Tomorrow is the big day. I will don my new triathlon one piece racing suit and do my best not to be at the very back of the pack. I am a little less optimistic about this race than the 10K I ran last weekend. For one, I have not been biking enough to really compete on the bike. I have never been fast on the bike and while I enjoy it, the majority of bikers I bike with are faster and stronger than me. Also, I am a pretty slow swimmer. Certainly I have improved a great deal since I started taking classes with Pro K Swimming. But I am still the slowest in my class.
Another issue I will be facing is my knee injury. Strangely enough, it did not bother me when I ran last week but it bothered me in the days after the 10K. This time around I was experiencing a new kind of pain that was different from the other issues I have experienced in the past. This particular pain was exacerbated by sitting in a chair. I still had, and continue to have, the lingering knee pain I am used to but this was an added pain in a different place. The worst thing about this new pain was it flared up while riding my bike. In fact, last week when Melissa and I rode the bike course that I will be racing tomorrow, it more than just flared up. It down right hurt and I was moaning a bit towards the end of the ride. I took it easy for the rest of the week and tried to stretch and ice as much as possible and while it is feeling much better, I know that it will slow me down on the hills tomorrow.
No doubt, I am still looking forward to the race but I am a bit nervous about the whole thing. Triathletes in general are extremely fit and I have a feeling that most of the people signed up for this early season race will be on the high end of the curve. There are only about 100 people signed up for this inaugural race but there are 20 people in my age group (40-44). I figure if I have a great race, I could end up 15th in my age group. I don't really have any data to back this up but I have raced some duathlons here in the Richmond area and I was usually way at the back. I suppose anything is possible and I am definitely going to give it my all and leave it all out on the race course.
One other thing that will slow me down is the transition. After the pool swim, I will have to put on my knee braces, socks, bike shoes, helmet, gloves, riding glasses, and due to the coldish weather, I will likely put on a long sleeve shirt to wear over my racing suit. You might be thinking, "don't all the racers have to do the same thing?" Well, I will probably be the only one with knee braces to put on. Also, a lot of triathletes clip their shoes to their pedals before the race and then slip their sockless feet into them while moving on the bike. I am not that talented nor am I ready to bike with no socks. Someday maybe but I am not there yet. I will try to boogie through transition but I have been historically slow in T1 when compared to other racers.
In reading this post, you may get the impression that I am not feeling over optimistic about my performance tomorrow. I don't want to leave you with the wrong impression. I am very excited to be kicking of my triathlon season tomorrow. I am just nervous and concerned about my knee issue. Also after tomorrow, I will have a better idea about how I stack up against the locals. There are lots of unknowns going into this race. Will I be outclassed by super fit dudes with bulging triceps? Will the burning pain return to my knee on the bike? Will I be passed on the bike course? Will I choke on water during the swim? Or on the other end of the spectrum. Will I swim faster than the 7 minutes I put down for my time? Will I feel good on the bike? Will my 5K be super fast due to all my 10K training? One thing for sure. I will have a good time and come back here to write about it. Thanks for reading!
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