathlons in the valley. So you'd think they'd have their act together. Alas, not the case.
They had to change the run portion of the course because part of it got washed out overnight in the heavy rains. (Unavoidable) So instead of 2 miles we ran 1.5 miles. But the course started in the muddy bottom of a canal and was far too narrow for a field this large. (You may recall, they originally capped it at 500 participants but by the time we got to this morning they had accepted 750 entries.)
I won't know my exact times until they post the results on-line in a few days because I forgot to check my watch coming into the transition area after the run, but based on my time through the first two segments I did as well as, or maybe a little better than my goal time.
I had a bad transition to the bike; trouble getting my right shoe into the clip. Just kept missing it. However, I did better on that 12-mile segment than I anticipated. My goal was to average 18 mph, allowing for a more crowded course and wet streets (slow cornering). But I was able to manage an average speed of 20.3 mph over the bike segment.
So I finished the first two segments well ahead of my goal, entered the transition area ready to endure the pool and hoped for a respectable total time.
FAIL
At the 100m point I gave serious thought to getting out of the pool and taking a DNF. I literally wasn't sure I could survive the last 300m. A pool swim is normally "quiet" water and suited for novice (read: lousy) swimmers. Instead, the water had a significant chop to it because of the hundreds of people in the pool at the same time. A six-foot wide lane cannot safely accommodate that many swimmers with that wide a disparity in their abilities. I was not the only poor swimmer! Others were doing the side stroke (aka wuss stroke) and many were doing a breast stroke. In with that mix were strong swimmers barrelling ahead, and the result was kicking and jostling that, IMHO posed a safety risk. They had NO business expanding the field to 750 competitors in an event with a pool swim. I've already sent them an email with my feedback, as has Josh.
I had to stop at almost every lap turn (50m pool) to catch my breath and regroup before ducking under the lane rope and setting out on the next lap. I crossed the finish line a combination of angry, discouraged and depressed. Our group included four who have done triathlons before and they agreed the pool portion was a disaster. At this point I find a little comfort in that, but I also know that if I were a real swimmer I could have been one of the people powering through the thrashing masses instead of struggling not to go under. Given the strength of my first two legs the result would have been a respectable time. As it is....
I'll wear the shirt. And I'll be working on my swimming, learning how to do it correctly. But when the spring version of this event rolls around in March I won't be on the list of entrants unless they commit to limiting the field to 500 and sticking to that.
I'm also planning to take tomorrow off.
BTW, Marcie was our official photographer and she's going to email our pics to us when she's gone through them. I'll post what works when they come. Thanks, Marcie.
It's Thanksgiving evening. Pam will be home from her half-day at work in about an hour. I'm spent, physically and emotionally (stress). So we'll talk about the day's events (she watched Megan and Caedon while we did the race and then we all had brunch together before she left for work.) But I would be remiss in not giving thanks here for God's manifold blessings in my life. At the top of the list goes my family. I wish I could have been with my folks and siblings today, but distance prevents that. However, I spent the first half of today together with my kids doing an event that wouldn't be possible apart from the good health God has given us. I can't explain how much the relationship I have with my kids means to me. To have your kids, each remarkable in their own right, as your friends is the best of the best.
Doing that event with a portion of the tremendous group we have at Pathway only added to the blessings of the day. What fun!
As I said, I wish I could have been with all of my family for Thanksgiving. And I wish I didn't have my flock spread all over, too. I miss my Michigan peeps today! As I've said before, I don't think people realize how much their pastor loves and cares for them. Moving to a place where you can do triathlons in late November doesn't change that at all.
All of that makes me the more eager for the resurrection. We're all going to hang together for eternity. And I'll know how to swim!!
Race Report:
We were there by 5 a.m. to get good locations for our bikes in the transition area, then went across the street to Steve & Michelle's condo to hang out until about 6:30. It was raining when we arrived but by the time we emerged from S&M's it had stopped and didn't start back up again (!) which means we did the event in the wet, but no rain. Very good!
This was put on by an outfit called TriFamily Racing; they sponsor almost all of the sprint triathlons in the valley. So you'd think they'd have their act together. Alas, not the case.
They had to change the run portion of the course because part of it got washed out overnight in the heavy rains. (Unavoidable) So instead of 2 miles we ran 1.5 miles. But the course started in the muddy bottom of a canal and was far too narrow for a field this large. (You may recall, they originally capped it at 500 participants but by the time we got to this morning they had accepted 750 entries.)
I won't know my exact times until they post the results on-line in a few days because I forgot to check my watch coming into the transition area after the run, but based on my time through the first two segments I did as well as, or maybe a little better than my goal time.
I had a bad transition to the bike; trouble getting my right shoe into the clip. Just kept missing it. However, I did better on that 12-mile segment than I anticipated. My goal was to average 18 mph, allowing for a more crowded course and wet streets (slow cornering). But I was able to manage an average speed of 20.3 mph over the bike segment.
So I finished the first two segments well ahead of my goal, entered the transition area ready to endure the pool and hoped for a respectable total time.
FAIL
At the 100m point I gave serious thought to getting out of the pool and taking a DNF. I literally wasn't sure I could survive the last 300m. A pool swim is normally "quiet" water and suited for novice (read: lousy) swimmers. Instead, the water had a significant chop to it because of the hundreds of people in the pool at the same time. A six-foot wide lane cannot safely accommodate that many swimmers with that wide a disparity in their abilities. I was not the only poor swimmer! Others were doing the side stroke (aka wuss stroke) and many were doing a breast stroke. In with that mix were strong swimmers barrelling ahead, and the result was kicking and jostling that, IMHO posed a safety risk. They had NO business expanding the field to 750 competitors in an event with a pool swim. I've already sent them an email with my feedback, as has Josh.
I had to stop at almost every lap turn (50m pool) to catch my breath and regroup before ducking under the lane rope and setting out on the next lap. I crossed the finish line a combination of angry, discouraged and depressed. Our group included four who have done triathlons before and they agreed the pool portion was a disaster. At this point I find a little comfort in that, but I also know that if I were a real swimmer I could have been one of the people powering through the thrashing masses instead of struggling not to go under. Given the strength of my first two legs the result would have been a respectable time. As it is....
I'll wear the shirt. And I'll be working on my swimming, learning how to do it correctly. But when the spring version of this event rolls around in March I won't be on the list of entrants unless they commit to limiting the field to 500 and sticking to that.
I'm also planning to take tomorrow off.
BTW, Marcie was our official photographer and she's going to email our pics to us when she's gone through them. I'll post what works when they come. Thanks, Marcie.
It's Thanksgiving evening. Pam will be home from her half-day at work in about an hour. I'm spent, physically and emotionally (stress). So we'll talk about the day's events (she watched Megan and Caedon while we did the race and then we all had brunch together before she left for work.) But I would be remiss in not giving thanks here for God's manifold blessings in my life. At the top of the list goes my family. I wish I could have been with my folks and siblings today, but distance prevents that. However, I spent the first half of today together with my kids doing an event that wouldn't be possible apart from the good health God has given us. I can't explain how much the relationship I have with my kids means to me. To have your kids, each remarkable in their own right, as your friends is the best of the best.
Doing that event with a portion of the tremendous group we have at Pathway only added to the blessings of the day. What fun!
As I said, I wish I could have been with all of my family for Thanksgiving. And I wish I didn't have my flock spread all over, too. I miss my Michigan peeps today! As I've said before, I don't think people realize how much their pastor loves and cares for them. Moving to a place where you can do triathlons in late November doesn't change that at all.
All of that makes me the more eager for the resurrection. We're all going to hang together for eternity. And I'll know how to swim!!
1 comment:
Congratulations, btw if you would have made it to the pool earlier you wouldn't have had that many people to contend with :^)
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