My second triathlon is done!

[KSH]

Well, I finished my second and last triathlon of the season!

It was great fun!

The swim was open water and 500 yards. I must say, that it looked longer than 500 yards... but I did a great job! I think that my lake swimming clinic and practice in the lake, really paid off. I was able to keep on course (4-5 got pulled out and 1 person got off course and swam into a kayak!), and I didn't get beat up! The swim wasn't half as scary as I thought it would be. I ranked 84 out of 311 in the swim!

After that I hopped on the bike. The 10 mile course was nice with good smooth roads! There were a few hills to go up and some really nice ones to go down! It was so sad though, I would have people fly by me on the down hills and I would pass them on the up hills! Yea, I am fearful of going too fast down a hill, but I did top out at 32 MPH, which is fast for me! My bike portion this time was faster than last time, and I average 18 MPH! And I typically average 16.5 MPH on 30 mile rides!

My focus on the bike was to NOT get a side cramp, before I got off the bike, and I achieved that.

So, I flew off the bike and hit the 5K run. And I was doing good, because I didn't have a side cramp starting the run! Then... about 1 mile into it, I got a horrible side cramp. I walked a little, stretched, and just pinched the heck out of my side, and kept running. I ran faster than I did in my frist triathlon, so that was good. BUT...

I really have no clue why I get that side cramp... when I am competing! I don't get those normally, but during both tri's... BAM... I got them. My legs are fine... my body wants to go... and my side keeps me fron moving faster! Anyone have any clue why this might be happening?

Overall, I did a decent job. I wasn't the fastiest and I wasn't the slowest... I was just out there having fun and doing my best! Also, my time was 2 minutes faster than my last tri!

I have also figured out that I am more of a distance gal. My body has never been into sprinting (when I was a competitive swimmer, I did distance). I like to get warmed up and then I just keep going.

So, next year, my goal will be to do an Olympic/International distance triathlon. I think I might like that better. I will just need to train for the running portion more!

It's sad that the season is over for me... but I do have a relay team for a 1/2 Ironman on 9-11-05, and I have a bike rally on 10-1-05.

Then when it gets cold again, I will focus on weight lifting, running (treadmill), and yoga again.

Thanks for reading!