Redhills 2005

Today was the Redhills '05 Triathlon. It was different. It was the first triathlon I've run when I didn't know a soul who would also be running it (I found out after the fact that Wiley Meggs ran it also). Bucky was out of town, John got sick so it was just me, the water, the road and the trail. It was really strange. It was almost a training event. None of that pre-race hype or excitement. Just the thought of, oh good I get to spend the next 1hr 46 minutes swimming, biking & running. With that said the lack of adrenaline was evident from the beginning. I knew within a few minutes of being in the water (64 degrees) that it wasn't my day. I've never struggled so much in the water. It was my slowest swim ever. I actually thought a couple times I may not make it out of the water. I saw some guys doing the back stroke and actually contemplated it. I swam off course by a good 25 yards (that's not good for your time). That was disappointing. My bike and run time improved which gave me an overall better time than last year but I would have felt a lot better if I had a better swim. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

Anyway, some lessons from Redhills '05.

1. Everything is better with teammates by your side.
2. Competition inspires achievement.
3. Don't eat Chinese food the night before running a triathlon.

tags: triathlon