The weekend before the apple triathlon I started to wonder why I had never taken part in the event. After very little thought and some impatience, I contacted the race officials to see if I could register as a late entry. Turns out, I could. After a little deliberation, I made the semi-intelligent decision to register for the sprint distance, instead of the Olympic distance. I started training on Tuesday, continued though Wednesday, then tapered and rested through Saturday.
Race day on Sunday was nerve racking while awaiting the start gun. All in all I was happy with my swim, based on the fact that I had not done a 750m swim yet this year. In my start group I exited mid-pack, but in my age group I was 5th out of the water. The bike, which is obviously my strongest leg, went very well. I was a little concerned at the start when my legs were jittery and my heart was beating out of my chest. After about 3km I settled into a rhythm and found my legs. The entire bike portion was a pass fest, especially as more competitors arrived on course after my second lap. I felt like I was driving a formula 1 car amongst a bunch of Ford Focus’. I was 3rd after the bike. Then came the run. My transition was fantastic, but once again my legs failed me, this time with cramps. After a quick stretch, I settled into my lumbering stride. Thankfully I matched up well with one other guy who ran similar to me. The two of us pushed each other through the course, as we were both too proud and stubborn to give the other any kind of advantage. We waged our own war against each other, while many of the real runners went sprinting past. In the end I crossed the line 13th of 25 in my age group, and very happy with the result. Considering I had done virtually no specific training, and the training I had completed was specific to Mountain Biking, I am proud that I finished, and with the result I achieved.
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