I learned that the Tri For Fun series has been an institution for 26 years now and has paved the way for thousands of people to try out a triathlon in a beginner-friendly environment. I missed out on the first race of this year's series, but was able to sign up for the final two Tri For Fun races and the more competitive Tri For Real race in September.
Going into this race, I knew swimming would be my biggest issue. During my triathlon last year, the swim was about the same distance and I distinctly remember floundering about and expending a lot of energy to the point that I had to resort to using the breaststroke for half the time. I definitely didn't want to repeat that scenario!
I heard this race attracted a lot of people, so I tried to get to the park as early as possible. The race started at 7am and I got there around 5:45am. Even though I thought I was early, there were already a good number of people there with all the prime transition spots already taken. Oh well.
I picked out a spot in the middle of the second row of racks (from the transition exit) and set up shop there. I had plenty of time to organize and prepare everything. I thought I had packed everything I needed until I realized I had left my water bottle for my bike at home in the fridge. Luckily, there was a Fleet Feet Sports tent that had bottles for sale.
There were a lot of people there! They announced that there were ~800 or so racers that morning! Mark, the race director said that August's race would attract ~1000 racers! Wow! This makes the race I did last year that had ~30 people look downright miniscule!
Since this was for fun, chip timing was optional. I went ahead and joined 200+ racers who signed up for the race timing. Since I would be racing the same exact course 4 weeks later, I thought it would be a good idea to be timed and be able to compare both race results.
After a short intro from the race director, we got started a little after 7am. We were broken up into waves based on gender and age. I was placed into the first swim wave. I lined up in the 2nd or 3rd row off to the right side. The water was nice and warm, but was pretty "green" with algae, goose poop, etc.
The race started and off I went. If you haven't swam in a triathlon before, not only do you have to contend with the swim itself, but you have to do so while dealing with the obstacle course of flying arms and legs. This was no different. I tried my best to stay off to the right side of the scrum, but found myself going off course after the first minute or so. Once I got myself back on the right path, I quickly realized that my time in the pool had been inadequate once again. There was no security of a wall to push off of. There was nothing to grab a hold of unless I signaled for a lifeguard. I had a bit of anxiety and just wanted to get the swim over with! I was trying to go faster than I normally swam, but this made me grow tired quickly. After the halfway point, I had to resort to a breaststroke to give myself a break. After about a minute, I finally went back to swimming freestyle and finished the swim. I looked around as exited and realized I was one of the last people in my wave.
As I ran to the transition area, I felt tired and a little disoriented, but managed to get all my bike gear on and headed towards the transition exit in a pretty good time.
As I exited the transition area, I hopped onto my bike which already had my bike shoes clipped in. Immediately, there's a small hill that that leads out of the park and onto the street. I made the mistake of trying to get into my shoes during this climb instead of waiting until I was on the street and I almost fell off my bike! Once I regained my composure, I headed off and tried to make up some time on my bike.
The bike course was pretty flat and uneventful. I was able to pass a couple of riders, but I also got passed a couple of times too. There was one particular guy I was trying to shake though. He was wearing nothing but a red speedo and all I wanted was to get around him so I wouldn't be staring at his red butt the whole way. I was able to pass him initially, but he passed me a couple of minutes later. We took turns passing each other a couple more times when I finally passed him for good. Whew!
In terms of nutrition, I took one Clif Shot and some water about halfway through my bike. I also had a PB&J sandwich about 90 minutes before the race.
As I headed back into transition, I vetoed the idea of performing the flying dismount off my bike since I was still a newbie at it (despite some excellent coaching by my friend Jason) and because there was a downhill leading into it. Despite this, I think I got through the transition pretty efficiently. I chose to wear my shoes (Merrell Trail Glove) sockless and was off pretty quick.
I looked at the run course (on Map my Run) beforehand and it looked like someone just scribbled all over a map. The entire run was on trails within the park and thank goodness it was marked well and had plenty of volunteers to guide you, otherwise, it would have been super confusing. During the first part of the run, I felt pretty good. Then, I felt my belly rumbling. I don't know if it was because I swallowed a lot of the "green" water during the swim or because of the Clif Shot I had taken, or the combination of both, but I was not feeling well. There were no porta potties in this part of the park and I seriously considered running into the woods. The only thing that kept me from doing so was the embarrassment I would suffer if a couple hundred racers saw me in all my glory relieving myself. That and the possibility of being attacked by some wild animal while I was in an indefensible position.
So, I struggled on, slowed down my pace a bit, and prayed that the finish line would come soon. After a couple more zig zags along the race route, I finally saw the finish line. I also saw some nice restrooms right next to me, but decided I could hold out a bit longer and headed toward the finish. Immediately after I finished, I turned around and sprinted to the restrooms, even before I got anything to eat and drink. No need to get into any further details :)
I was surprised at my finishing time of 1:03:49. Before the race, I had set a goal of a sub-1:30 finish, so I beat that easily. I'm sure the shortened bike course had something to do with it and the fact that I wasn't sure how long the transitions would take. Here are the times for each segment:
Swim Transition #1 Bike Transition #2/Run Total Time
00:09:19.0 00:00:49.4 00:27:48.5 00:25:51.9 01:03:49.0
I ended up finishing 49th out of 220 timed racers. Despite my anxiety during the swim and dealing with GI issues, I had a great time. I'm glad I signed up for the next race b/c I'd like another crack at this course and I'll have some additional time to practice some open water swimming and mounting/dismounting off of my bike beforehand. Hopefully, I'll post a sub-1 hr time the next time out.
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| After the race |
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