speedvegan

and loved it !

i did a practice tri this morning. i went through my checklist last night and packed everything i needed. i woke up at 6 something this morning and dragged Jose out of bed. i had a piece of toast with strawberry jam, filled my water bottles and packed my fuel. i cut off the tops of two dixie cups so they were half their normal size. i cut one cliff bar into six pieces and put them in one of the dixie cups. i put six cliff blocks in the other dixie cup. i then put both dixie cups in my bento box (side by side). this worked really well.

the beach is 2 miles from my apartment. we arrived there around 7am. i set up a “transition area” in my trunk. the weather was perfect. i couldn’t have asked for a nicer day. i ran/walked to my starting point and swam back to where my car was. Jose was waiting for me where i was supposed to stop. i ran back to my car and got ready for the bike ride. i finished my .25 mile swim in 9 minutes 14 seconds.

i got on my bike and immediately my legs felt heavy. i caught up to a group of riders. they were riding slower than my regular pace, but i thought i’d use them to pace me until my legs started to feel better. my legs didn’t start to feel better until the half way point where i turned around. on the way back i got a little rained on, but not much. it was refreshing. i caught up to a guy who was riding alone and wasn’t looking well. as soon as i passed him, he picked up his speed and caught up to me. as we arrived at a red light he thanked me and said i had given him a second wind. he was doing a 70 mile ride and was on his way back. i quickly did the math in my head. he had to be at least 15-20 miles from home. i pulled until i got back to my transition, wished him well and got ready for my run. i rode for 16.2 miles in 51 minutes and 20 seconds. my average was 19mph – not too bad considering how bad my legs felt.

like any transition run, the first few minutes were weird. my legs felt like gummy worms. i eventually found my rhythm and was able to make it home before 9am. Jose waited for me at different points during my short run to make sure i was ok. he was very instrumental in the success of my practice tri. i ran a total of 2.3 miles in 20 minutes and 35 seconds. that’s about a 9 minute mile – not my favorite pace, but i had plenty of energy when i was done. overall, it was a great experience. the morning went by so quickly, yet i enjoyed every minute of it. the hardest part was putting up with Jose when i woke him up at “too early” o’clock (for him).

i now feel even more confident about the triathlon and knowing Jose will be there will give me even more confidence on race day.