Race date: April 29, 2017 / 8am
Cool and hazy morning overlooking the swim course
Year three (for me) at the Clemson Triathlon over in a flash! I kept thinking 'dang, this year really flew by.' Then I realized it's actually only been 9 months since the last one.
Here's what you need to know:
- Total Time: 01:18:45
- I was faster on the swim (yay!)
- But then I was slower on the bike (ugh)
- But then I was faster on the run (yay!)
- I still suck at transitions (uggggh)
The Swim
Total Swim Time: 00:14:26 (that's about a minute faster than last year; about 3 minutes faster than first year).
The swim course was the standard out around and back...total distance of 750m. The swim is always the most nerve-wracking part of the race because you know...the possibility of death by drowning and all. But despite the nerves, I was able to relax when Lindsey and the kids showed up to cheer me on.
The swim course as recorded by my watch
Transition 1
Total T1 Time: 00:02:08 (about eight seconds slower than last year).
Y'all. There's no way around it: I suck at transitions...especially this one. The damn hill you have to run up when you're already gasping for life when you get out of the lake. Plus, there was the wetsuit situation. I cannot. take. these. things. off. in a timely fashion.
James watches as I teach him how to be terrible at taking off a wetsuit.
The Bike
Total Bike Time: 00:36:10 (about a minute slower than last year).
My only explanation for being slower on the bike this year? Coach Rance wasn't able to do the race this year...which means he wasn't there to haul ass past me and get me pedaling faster to keep up.
Bonus: I didn't fall off the bike like I tend to do when I dismounted.
No tip-overs on the bike dismount - winning!
The Bike Course as recorded by my watch
Transition 2
Total T2 Time: 00:01:13 (about 15 seconds faster than last year)
Yes, this was faster than last year, but still...I might as well have had tea & crumpets while I was in there with all that wasted time. In my defense, my bike shoes are super slippery on the outside and damn near impossible to get a good grip to pull them off quickly. Plus, I wanted to make sure I had some time to do some fist-bumps with my #1 fans James & Avery.
A quick fist bump from my fan club before starting the run
The Run
Total Run Time: 00:24:48 (about 15 seconds faster than last year)
I was in the middle of my knee struggles during last year's race, so just finishing without pain was my goal. This year, my knee is back in shape and so my goal was to push for a personal best on the run. It worked...just barely. I clocked in at 7:59 per mile, shaving a few seconds off my pace from last year.
The run course as recorded by my watch
The Summary
Total Time: 01:18:45 (exactly one minute faster than last year; nine minutes faster than the first year!)
I know my middle-ageness is going to catch up with me before too long, but I'm hoping I still have a couple of good years left in me to keep improving on my times because it sure is fun!
PS: for you fellow data geeks, here are the stats collected by my watch during the race. Click the tabs along the top for more details on each segment of the race.