Hello everyone! I haven't been on here in awhile, or at least I haven't been posting much!
Between training for my 70.3 Triathlon, work, kids, and life in general I just haven't had much time. Now that my race is over (I'm actually quite sad about it) I will try to make more of an appearance in here.
Now for the good stuff!
I ran my first ever 70.3 Triathlon last weekend! I had a blast!
I smoked the swim 23:40 for 1.2 miles!
Rode like the wind on the bike.... 2:48:35 for 56 miles!
And then self destructed on the run..... 2:08:13 for the 13.1 mile run.
5:25:50 total time for 70.3 miles.
I made a huge mistake and dropped my electrolyte tablets in transition after coming off the bike and I paid the price around 8 miles into the race when the cramps started. I walked most of mile 10 and then was able to dig deep and run the last few to the finish line. But my 8:25 pace (for the first 8 miles) suffered those last few miles and I ended up with a overall pace of 9:48 per mile.
But the amazing part of this is....
I won 2nd place in my age group (45 - 49 year old men)! Holy crap!
All and all it was a blast though! I would have never thought it possible for me to have even thought about entering a race like this! It would have killed me 2 years ago!
Here are some pictures of my day!
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We're off! Rolling start so it's two athletes every 5 seconds. I was in the 5th group to start the swim.
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Coming out of the water! It felt quick and it was 23 minutes for 1.2 miles!
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Taking a peak to see where I was in relation to other swimmers. I was in 15th place (overall) at this point!
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Headed out on the bike. I was cold here, still wet from the swim and it was only 60 degrees or so.
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56 miles later and I am headed out on the run! I was feeling really good at this point. I ran 8:20 miles for a while (Mile 6 it got interesting) and then the cramps hit.
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Mile 11 of the run. I was in serious pain here and had just started running again after having walked a considerable part of mile #10. I knew I was going to be running by family and friends so I dug deep and ran from around mile 11 to the finish.
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Finish Line! I was exhausted and really thought about laying down.... I found some crazy energy and actually sprinted the last 1/2 mile or so. Later another racer told me I was grunting loudly while I ran! I never heard it!
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I'm done! What a race. I still had no idea how I had done at this point. I thought I was in the top 5 for my age group, but I really had no idea.
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Standing on the podium having won 2nd place in my age group! What a feeling! I have never been on the podium before and it felt good. If these people had any idea of where I came from (320 lbs) they would never believe it!
AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!!!!
I LOVE MY SLEEVE! THIS SURGERY SAVED MY LIFE!
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