Triathlon #3

I decided to compete in another triathlon last Saturday (April 17) down at Lake Mead. This was my third in six months. It was my best performance yet, even though I didn't train for 3-4 weeks prior to the race due to an injury. I placed 86 out of 161 (117/242 overall and 14th out of 24 for my age group) for males in the sprint competition - middle of the pack.

The water in the lake was 60 degrees at start time. I sure was happy that I paid the money (even if it was $50) to rent a wetsuit and avoid symptoms of hypothermia. I swam the same route in October for my first triathlon and this time I was able to shave nearly 4 minutes off of my time. I'm sure the buoyancy of the wet suit had nothing to do with it.

The bike course was pleasant, too. We rode for 20km along Lakeshore rd. Elevation gains were tame in comparison to having to bike up to Boulder City like the Pumpkinman Triathlon.

The running portion went well. I ran along the unpaved shores of Lake Mead for about 1.5km out of the 5km. The remaining distance was on pavement.

I got to carpool with one of my friends who is building up his resume to compete on the USAF's Triathlon Team. He's competing once a month at the Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run - twice the distance I do in the sprints) and puts up some awesome times. You've got to have some stamina for those distances.

Here are my times:
Overall - 1:43:01
Swim (750m) - 20:57
Transition 1 - 4:18
Bike (20km) - 48:23 (15.4 MPH)
Transition 2 - 2:31
Run (5km) - 26:55 (8:41 mile pace)

Here is the link to my event photos and here's another for my friend (I make a cameo in his photos where he is helping me out with my wetsuit).