Mark's Triathlon

Last year I did my first 1/2 Marathon and this year I did my first sprint triathlon.  This just might be a middle aged crisis.  I enjoyed the actual 1/2 Marathon race, but I didn't enjoy training (running) so much.  This year a sprint triathlon came up in am email from one person to the next and somehow found its way to my email.  It sounded fun so I decided to do it.  Time to start training.  I did a little running, a little more swimming and not a whole lot of biking, but a few longer hard rides.  The day of the race came and I was ready with all my transition tips and tricks and I was going to go for it.  I had two goals, one was a timed goal, and the other was to not walk during the run at the end.  In the end, I actually beat my goal time by 13 minutes and I didn't stop running but once to stretch a calf that was cramping.  I ended up placing 3rd in my age group which is a lot better than I had imagined.  I had a great time and have told myself that I want to do it again and train a little more and do a little better.  There were a couple of places that I struggled, but I think those will be a little better for me next time.

Several friends competed this year, each placing in the top 3.  Way to go everyone!