EP "Tom" Sawyer Triathlon

When I first started thinking about doing a triathlon, I did some research and one of the things I came across was that people get "addicted" to the challenge and the thrill (and relief) of finishing something that seems so difficult at first. I was one of those skeptics that didn't see how someone could suffer through a lot of training and then the event and yet still look forward to the next one. Well, I guess I'm hooked because I completed my 6th sprint triathlon in the past 2 years and am looking forward to the next challenge ahead.

Louisville's EP "Tom" Sawyer State Park hosted their 27th annual sprint triathlon Sat, 2 Aug 2008. I had never done this race, but decided to sign-up. Actually, the triathlon was a good excuse to see my friend Melinda, her fiancee Keith, Kim, who recently moved to Louisville from Whitesville, and then scoot up to Indy to see some Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brothers from Beloit College at the national fraternity biannual convention. Whenever I can combine excercise, friends, and beer, that's a pretty good trifecta. I was also joined at the triathlon by some friends from Owensboro, who competed and did quite well.

The swim was different this time because it was in a pool, doing laps - up and down for 8 lanes. That isn't bad, in and of itself, but when there are 60+ people doing this at the same time, it made me miss those solitude practice swims in the Healthpark pool, where I not only had a whole lane to myself, but sometimes the whole dang pool! Given the circumstances, I did okay on the swim, it was nice to have clean, waveless water with water temps in the mid 80's.

The bike course was 14 miles with lots of turns and a few little hills. My legs felt pretty tired, but when I checked my time, I did pretty well - about 47 minutes (an avg of 17.6 mph). I can definitely ride faster, but I wasn't disappointed when I saw the time, especially for not knowing the course beforehand. On my run, I think I hit a plateau, though. I finished it in just over 35 minutes, which is what I did in my last triathlon run in Racine. Overall, I finished under 2 hours, which was my goal, not knowing what the pool swim and course were like. My final time was 1:51:46. I was little tired after the race and it took quite a lot of water and Gatorade to re-hydrate me on a hot and humid Saturday morning. However, a shower and then lunch with Melinda perked me up and I was able to load up on a few liquid carbs that evening with my brothers in Indy.

I talked to quite a few people at the race who were doing their first triathlon, and I understood their excitement at finishing. Even though I've done a few now, it is still exciting to me and quite the accomplishment when I finish. It was nice to see other people getting into this sport for various reasons. The great thing about a sprint distance is that it is easily doable by most people who are somewhat active already. I think I might be done with triahtlons for this year, but will still be training for my next personal challange, keep biking until it gets too cold and will continue my triathlon training to improve even more next year and get ready for an Olympic distance event (2x as far as a sprint distance race). So, if you've thought about it, feel free to ask me and I'll be happy to suggest a training plan to get you ready for the next race!


Today's Mileage: 14 miles
2008 YTD Mileage: 464.8 miles
Miles to reach 2008 goal of 750 miles: 285.2
Avg Price of Gas in the 'boro: $3.68