So as a kid, one of my goals was to do a triathlon. When I told this to most of my friends they laughed at me. I was fairly active as a kid but never really exercised more. In fact, one of my friends, who shall remain nameless, once bet me some sum ($1000?) that I would die from a heart attack by the age of 30. I believe this was due to all the french fries I liked to eat. Which reminds me that I should go collect that.

I was (and am to this day) always coming up with crazy ideas of things to do. Like visiting all 88 Ohio counties in 24 hours or doing a triathlon. I was often mocked and told that these things would never happen. So, to all those mocking people, I offer 2 words: “Bite me” 🙂

The 3 Pigs triathlon billed itself as an alternative to the early morning triathlons. “AFTERNOON START! No need to get up at the crack of dawn to do a triathlon! No need to go the day before to get your packet!” So, as a grizzled veteran of 2 triathlons, I can say that for me personally, I prefer the early start. As the day dragged on, I just continued to get nervous. When it was a morning start you just woke up and went.

Anyway, the race started at 4:30 p.m. I told Carolyn that I was going to leave at 1:30, and she questioned why I was leaving so early. I explained that packet pickup ended at 3, and it takes 30-40 minutes to get there, and this left plenty of “buffer time” in case of problems. Once I explained my reasoning she of course bowed to my ultimate wisdom. 🙂

My friend PJ and I had discussed that we’d meet up around 2 at the packet pickup place. Once it got to be 2:30 and I still hadn’t seen him, I gave him a call. He was still on the road due to a late start and some mis-information. The instructions sent out by the race people said “71 North. Route 48 exit, go south (or right).” Tragically in this case, south and right are not quite the same thing and PJ had chosen right and unwittingly headed north. So I waited awhile longer for him and still didn’t see him and a bit later started calling him again, only to look up and see him as I was dialing.

We hung out for a bit and then biked over to the swim transition. After debating for awhile (trying to shave off those crucial 10 seconds), we set up our bikes. I saw a guy wearing an Eye Run shirt and I asked him if he ran the Eye Run, and he said that he did and I mentioned that I worked for Luxottica (we sponsor the Eye Run). Then he mentioned that he did too! We talked for awhile – after he mentioned he worked there, I recognized him – I think that he came in and talked for one of our quarterly IT meetings.

So then PJ and I went down to check out the lake. We were both expecting it to be chilly I mean really chilly. But it was actually very nice temperatured. I mean it was gross as most lakes are (as far as the seaweed and other junk in it) and rocky on the bottom but the temperature was great. Actually the weather for the day was perfect. 70s and partly cloudy – good times. Certainly you could have much worse (read: hotter) on a summer afternoon in the middle of June…

So after going in the lake for awhile and getting a bit of a warmup swim in, I was starting to really feel excited, and feel very good about my swimming. Swimming is probably my weakest link, but after a few weeks of adult swim classes at the Y, I was starting to get a bit of form down. When we headed down there, there was already one buoy in the lake. I asked him if that was for the sprint or the supersprint length and he said sprint. Then I got REALLY excited because it didn’t look that far at all. A few minutes later he realized that he had made a mistake and that was in fact only the supersprint distance, and the sprint buoy had to go another 250 meters out….

Since there were 2 distances at the race (a supersprint which was 300m swim, 9.5K bike and 3K run as well as my sprint which was 800m swim, 25K bike (errr 26.8K bike) and 5K run), they had a separated start. The supersprinters started first and then the 25 sprinters headed to the “line” (about waist-deep in the water). We were slated to start 5 minutes after the first group. So, at about the 1 minute to go mark, I go to put my goggles on my head and…. they snap. Well, they didn’t exactly snap as in break, but they unthreaded themselves, rendering themselves useless. They have done this once before, and I got them back in place, but I remember it took me several minutes. I frantically tried to fix them, but was unable to do so. Then the starting horn started, leaving me with a decision. Stay there and try to fix them, or just screw it and start swimming. I picked the obvious choice (“Screw it”) and headed off. As I tried to shove my goggles into my pocket (probably the only advantages that regular swimming trunks have over the Speedo / Spandex type), what I was really worried about was losing my car key. Not realizing that I would be needing that particular pocket, I had put my car key in there for safekeeping. I could only imagine that as I tried to shove my goggles in that somehow my car key would float out and be lost at the bottom of a murky lake. Luckily I had taken off my wedding band (which I also usually keep in that pocket while swimming) beforehand and left it at home.

It really threw off my whole routine. Physically, when I swim I try to keep my head down, only breathing every few strokes. But without the goggles, this would require either eyes open under water, or eyes closed and then opening them while breathing (to make sure and check that I was swimming straight). While I’m sure I could have done either of those, I had never swam like that and so I kind of ad-libbed some sort of flailing stroke keeping my head above water most of the time. I tried to remain mentally calm, but there was definitely some panic in there. Not really “I’m going to drown” panic or even “I can’t do this” panic, but just general panic.

I hung with the pack for a very short time, and then there was one lady that was backstroking, and I hung with her for awhile, but before too long I was all alone, with only the lifeguard (who looked just like this kid that goes to my church) there to keep me company. If you look at the swim map it was kind of an out and back course. Out to a buoy, then across the lake, and back. Once I had made it out and across, I took a look at my watch, and it was only at 11:43. I thought “Wow – I’m more than halfway done and it’s only 11 minutes and change?!?” The last and best time I did 800 meters at the pool it took me 24:41. Although the course director had a GPS on his watch when he was setting the buoys, it would not surprise me if the course was short, not to mention that we probably started 25 meters into the lake (note: I’m not complaining!!!). I made my way back to the boat ramp, alternating freestyle with my backstroke that I had used last time and then a sidestroke that I came up with on the fly (with a kind of scissors kick – this stroke was useful for somewhat resting while still being able to see where I was going)

I made my way out of the lake (still with my car key!!) and with a time of 21:51. So either I swam faster (possible I guess) or the course was short, or something. I had remarked in the days and weeks leading up to the race that I was worried about being last out of the lake. Well, I was actually worried about being last overall, but definitely figuring I’d be last out of the lake. Not that I really minded that (as one of the other racers said beforehand “I’m a completer, not a competer”) but still nobody likes to be last. Or at least I don’t. I was indeed last out of the lake, and as I staggered up the boat ramp (they should really build roads right at the same elevation as lakes – that can’t possibly cause any problems, can it?) there were 2 of my co-workers there to cheer me on. Well, 1 co-worker to cheer me on; the other was atoning for his sins.

Transition was 2:32 according to my watch, and mostly just consisted of drying off, and putting on my shirt, socks, shoes, helmet and sunglasses. Oh and drinking some very refreshing atoning cherry Powerade (guess he must have already gone through the black cherry! 🙂 ). The Powerade did provide a nice contrast to the water in my water bottle which tasted kind of like it had been sitting out in the sun for oh, say 3 hours or so…

When I had just gotten out of the water, I saw some guy in a orange-ish jersey biking out (done with his transition), so I thought “Hey I’m not that far behind”. He was the only guy I saw. Well, except for the race volunteers taking down the bike racks. Thankfully not mine (yet!). The official results listed show a woman with a swim time of 21:30, but that’s got to be a mistake. Trust me, there was nobody only 21 seconds faster than me – I’d have seen her. The next slowest swim time listed was 19:59, and that sounds about right for the aforementioned orange man.

The bike was good. I felt really good about my time. I was glad to have practiced the bike course before, so I knew what was coming. Unfortunately, what I knew was coming was a giant hill, right off the bat. Here’s a map to follow along, if you wish. There were policemen stopping traffic for us to cross the major roads, and everywhere where we had to turn left (except for the last left onto Front St. going into Morrow – not sure what happened there). So that was nice.

The first hill up was definitely a struggle but I managed to make my way up. I did not see the orange man or anyone else. The first guy I saw was of course heading the other direction (due to the out-back-out nature of the bike course). He asked me how much further the turnaround was, and due to my recently fixed cycle computer, I was able to tell him (1.7 miles). Though actually it would be a bit shorter since the turnaround (at Little Miami High School) was about 1/4 mile before the swim/bike transition area. I tried to explain this all to him but he didn’t stop to listen. Imagine that!

I continued soldiering on. After that first hill, the rest of the course was not that bad at all. There were some rolling hills, where of course the obvious strategy is to pedal hard on the downs so that you can make it up the ups without too much trouble. I did notice that I got up to 29 mph as a max speed. My split to the first bike turnaround was 23:29. In retrospect, I am somewhat surprised that I wasn’t caught by the lead biker completing his 2nd lap. Turning around, I headed up the 2nd of the hills, back up into the country roads. I was on the lookout for the lead biker, but that was not who I saw first. Instead, it was an actual somebody else in the race!!!! And on the same lap as me and everything! I pushed up the hill and ended up passing her right at the top. As I passed I commented “That was some hill” and she reminded me “Just one more”. I had 22:33 for my 2nd split and then I got to do the same hill as the beginning… again. It was definitely harder, but I made it. When I’m going up hills, I don’t like to look up to see how much more hill there is. That just depresses me – so usually I just keep my head down and count to myself “1-and, 2-and” for each set of pedal strokes. This one got to I think 26-and. But then I was to the top and back on more familiar (and flatter!) ground.

The final bike lap was more of the same. I was feeling pretty good with my time – the final split was 24:11, for a total bike time of 1:10:13 over what my computer said was 16.7 miles (the aforementioned 26.8 not 25K), for a 14.3 mph pace. Looking at my results from the last triathlon I did the 20K in 54:44:19, or 13.6 mph, so this was a longer course (and hillier) and I was able to do it faster, so that was nice.

Before I talk about the final transition (map) – I must mention my family. I had talked with my wife about coming up to cheer me on, and she had been unsure. I really wanted them to come and be there, but I was trying to not be too annoying and pushy about it, because I know that taking 4 kids anywhere can be challenging. But when talking about it earlier in the day, Carolyn had come to the conclusion that being alone all day in the house with 4 kids is equally annoying and so decided to brave the unknown….

Coming in on Front St and turning left onto Main St, I was glad to be off the bike but worried about the run. My goal had been 2 hours, which I roughly apportioned as 30 min. swim, 1 hr. bike and 30 min. run, all of which seemed doable. And when my swim came out as fast as I did, I was hopeful. But my bike legs (which needed to be 20 minutes each) came out a bit longer. Still, as I made my way to town, I was at about 1:35, leaving me needing a 25 minute 5K, which I have done before (though not after swimming and biking).

So as I turn onto Miranda St and head into the transition area, I spot my wife. She was talking to Rachelle (PJs wife) and monitoring the kiddoes. As I biked by, I kept waiting for her to look up and notice me, but she never did. I’m not sure why I didn’t say anything – probably either I was too tired or I just figured she’d see me eventually.

As I was preparing to take the left off of Miranda St. and into the transition area, someone reminds me that I need to get off my bike. I start to do so, but there I forget that my new bike has toeclips, so my left foot doesn’t quite make it down to the ground in time. So I slip and fall and cut my hand on the gravel. Luckily I did get my left foot out, just not quite in time, so it wasn’t a big fall. I stumbled and almost caught myself before eventually falling. Transition #2 was 0:46, mostly just unscrewing my water bottle and taking a big gulp of tepid goodness!

Then I headed out to the run. As I passed the spot where my family was, they were no longer there. Then I noticed them up ahead. This time I did yell up to them. Later, Carolyn told me that when they hadn’t seen me after SOOOO long, they decided to walk up to the run course to look for me there.

And off I set on the run. It was very hard. I ended up having to walk a good chunk of it just being really tired. One of the first people I saw heading back was PJ (at least 3 or 4 people must have already finished by the time I headed out for the run). He was definitely booking it. He claims he wasn’t going that fast, but in looking at the results he had the 2nd fastest run of anyone!

About a mile or so in, I saw someone in red shorts up ahead. It was hard to tell from distances whether or not people further away were part of the race or not, or which direction they were going, or even if they were biking or running. Plus, I was still wearing my sunglasses, and didn’t want to stick them in my shirt or in my pocket, and the trail was very shady and therefore dark. But as I got closer I could tell it definitely was someone in the race, and he was heading my way and walking! I ended up passing him as well. It was amusing to me how much I used other people to motivate myself on the run. Like “Ooh, here comes somebody – better run until they pass – then I can stop and walk again” 🙂

The turnaround was not at Morrow-Cozzadale (if it had been, that would have made the run course 5.5K). I’m not sure where exactly it was, but I think that it was probably close to 5K. A bit before the turnaround I spied 2 ladies running back. At the turnaround, there was a lady there with an aid station and cups of water. She was holding them out to me as I turned around, but rather than grabbing them and drinking on the go, I took the opportunity to take a brief rest, drank 2 cups, and then carried on. Since she was watching me, I of course had to start in a run :-). Where I passed the ladies was not too far from the turnaround, so I entertained brief thoughts of potentially passing them but I never even saw them. They ended up beating me by 7 minutes.

Somewhere around here, I realized that 2 hours was not going to happen. So then I thought – Hey, what about 2 hours and 10 minutes!?! As I got closer to the finish, I had to plan out my run / walk segments. I knew that I would clearly have to run to the finish line, so I wanted to make sure I left enough in the tank to do so. I think I ended up with running until the tree cover broke as you got back into Morrow, then walking until the mile marker on the trail near the park (probably my longest walk stretch) and then running the last 1/4 mile. Jason had to yell at me to turn off the trail over to the transition area – I was on autopilot and heading to the street intersection and didn’t notice that I could turn off a little earlier into the funnel.

Here you can see me heading into the transition area. Notice PJ getting ready to trip me. Also, if you click on the image and look at the larger copy, you can see Jason and Chrissy in the far background. Jason is either blowing his nose or making bird calls – I’m not sure.

Here’s a pic just after I finished. As I was coming in, the 3 girls in the background (the one on the left is blocked by the yellow banner – you can see her using the cone as a “bullhorn”) were blocking nearly the entire finish line and I’m like “Hello will you PLEASE get out of my way!” The 3 kids in the foreground are of course my own kids coming up to greet and congratulate me. They were all very excited with the concept of racing and finish lines. So in fact, now we have our own “Finish Line” in the house

Many races around the house are being had, as you can imagine

Run time was a very slow 34:15, for a final time of 2:09:46. And, contrary to my fears, I did not finish last or even 2nd to last. Just 3rd to last. There were only 25 people in my distance, so I was 23rd out of 25. After finishing, I made my way to where they were announcing the winners and such. I can’t believe they didn’t wait for me!! 🙂 At first I was mostly concerned with “Point me to some food and drink now” but then I talked with various folks while semi-listening to the awards being given out. At the ceremony he ended up missing out 3rd place in our age group by 7 seconds. He was kind of confused when the 3rd place guy went up to get his bottle of wine (prize) because he said he swore that he had passed that guy. When the official results were posted, the discrepancy was revealed. As I mentioned earlier, there was a 5 minute delay for the sprint folks at the beginning of the race. But the timer at the end of the race did not take that into account, so when I finished, instead of 2:09 and change, it listed 2:14. The race folks had apparently caught that for some folks, but apparently not for everyone. So the credited 3rd place guy had a time of 1:46:29 (with the 5 minutes subtracted), while PJ was listed as 1:46:36 (without the 5 minutes subtracted). In the results, it does have our correct times (mine at 2:09:51 – though I’m going by my watch time and keeping those 5 seconds baby!) and PJ at 1:41:36. So PJ was indeed gypped out of a bottle of wine, though somehow, I don’t think he cares that much 🙂

All in all, it was a great time. I was definitely sore the day after, much more so than the Miami triathlon that I did in April. The other one seemed definitely more organized, but that was due to it being run by an outside company. I thought that the race organizers and volunteers here did an excellent job. Plus, the little things that I noticed I’m sure nobody else cares about – I’m just very anal about this kind of thing. I nearly didn’t join a cornhole tournament at work the day before because I was just worried about its disorganization (and that, too, was very well run).

I think that this will be my last triathlon of the year, though I may do a few smaller races, or possibly a duathlon in the fall. And I still have my goal of 1000 miles by the end of the year (currently at 362.3, which means I need about 24.3 miles per week) and my goal of a sub-20 minute 5K also by the end of the year, which as you can tell needs some work!!

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