Although I had gotten out a few times this spring to ride my bike, the weather in England isn’t exactly suited for bicycling, in my opinion. Hot, dry, windless days don’t come around very often…and I’m not spectacularly motivated to ride my bike when it’s cool and cloudy. But, I had discovered a local bike club called Wheel Easy, and had a few group rides under my belt.
Anyway, I had been thinking that I may not do any triathlons this summer, as I really wasn’t in shape for swimming or biking yet. But I had a revelation one day, and thought to myself, that if I just signed up for a triathlon, then I would be forced to get in shape for it. So, sign up I did. I found an Olympic distance in the Lake District, and then thought that maybe I should sign up for a sprint as well, just for some transition practice. The Leeds Xpress Tri seemed nice and short, close to home, and even better, the swim was in a pool. I like warm water.
On the day, the swim and bike went as well as I could expect, as I really wasn’t in shape yet. The bike roads were wide enough that the passing traffic didn’t bother me, and the hills were minor. My transitions were fast in the warm dry weather, and then I got to the run. It was on a trail around the school property, and with every uneven step, my guts started to hurt worse and worse. I guess I ate something the night before that my body violently disagreed with. It was a long slow three miles to the finish line, hunched over and trying not to breath too deep.
So I went from being somewhat in contention, to finishing 10 minutes behind the leading woman, which is a large amount in such a short race. Ah, well, there’s always next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment