I finished 61st out of 70. I had a pretty good swim (#20, 15:04), a slow bike (#61, 58:48), and a slower run (#65, 36:32). I thought I could do better on the swim, but the placing is really good. I know I could do better on the bike, but my time is 12 minutes faster than my practice ride, so I’m still happy with it. The run still bothers me. I know I’m not a very good runner, but I basically walked to whole course. Seriously, it only takes my friend Jeff 10 more minutes to run a 10k.

Still, I finished the race. We actually completed one of our New Year’s resolutions, got in shape, and finished a triathlon. Not bad.

The swim

I didn’t feel as good about the swim as I did during the practice. I finished in about 14:00, which still puts me about two minutes faster than my pool time, but I was hoping for something closer to 13:00. My biggest problem was wandering off course after the half-way point. The course is an out and back swim in an inverted V, and the leg back into the beach goes right by a sandbar. I managed to swim right into the sandbar, which forced me to spend some time getting back on track.

The Bike

I was pretty tired after the swim so I took the transition pretty slowly. The bike course is basically an X, where each arm of the X is about two miles long. Three of the legs have pretty decent hills on them. The first two felt good, but I had a lot of trouble on the last one. I kept getting stuck behind other racers — I didn’t have the energy to pass, but I was forced to slow down so as not to get too close. At the end of the bike I was really starting to feel lousy. I realized that I hadn’t had enough to eat/drink before the race, and my energy was really fading. I forgot to hit my watch to time my swim/bike split but I think I finished in about 58:00.

The Run

Miserable. I walked most of the way. Dehydration was a big factor, since running for more than a minute left me feeling parched and nauseous. My legs felt good, but I just didn’t have the will to push on. I really think I could have done better if I had been better about my pre-race prep. My time was about 36:00.

Still, I finished, which makes me feel really good. I managed to beat the two-hour mark, even walking as much as I did. I haven’t decided if I want to do another race (I’m leaving that decision for another day, when I’m not so sore), but I’m really glad I did this one.

Lessons Learned

• Eat, drink, be happy (before the race that is)
• Try the power goo, it could help late in the race (and powerbars, etc are too hard to eat on the run/bike)

My new toy — I finally admitted that I needed a road bike when Erica kicked my ass on every hill during our last ride together.

I rode a closeout 2004 Cannondale T800, the Trek 1000, the Allez Sport, and the Allez Elite. I was also interested in the Felt F80 but didn’t get a chance to ride it. I really liked the Ultegra components on the T800 and the Allez Elite, but couldn’t bring myself to pay that much for my first road bike. Now I have to quick get some rides in before the Triathlon. We drove the course this past weekend and the hills like they’re going to be hell.

1. I don’t take another three weeks off from training
2. I don’t waste all my energy on the swim
3. I don’t let myself crap out on the run (I hate running)

Oh, I noticed that fellow SILS person Jesse Wilbur did the triathlon last year and finished #152 (swim – 11:52, bike – 40:26, run – 21:07). The only one of those legs I think I have a chance at matching is the bike — overall I expect to be quite a bit farther down the finish list.

via TUBA CITY

For a little while it looked like all five NC teams were going to be history (Wake Forest and UNC Charlotte had already lost). Things were looking up when UNC pulled ahead by 10, only to watch as Villanova came within one point in the last few seconds. Mitch and I were pretty much on the edge of our seats, but I think Erica had fallen asleep by then.

Now, normally I’m not a huge basketball fan, but it was a ton of fun to watch the games with friends. I easily can see how new comers to the Triangle eventually get sucked into the basketball obsession around here.