Bold Eagle Triathlon 4/25

This was the first triathlon I've ever attempted, so I had no idea what to expect. We arrived in Navarre, FL Saturday afternoon and went straight to pick up our packets. The storm front had just moved through and Navarre Beach was experiencing wind gusts upwards of 30 mph. The guy at registration said the next day would not be nearly as bad and actually be quite nice. I could only hope so.

We woke up at 4:45 Sunday morning so we could get to the transition area when it opened at 5:30. The wind had dropped noticeably but was still hovering between 15 and 20 mph. The water was under red flag conditions and looked extremely choppy. The current was extremely strong, so they readjusted the swim course to try and avoid any swimmers getting pulled out to sea. Luckily for me, the water temperature was 74 F so my lack of a wetsuit wasn't a big disadvantage.

Once the race started and I charged out into the water I could tell that I was in for the race of my life. There was no rhythym to the waves and it seemed like every time I turned over to breathe I got a big gulp of water as well. The sun had just broken the horizon so it was difficult to see the buoys with my non-tinted goggles. I learned very quickly that swimming in open water is nothing like doing laps in a pool. All of sudden I became less concerned with how fast I swam and focused more on getting from buoy to buoy without drowning. After the first of two laps I started getting into a good rhythym. I altered my stroke to match the crests of the waves so I could breathe and got better at spotting the buoys. The first loop took around 17:30, the second took around 15:30.

Before the race started the official on hand told me to be patient the first half of the bike and ride the tailwind on the way back. He couldn't have been more right. As soon as I turned out of the transition area the wind hit me in the face like a train. The bike course was an out-and-back with a loop thrown in the first couple of miles. Once we left town there was nothing but the road and sand for scenery. Into the wind I was only averaging 14 mph, but once I hit the turnaround I was pumping out at close to 25 mph. I did much better on the bike than I had a planned and came into my T2 at around 1:52:00. But I was only 2/3 of the way finished.

I had a Goo on me during the bike, but I had never used one and I was feeling really good at the time. So I decided not to take the Goo and just push through on the Gatorade mix I drank during the bike. That was mistake number one. Mistake number two came when I broke out into a 7 min/mile pace. After mile 2 I was completely dead. I could not convince my legs that they wanted to keep moving. One woman ran up beside me and I paced her for about 1 mile, but once I hit the turnaround I dropped off. The last half of the run was the worst I have ever felt in my life, even worse than my run workout a couple weeks ago. The run course was the same as the bike course except that it was completely in the town. I could see the water tower in the distance that was next to finish line and that only further discouraged me. There were no clouds and no shade to speak of, the only thing that kept me going was the fact that there were medics at the finish line.

Once I hit the 5.2 mile mark I knew that I had to push through the pain and just put one foot in front of the other. Once I discovered that I wasn't going to hit my goal of 2:40:00, I knew that I had to at least beat 3 hours. I looked at my watch and saw 2:51:00. I had to make it. As with most long-distance races, the last mile always seems the longest. I trudged the last mile hoping that if I passed out it would be after I crossed the finish line. As the finish line came into view I saw the crowd cheering me on, willing me to cross the finish line. I dug deep and harnessed an energy I didn't know existed and stumbled across the finish line at 2:59:33, 27 seconds under my compromised goal. I had survived my first triathlon.

As soon as I crossed the finish line I collapsed on top of a water cooler. A race volunteer shoved a water bottle in my hand and helped me cut off my tracking chip. It took 30 minutes before I could eat and another hour before my throbbing headache ceased. I ended up placing 2nd in my age group and 79th out of 148 overall. It was the most challenging race I have ever competed in, and the most rewarding finish I have ever finished. I'm hooked for good!

Here's the official breakdown of the race -

Swim - 1200 yards (33:41)
T1 - 1:08
Bike - 24 miles (1:18:03)
T2 - 1:26
Run - 6.2 miles (1:05:16)

Total time - 2:59:33