Coronation Triathlon

My first triathlon of 2009 was this past Sunday. I felt it was going to be a great day because the weather was fantastic. It went fairly well considering I haven't been too disciplined with training, not to mention the weather hasn't been great riding weather. I think I have been out on the bike only five times. Most people are in the same boat though.

I was teaching my Mom how to take pictures with my new camera. I showed her how to just aim the camera and hold it there until I am in the frame and then click instead of trying to follow me. Well, she got that down pat, but all the pictures were of me zooming past her. At the end of my second lap, I yelled for her to aim ahead instead so I could come towards her and it would be easier for her, but I think she just got flustered. You know what they say about old dogs. I can't complain because she's my biggest fan. A 78 year old woman out on the race course cheering everybody on. I think she really likes being a part of it. Maybe she's living vicariously through me. Yeah, I have a pretty cool Mom.

I knew my swim wouldn't be memorable. I just wanted to get it over with. I was lapped a couple of times by Teresa Sturgess. It took me 23 minutes to swim 1 km - bang on where I thought it would be. My swimming hasn't been the same since my shoulder surgery, but part of it is my fault because I haven't been swimming regularly. Come to think of it, the only thing I have been doing regularly is running.

The bike is always fun - down Groat Road, pretending I'm darting in and out of traffic. Groat Road was closed to traffic, so there was no darting to be had, just my imagination. It was GO TIME. My legs were hurting a bit because I haven't ridden much and I didn't lift weights consistently over the winter. I finished the 24.2 km bike in 54:21 - not great, but I've never been a really strong cyclist.

Now for the run. My strongest discipline. Four km down hill to McKinnon Ravine - oops, have to stop and find a tree - and four km back up Groat Road. I was pleased with my time, considering again, that I hadn't been training consistently. I've been running consistently, but haven't been riding, so my legs were kind of cooked before I even started the run. It took me 44:22 to run 8 km. Considering my time is usually a bit more than 40:00 for 8 km on flat terrain, 44:22 is pretty darn good for the last half being up hill. My Mom took a couple of pictures of me running, but I'm not sharing. It may be my best discipline, but my running pictures are always awful.

In the end - guess who won in my age group? Teresa Sturgess!

All in all, it was a great day! Check out my results.