On Saturday (Aug. 9), I did the 2008 Coeur d’Alene Triathlon with the following results:

Overall Time: 2:46:43
Division (35-39) Place: 36
Swim Time: 0:27:41
Bike Transition: 4:13
Bike Time: 1:24:58
Run Transition 2:12
Run Time: 0:47:39
Placed Overall: 168

This was an Olympic distance triathlon: 1.5 km (0.9 miles) Swim, 40 km (25 miles) bike, 10 km (6.2) Run.

A couple things to note.  Firstly, I mostly remembered to have fun.  Not at the beginning since I didn’t enjoy the swim much at all – frequently wondering why I participated in this sport at all.  From there, however, my  attitude improved.  My transition to the bike (4 min) needs to get a lot faster.  I was breathing pretty hard.  On the bike leg I got a flat tire just as I was nearing Higgin’s Point.   I am not sure how long it took me to change it but I would guess 10-15 minutes.  It wasn’t fast I know that much.  :(  Interestingly, I saw quite a few flats perhaps 10.  Eric Edmonds got two in fact.  This number of flats is a lot, especially when you consider the bike course is only 25 miles.

Second, and on the topic of excuses, another one of mine was that I didn’t have my Forerunner 405 GPS watch.  I left it on when I approached the beach and, rather than swim with it, which is not advised (the watch is only IPX7 - 1 meter of water for 30 minutes), I gave it to one of the race officials right by the timing mats.  Unfortunately, when I got out of the water, he was no longer to be found.  Bummer!!!  Oh well, the race goes on but, unfortunately, I didn’t know my speed/heart rate/pace on the bike which I was disappointed about.  I really love having it on the bike and run as I know what my pace should be on each so it pushes me to reach it.

Oh well, without the watch and now, with a flat tire, who cares about time.  Lets have fun… and so I did.  I was singing and whistling on the bike, probably bugging the heck out of all the folks I was passing (and there were many).  I was cheering them on.  When we reached the top of The Hill I cheered and announced we had made it.  A couple people passed me too, but I just cheered them on.  The run wasn’t as much fun as the bike but I had a good time there too.  I just plodded along, not killing myself too much. 

When I started the run I had significant stomach cramps, just like the Ironman.  :(  I need to figure out the nutrition thing.  The common factor so far is Perpetuem.  However, it seems like it would be great if my stomach could handle it since you can mix it in various concentrates – even in gel form as I did for the Ironman.  Can I get used to it?  Hmmm…  Is there an alternate brand that my stomach accepts perhaps?  I don’t know yet.

Overall, a good day.

Monday, August 11, 2008 1:16:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)      Comments [0]  Personal | My Sports