Lake Lenape Triathlon Race Report ('bout time)

(Myself, Ben, Courtney, Michelle, and Sharon (our coach) after the race)

It was only a coincidence that my summer vacation with my wife and dogs happen to start the day after my triathlon. No, I didn't anticipate of using the whole week to recover. But, with all the training and the focus on the tri I did, it was nice to unwind.

So, how was the tri for me? Well, I always thought it would be a cold day in hell before I ever did a tri. That almost happened. Because, waking up at 4am that Saturday morning, the temps were in the 50s (for July?). And, as we traveled to Lake Lenape, it was getting colder!!!!

I met up with Kelly and Joan at 4:30a to form a convoy on our way to Lake Lenape. Kelly had done the race before so was more familar with the surroundings once we got there. It was 59 degrees (F) when we started out from Chalfont and the temps were getting lower as we headed towards the Jersey shore. I can't say I slept well that night. Mostly cat-napped the whole time. I mean, I'm doing a triathlon!!!!!

We got there with plenty of time to spare. I met up with Mitch, Mike, Sharon, Skip and my classmates. We were nervous but ready to go. It was showtime!!!! I found my spot in the transition area and set myself up. It was a little crowded but managed anyway. Then, I realized I packed the shirt I was going to wear in the other gym bag in my car, which was about a mile away. Errr. Ok, I have time. Plus, it gives me a chance to warm up. Thank goodness I have my bike. Got the shirt and came back to finish my transition setup. OK, I'm ready as I'll ever be.

The air temperature had risen to the mid-60's by the start. The water temperature was in the 70's. It turned into a very comfortable day afterall.

The swim portion started in 7 waves. I was in the last wave, which, in truth, I was glad. No pressure of people behind me in a different wave passing me on the swim. As we were standing around, waiting our turn, Mitch told me that it was traditional for someone to hang back with a newbie and, as the newbie was swimming, have their pants pulled down. We laughed about it but I was closely looking just to make sure he was only kidding.

I was at the far right hand side of my wave. I wasn't taking any chances of getting engulfed with the good swimmers. And, we were off. I ran out into the lake. And, I started swimming. In my first triathlon.

I remembered to start out slow. About 3 minutes into the race, I picked my head up just to see where I was in relation to rest of the field. I wasn't the slowest and just kept chugging along. As a matter of fact, before the turnaround, I caught up with some of the people in the wave ahead of us!!!!

I think someone wrote a comment on my blog about the surreal feeling you get in the swim portion of the race. I have to agree wholeheartedly. You are out there swimming along and not feeling like you are moving at all. Swimming in the pool helped with the endurance but technique was hard to fathom. Kelly was right. I kept on moving the best I could.

I had little confidence in my swimming abilities to start but, I have to say, as I got more comfortable, I did start to pick up the pace a bit. I think it was more of seeing the shore and just wanting to finish this part up. As I reached shore, I thought, 'that wasn't so bad' and headed for the transition area. That's where I almost DNFed.

As I was standing there trying to get my bike off the rack, I almost fainted. I was wobbly. I almost fell to the ground head first. Should I continue? Was this something serious? I sat on the ground to put my shoes on. Luckily, there weren't that many participants left in the transition area so it wasn't that crowded. I took my time getting my bike ready. I was bound and determined to, at the very least, start the bike and see how I feel.

(I felt this way on a number of occasions getting out of a pool after practice. I'm still not sure if it is dehydration, which I don't think it is, or staying at a horizontal position for the swim and then suddenly standing in a vertical position. Similar to the feeling of getting out of a chair really fast and your head spins. Most people think that's what it was.)

As I was off on my bike, I almost immediately was being passed by others. At some point, I have to figure out why this happens, as I seem to be expending as much energy as they are while biking. I still think I may not be going in the right gear to maximize my efforts. Still, I do have a tendency to hold back a bit and 'rest' up for the run. I was feeling much better and cruised along the best I could for the 10+ miles.

I made it back to the transition area and went off for my run. I didn't have my Garmin so I had to rely on how I felt on my run. I shuffled a bit on the first quarter mile but settled in to a nice pace. And, then I began to pass people!!! And, more people!!!

I knew I wasn't setting a blazing pace but still enough to remain competitive with the people still out on the course. I was waiting and waiting for my stomach to get upset. It seemed, everytime I practiced, I would feel slightly ill. But, this time, nothing. I was feeling good. And, continued to pass people along the way.

With about a quarter mile left on the course and one left turn to the finish, I saw Kelly, Joan, Mitch and Mike there to cheer me on. Kelly and Joan began to escort me to the finish line, encouraging me along the way. That meant a lot to me as I grateful for their cheering me on. And, I finished. I finally did it. I achieved my goal. I was a triathlete. At least for one day.

I keep getting asked, 'will I do it again?' The best way to put it is I am in the flirtatious stage with the triathlon. I'm not sure if I will do one again this year. In truth, I have been so focused on this event that I didn't think of any others for the rest of the year. Plus, what I need to figure out is how does this fit into any training I do? But, it is safe to say, that there were things along the way, I want to improve upon. And questions keep going through my head. Can I really swim a 1/2 mile? How do I improve on my biking? And, really, I can run faster than that. There's only one way to find out those answers.

(Lake Lenape, NJ)