Sunday, July 08, 2007

Phew, that was tough

After training for about six months, I participated in my first triathlon today. While it was only a sprint triathlon (750 yard swim, 15 mile bike, and 5k run) it may have been the toughest sporting event I have ever participated in (perhaps playing rugby back in college comes close). It was also really fun pushing myself to the limit and meeting all the hard-core triathletes.

That's me in the pic, making the transition from bike to run. The run portion just about killed me, and I had to walk on a couple of the steeper hills, but I plugged along and finished in about 2 hours (my goal was to finish in under 2h 15m). Objectively, this isn't a good time (the best people finish in about an hour!), but for me it is a big step from the couch potato I had become...I could hardly run a mile six months ago. I hope it is the first of many such events. The adrenaline at the starting line, lined up with all these guys at Lake Crabtree getting ready to swim, was intense. My wife was very helpful, actually waking up at 5:30 with me to drive me to the 7:30 am race. Thanks, Julia!

Speaking of achievements, and getting back to chess, Sir Rocky Rook has finished his Circles. Please wish him a Huzzaahhh!

9 Comments:

Blogger transformation said...

way to go blue devil knight!
congratulations!

7/09/2007 06:53:00 AM  
Blogger Blue Devil Knight said...

Thanks DK.

I am really really sore today, but in a good way (a way that signals growth, not injury).

Antonio: thanks for the correction. I fixed it.

7/09/2007 09:06:00 AM  
Blogger Robert Pearson said...

That's awesome--great on you! I started training a month ago and right now I can run 5K--the thought of doing all the rest first and then running makes me think I have a ways to go!

7/09/2007 12:47:00 PM  
Blogger Blue Devil Knight said...

Wahrheit: you are training for a tri? That's great! The running was really hard. For my next event I am going to focus on getting stronger in the run. That is, I should be able to do a strong five mile run (when tied with no other events). For this I only trained to the point where I could (just barely) do a 5K, which is fine until it is tacked onto the end of the swim and bike.

This was my first, and I just trained to be able to finish, and this will be my benchmark that I can use to improve from.

7/09/2007 02:59:00 PM  
Blogger Robert Pearson said...

(Laugh) Just to be clear, I started running a month ago and I can now run 5K--but I'm pretty much done at the end of that. The thought of trying to run that after the swim and bike is exhausting (for now). You've put the thought in my head, however...

7/09/2007 03:36:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

awesome! congratulations, that is something to brag about....kick ass!

7/09/2007 05:58:00 PM  
Blogger Blue Devil Knight said...

Wahrheit: I wasn't kidding when I said I could barely run a mile six months ago. I like the triathlon format, because it is balanced (I'd probably get an injury if I just did one sport). Keeps things fun and varied.

7/09/2007 08:46:00 PM  
Blogger Pawn Shaman said...

Im training for some 10ks this summer right now. Who knew chessplayers would be into individual sports? Congrats on finishing. Those sprint triathalons look like a lot of fun.

7/10/2007 07:13:00 AM  
Blogger Phil Willis said...

Congratulations.

I'm a runner, but I don't think I could ever do a triathalon.

I'm afraid my definition of swimming is "not drowning in a forward direction".

Outstanding!

7/16/2007 04:16:00 AM  

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