Test #1

I participated in an olympic triathlon this past weekend - the first 'test' of my training ideas. I wanted to place in the top 10. I ended up in 8th place out of a field of nearly 100 (male and female). The conditions were less than perfect with wind causing a choppy swim and, coupled with a number of hills, some tough sections of biking (mentally my hardest discipline). A big, blowing rainstorm showed up five minutes into the run (at least i wasn't still riding!) and lasted through the end of my race. I was cramping in both legs 5 minutes into the run and this lasted through til the end - by pace limited entirely by this fact. Cardiovascularly i felt great, but whenever i tried to push things my quads threatened to go on strike and cease work entirely. I was suprised that my pace still ended up being under 7 minutes per mile. My final time was 2 hours, 21 minutes, and 12 seconds. I was 9th fastest out of the water, 18th (ouch!) fastest on the bike, and 14th fastest on the run. Overall I was happy with my performance.