Swim... Bike... Run!

A week and a half ago, Eric, Taylor and I participated in a Sprint Triathlon. We signed Taylor up at the last minute, once we knew he wasn't going to the State Swim Meet. He wasn't super excited about it. In the week preceding the big event, he didn't go out for one run, or get on his bike once. He kept telling us he was ready, but we thought he was going to be in for a rude shock come race day.

Setting up Transition...

The swim portion is in an Olympic sized pool, so the starts are staggered. Taylor got in the water 2nd. We got in the water 40 minutes later. By the time we got to transition to go on the bike, he was already running. By the time I came back from the bike to start the run, he was finished!
Eric and Taylor both did really well. Taylor finished in 1:09:05 minutes. Here is it broken down: Swim 6:08, Bike 41:17, Run 21:40. He took 1st in his age division (15 and under). He was riding a super beastly mountain bike that weighs like 50 pounds and has super knobby tires. Think what he could do with some training and a road bike!

Eric finished in 1:13:13. He did amazing too! Swim: 8:52, Bike 42:11, Run 22:10. He finished 16th in his age division... Not bad for a first timer, eh?

I almost bailed out of this one. I had started a headcold and was sick and tired. I didn't want to go, but Eric talked me into just coming and watching. Well, once I got there, I decided to go for it. After all, I'd already registered, and I'd been planning on this for a year, plus I wanted that t-shirt, bad! And they give you the shirt when you cross the finish and turn in your timing chip... so I couldn't cheat and get the shirt. Since I felt so tired and crummy, I didn't have any time goals... I just wanted to finish without having an asthma attack or passing out. My total time was 1:33:29 (15 seconds faster than last year). What made the difference was the bike... thanks to Marla and spinning class every Monday morning, I was so better prepared for the bike this year. Without really pushing myself very hard I shaved 6 minutes off my biking time! (An added bonus was the slicks Eric installed for me earlier in the week.)

Overall it was a great experience and I'm so glad we all did it! Eric is totally pumped to do another one, and we may have found the perfect sport for Taylor. Taylor was incredibly sore for about 5 days after the race because of his lack of training, so he knows now that he can never again just roll out of bed and say, "I think I'll do a Tri today!" and not pay the consequences!