Beaver Freezer 2011

I finished it, with a time around 1:25.

The swim felt pretty good, about 8m30sec, not too bad since I've only swum twice since my last triathlon (July of 2010). The men had the joy of swimming in Langton pool which has the benefits of a longer run to the transition area, and no lane marker at one end of the lane. Oh, and the side of the pool is a good 20" above the water (meaning you have to haul your tired body out). The two other guys in my lane were a bit faster than me, so I didn't get to draft at all - which means I really did swim the 8:30 on my own, and I felt pretty rested - not dizzy or exhausted.

I was one of the last out of the pool (I'd said I would swim an 8:00 500, oops), and definitely the last one out of the transition area. The temperature outside was a chilly 43 degrees, and a little breezy, but almost sunny - not too bad of conditions.

The ride went pretty well, I passed about a dozen people, most of whom were in my heat, and nobody passed me. There was a bit of a headwind from the west, so it felt like I was barely moving while headed out to Oak Creek, but the trip back into town went smoothly and the sun felt warm on my face.

The run started off fairly well, slow as usual, but not too painful. I was passed by a lot of people, and at one point the fast guys from the heat after me ran by in a blur. The third (and final) lap started off well, but then my left knee began bothering me. I walked for short sections and tried to shake it out. Another guy from my heat caught up to me and was encouraging me as we headed up the slight hill with 1/3 a mile to go. I said I'd see him at the finish line and I took off. The last 1/4 mile actually felt pretty good (though exhausting), and I heard someone catching up to me on the straightaway to the finish, so I picked up my pace and didn't let him pass - so the ending felt great.

On the walk back to the bike a grey cloud came overhead, the rain started coming down - sideways, and it even hailed for about 30 seconds. Luckily I didn't have to race in that.

Now just to wait for the official results...