Well folks tomorrow is it. The Memphis in May Olympic Triathlon. 1 mile swim, (actually 1500 meters) 25 mile bike 10k run It'll be my first and I've got to admit, I'm kind of nervous. I have been training pretty hard, but I'm sure tomorrow will be traumatic on the old man's body. Probably going to be a long morning. Wish me luck, and all advice from accomplished Triathlete's would be appreciated.
Best of luck. Pace yourself to finish. You can work on improving your time later. Don't get drawn into a race with anyone, just hold your pace and bring it home. And most of all, have fun!
Thanks guys. I went out to the Event site today to have a look at the course. The swim might be harder than anticiapted. The bike course has more hills than I'd guessed, se' le vie! HERE I GO!!!!!
Good luck. Stay strong. My sister just did one a few weeks ago and it really took a toll on her. Be safe and have fun.
its very doable, pace yourself, my aunt who is pretty old just did her first Ironman last summer, and has done several triathlons and biked across the country, you can do it, good luck and have fun!
Thanks for all the well wishes. It's over now. Here's what happened. The swim- I had a hard time keeping track of my course in the open water. I had to swim back once to go around a buoy I'd missed. Got kicked a few times by the other competitors, and I kicked a few as well. I was a little rough. After the mile swim was over, I got out, It took about 32 minutes. The Bike- It was a nice ride. I averaged about 19.3 mph over an hour and some change, The ride was 25 miles. The run- Toughest of all for me. only 10k but almost continuous hills. My running isn't great. Took me about an hour and 10 minutes. Total time was 2:51:51. At the tender age of 44, my first triathlon is behind me!
Congratulations! ! ! ! Must be a good feeling once it's over with...Damb, that must have felt like forever. I'd like to try that someday, but would take me quite a bit to get trained for it.
Last night at the "recovery party", I was approached by Charlie, (one of the Terrapin racing team), and he said one of the nicest things I've ever been told. He'd started well before me, (and is quite bit faster than I), and he said "when you came into the transition area today, and had just finished your bike ride, I saw you. You were just putting your bike in the rack and putting on your running shoes, your body language looked like you'd taken a little bit of a beating. Then you stand up. I watched as you began to run for the exit of the tranisiton area. It was amazing; you were glowing- wow! I'd love to have had a picture of it".
That is quite a compliment. I have done many a triathlon and have never received such a glowing comment. Congratulations!
Do you get a medal for Triathlons? I got a medal for a half and a full marathon but figured that you certainly would for a tri. If so, what does it look like?
No. At least not this one. Since this was my first, I really don't know if other's award a metal for finishing. I believe there were some awards for the top finishers.
Congrats on doing well. Get yourself a full cardiovascular clearance before your next triathlon (including a full stress test like a treadmill). Don't want to alarm you, but there was a recent case of an armed forces officer here in Singapore that drowned during a triathlon - suspicion was that of a silent coronary while swimming. And he looked fit and had taken part in them many times. So, please, do get checked out before the next time. And all the best.
Congrats on finishing, I'm training for a half marathon at the end of the year, with hopes of a full marathon sometime next year.
Good for you. It is absolutely attainable, My biggest challenge was NOT the training. It was staying healthy. Try HARD to avoid injury. Then you can train! Stick with it. Sometimes when you're the only one training, you want to slack off- don't do it. When you get out there to the starting line, it'll all be worth it. It's going to be something you can be very proud of, forever. Good luck!
