My partner-in-triathlon-crime KC and I completed a mini practice triathlon yesterday! We were inside the gym, because the weather was uncertain and we didn't want to get caught in the middle of a lake in a thunderstorm! But we still followed the swim-bike-run pattern, doing our best to have as little time as possible between each event. The swim-to-bike transition was bizarrely unrealistic, since we had to hop out of the pool, dash back through the locker rooms, throw on some clothes, then head upstairs to the stationary bikes. That transition was also bizarrely irregular in terms of gym workouts, as I was dripping wet as I climbed onto the bike! Getting clothes on over a swimsuit is a bit of an issue. My newest brain wave (meaning, an idea I had just now) would be to slip on some shorts for the bike ride, then pull on a tank top at the end of the bike ride once the wind has dried off my top half a bit. I think that might work nicely.
Anyway, back to yesterday's miniathlon. We swam for 17 minutes (it was supposed to be 15 but I set my watch wrong and was too lazy to switch it), then biked for 20 and ran for 15. It was a pretty accurate half-triathlon; I'd anticipate the real deal to be very generally 30-40-30 minutes, for the swim, bike, and run respectively. If I were to guess more exactly, I'd say the swim will take less than 30 and the bike will take more than 40, but I like to run a 10-minute mile, so that brings me in at 30 minutes almost exactly. I've been looking at last year's results, and seeing that even the end-of-packers are finishing the swim in 20-25 minutes. Maybe I'll catch the right wave and be up there too. I'll admit, yesterday, I was flying through that pool. I totally lapped KC (and totally threw that in his face afterwards. I'm not very nice sometimes...), but actually a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was doing flip turns and he wasn't. Those flip turns, man--they definitely gave me the competitive edge yesterday!
The bike part was also just fine. I felt good, and the transition didn't seem too hard except the initial part of running out of the pool and trying frantically to get into some clothes. Putting on the socks and stuff is hard. But I have a pair of mesh shorts that will go on nice and easy, and I plan to just bike in my running shoes. I'm not fancy enough to own a triathlon suit or biking shoes or any of those biking clothes that involve spandex. Maybe at the end of the day you're more aerodynamic or something, but you're still also wearing spandex in public, which is a phenomenon that belongs with scrunchies and crimped hair back way before my time.
Anyhow. Based on last year's results, I would guess the bike will take me 45-50 minutes; so with a steady pace on the run, if I finish in these average times for the swim and the bike, I can expect to finish around 1 hour and 40 minutes. Again, guessing from last year, that puts me solidly in the middle-back of the pack: 230 or so out of 367. That sounds just about right to me! I hope I can just enjoy myself the entire time. That would be ideal. I felt good and really was enjoying myself the whole mini-race yesterday, aside from a brief while at the end when I was getting pretty tired. But I imagine that will be fixed by the adrenaline of heading to the finish line and seeing all of my fans there cheering. (Seriously! We've got a big fan base coming out to watch us! It's awesome!)
KC and I plan to have an even more miniature miniathlon on Thursday--mostly just to get the feel of the transitions in a more realistic environment. Other than that, we're taking it easy this week and making plans to take our awesome swim coach Jess out for a big celebration after the race! I'll admit--I'm getting pretty excited!
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