Ken's U of A race repot

My First Tri
The nerves started the night before. As I gathered my gear, I realized this was no longer just a simple run where you grabbed your shoes and a water bottle and headed out the door. Thank goodness for Todd’s checklist. It helped me get organized and enabled me to get some sleep the night before, confident that I had not forgotten anything.
I arrived sharply the next morning at 6:15 when the transition area opened up. Glad I arrived early. It gave me time to get my bearings before the big “rush” of athletes arrived at 6:30. There were a lot of extremely expensive looking bikes around. This intimidated me. Felt a little out of my league. All of the expensive bikes seemed to be on the racks closest to the exit of the transition area. I avoided this area. Went to the rear of the transition area where I saw a few mountain bikes racked. Figured these people were tri newbies as well. I’d be right at home.
The swim went well. When registering for the race, I told them it would take be about 20 minutes to complete the swim. It retrospect this was too slow. I ended up lapping all of the other swimmers in my lane twice. Had to slow down frequently, as the lanes were narrow and hard to pass other swimmers. Managed to get kicked in the face during my swim. Somebody’s heal hit me squarely in the right goggle. Sucked it right into my eye socket. I felt this was my “christening” as a tri-athlete. Could not help but chuckle. I exited the pool at 15:27. 52nd place out of 135.
The transition to the bike did not go as smooth as I wanted. Found my jersey hard to put on over my damp body. After wiggling around, for what seemed like minutes, I managed to get it on. I calmed down and got all of my other gear on and headed out for the ride. Thought the bike went well. Managed to pass a lot of other riders. Was glad Todd told me to practice the course the day before. The practice gave me confidence on heading down Groat Road (a relatively steep hill) and then digging in to head up Emily Murphy Hill (another steep hill). Finished the ride in 41st place in a total time of 43:51.
The transition to the run went a lot better than the first transition. Got my shoes on and took off. Felt really good. Thought my legs would have been hurting more from the bike. Was really strong all the way to the turnaround point. I put my sights the runner ahead of me and was determined to pass him. He must of known, because he took off. Could not catch up to him. As hard as I tried, my legs would not go any faster. Finished the run in 22:50 which was good for 26th place.
Overall, I finished in 35th place out of 135 competitors, and 4th place in my division (19 total in my division). Was really proud of this result. Normally I place right in the middle of the pack. The training schedule Todd has me on for the past few months is really working. Thank you Todd!
Let the training continue. Bring on Great White North!