First of all Happy Father's Day to all. This being my second Father's Day I wanted to make this year as memorable as my first. So I decided to enter a triathlon. I know weird.
Yesterday I competed in a spring triathlon that consisted of a 1/4-mile swim, 8-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run. I've been training for the last six weeks varying my distances to help my endurance as well as time of day to factor in the heat.
Standing on the beach at Clermont's waterfront park I could feel the adrenaline pumping as I looked out at the buoys in Lake Minneola. I was in the mountain bike division which meant I was the last group that started because those type of bikes are slower than racing bikes.
I decided that I wouldn't run full steam into the water but instead jog and try to make it as far out as I could before diving into my swim. The water was extremely warm which slows me down. It was also very brackish making it difficult to see any swimmers ahead me.
I knew I was doing well as I only saw one neon green swim cap in front of me (different divisions had different cap colors). As I rounded the second buoy I aimed for the exit chute and navigated through a sea of slower swimmers from the division that started before mine.
Going into the first transition I felt pretty good. My breathing was down and I was able to get out on the bike quickly.
The bike route took us around the lake to places that I used to patrol looking for feature photos when I worked at the paper. The only time I was ever passed during the entire triathlon was at mile two of the bike segment.
My second transition time was quicker due to the the fact that I already was dressed. All I had to due was rack the bike and head out to the run.
Going in to the race I knew my strengths would be swimming and biking thanks to my years on the high school swim team and my Poister thighs cranking the bike along.
The run was the grueling part for me. It had more to do with the heat and lack of breeze more than the physicalness of it. Last week I purposely trained later in the morning to get acclimated to the heat and humidity. It was a good thing because it helped.
The last mile I really felt the heat. I kept my pace slightly slower than I normally would have just to give myself a kick at the end.
With .2 mile left I picked up to a full sprint for the finish line and crossed it with a time of 1:08:07 which was good enough for third place in my division.
I'm very proud of the fact that I made the decision to enter a triathlon but more proud that I did well enough to place. It was great to see Benjamin along the route cheer me on. Behind my sunglasses my eyes welled up seeing my son point at me and yell whenever I ran by him.
It was because of Benjamin that I started swimming, biking and running which led me to race yesterday. In the process I hope that I showed him by example that if you put your mind to it you can accomplish any goal you set for yourself.
Happy Father's Day!
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