Completed my first off-road tri on Saturday. What a hoot!

Swim was 300 yd in a six-lane, 25 yd pool. This means we had to go down and back in each lane. I couldn't figure out how this was going to work if anyone needed to pass me. The race organizers instructed us that passing was restricted to the walls. If your feet get tapped, wait at the wall for the person behind you to go first. Makes sense.

Every ten seconds or so a new swimmer entered the water. I was lined up in about position number 25 (out of about 400). The swimmers that jumped in before me were all doing flip turns. Suddenly I felt woefully unprepared and completely unqualified to be standing in the front of the line. Only eight months ago I could barely swim a single lap. I can't do a flip turn to save my life.

I reached the front of the line and the timing device gave me the "beep." I dove in and started strokin'. Feelin' good. After a few laps I started tapping on the feet of the guy in front of me. Cool! He waited at the wall and I zipped past. I reached the end and climbed out of the pool, to find that I was only about five seconds behind the next guy.

I wasn't terribly winded coming out of the swim, but after running up the hill to T1 I was ready for a rest! I dried off, took enough time to dress warmly (it was about 45 degrees), and set off on the bike.

Swim (and run to T1): 6:51 (4th in class)
T1: 1:41 (15th in class)

I hadn't ridden my mountain bike since October of last year. It felt a little weird. The route went up the sidewalk, through a parking lot, up some stairs, across a bridge, and onto the dirty terrain. I was surprised to see some folks pushing their bikes up the semi-steep hills. The climbs weren't easy, but they were certainly rideable.

I came around a loop and headed down grade. I looked ahead and saw a guy holding a big yellow sign that said "YIELD!" I grabbed the brakes, rounded the corner, and saw a technical, single-track descent covered with large boulders. Whoa! I made it down without dying, turned the corner, and saw an ascent that closely matched the bouldery descent. Whoa! Determined to make it over without putting my feet down, I geared down and hammered the pedals. Just as I rounded the top, I looked up to see the photographer snapping a picture of my grunting, distorted face. Great.

Now headed back down hill in some open terrain, I see a large mud puddle. My first instinct was to find a way around it. Then the light came on in my mind and a big grin covered my face. I let out a banzai scream and plowed through. Whoa! I got plastered, but not nearly as badly as the guy right behind me. :)

The route returned to the transition area the same way it went out. I crossed the bridge, bounced my kidneys out of my torso down the stairs, and slid into transition.

Bike: 33:14 (14.4 mph) (18th in class)
T2: 0:30 (6th in class)

I've done a lot of ride/run bricks. I've done 3 to 5 mile runs after biking over 50 miles. It's always the same: The first mile is painful, the rest are OK. I've never been a fast runner, but I hold my own. I don't know if it was the mountain bike factor, the hilly route, or my slow excuse for legs, but I couldn't make myself move. Longest, most painful 5K of my life.

Run: 29:02 (9:22 min/mile) (21st in class)

I absolutely loved this race. Thanks to Brian R. for telling me about it. I'll be back for another one next year!

Final: 1:11 (16th in class)