One Clydesdale’s Journey

Okay; technically it was a duathlon and not a triathlon, but I still finished.

And even with the added run in place of the swim I still finished in the time that I was hoping to. My official time was 1:57:57 which gave me 2 minutes and 2 seconds to spare.

Had there been a swim it would have been interesting given how strong the wind was blowing today. There were white caps!

But enough about what would have been.

The first run was a bit rough and confusing since no one really knew where the start was. We made it to where we needed to be though with about a minute to spare.

I would’ve liked to have torn up that first run, but caution made me rethink that and I took it a little slower than what I planned for. I had planned / hoped for a time of 12, but ended up with 15 for that run.

The bike was brutal during one section of the out route due to a serious head wind. It was exactly the same as the last training ride that Shelly and I went on out there. That didn’t make it any easier to deal with, but at least I knew what I was in for.

I think that my top speed on the section was maybe 11, even going down hill. But once we made the 2nd turn to start on the return route we had the wind at our backs and I was cranking out a pretty solid 20 plus miles an hour which helped me finish the bike portion in just under an hour.

The second run was tough, it took me about a mile and a half before my legs finally started to feel a little normal. During that time I couldn’t figure out what hurt less; walking or running I mean jogging.

I found a little bit energy though and managed to give a kick to the finish. I actually couldn’t believe that I was doing that, but as the crowd started to cheer at the finish line it really manages to help! That little kick gave me a run time of 35 and change which is right around what I was expecting.

If all goes well I have my sights set on the Tri in Eagle in 2 weeks. That will let me get my first official triathlon out of the way.

It seems silly to have done all this training and not go for it.

But let’s wait and see how I feel tomorrow before I go getting to crazy.

Later,

John W.
A Clydesdale in training