My First Tri in Bi-valve

Fellow triathlete Jim Crowley and his family with me after the
inaugural running of the Nanticoke River Triathlon.

Now, I'm really nervous about my upcoming Half-Ironman in June. Today I swam, rode, and ran my first triathlon. It was a Sprint distance of 1/2 mile swim, 15 mile bike, and 5K run. It was the perfect distance. Because of that realization I'm nervous about doing the much longer 70.3 miles in the Eagleman Triathlon in a month.

I can't imagine a triathlon going any better than today, unless I were to win. It was perfect 75 degree sunny breezy day for the duration of the first annual Nanticoke River Swim and Triathlon. The venue at the Cedar Hill Marina in Bivalve, Maryland was perfect for the field of about 250 participants. The small size of the race made it even more special for me.

There were several people I knew including: Jena, Bill, and John from my YMCA Master's swimming team, running friend Jim Crowley, and triathletes Susan and Murray from Wittman/Baltimore. My longtime sailer- friend-turned-cyclist Roger Pickall showed to lend support and pick up my pieces should I need him to. Roger left his house in Easton at 3:33am this morning and rode his bike 59 miles to Bivalve via the wonderful back roads of the Eastern Shore, past pickle factories, dead opposums, lush marshes, timber stands, and over old narrow bridges. His support was very welcome as he was there to cheer me on at every transition.

Friend Roger Pickall, swim teammate Jena McLaughlin, and I with the swim course in the background. I like the "No Swimming" sign all the athletes passed on our way to the water before the start of the triathlon.

My sailing experience played an important role in my swim success. Since I arrived 2 and a half hours prior to the start, I had time to walk to the end of the jetty and get a feel for things. I quickly saw a swift current running from the right. That told me I wanted to be situated to the right in my "wave" so that when I got to the current it would sweep me left as I came to the turn around the buoy. It worked like a charm. I am not a fast swimmer, so today's relative speed I give to good positioning on the first leg, AND remembering all the things coaches Glenn Mills and Brian Loveland have been telling me about my stroke. It was very rough for the buoy rounding. My chest was actually slapping down in the short steep chop as I appoached the buoy. Exciting to say the least. Nearly all the things I feared in a mass start happened to me, but it didn't bother me. I was kicked, slapped, and run-in-to. At one point I had a guy on my back, not just one of his arms, but his entire body. Luckily, I was able to pull away from him. There was no visibility in the water, and search-spotting was needed about every 5th stroke. Fun, fun.

The swim course: out to the far orange ball and return.

The race went better than I expected. Of a field of 164 finishers (male and female) I was 25th overall, 6th of 22 in my 40 to 44 age group, and the 17th male out of the water, which is what I am most proud. My swimming has been my concentration over the winter, and today, I feel it showed. Here are my times and overall placement in the event:

25th Overall

Swim 13:57 32nd overall Transition 1 time was 1:57

Bike 45:31 37th overall Transition 2 time was 1:00

Run 21:35 21st overall

Jim Crowley ran a 42 minute 10K yesterday coming into today's triathlon. So, though I beat him by over a minute, had he been "fresh" I think he would have easily taken me today. Today's event is the first event I've ever finished before Jim. His wife, Kim, was a key volunteer at the race and was giving out the medals at the finish line. Many thanks to her.

Friend Alan Girard volunteered also and had the exciting position of managing the bike mounting and dismounting zone. Thanks Alan. I want to send a huge thank you to the race organizers and volunteers today for making my first "tri" experience a fantastic one.

I truly enjoyed today's race. I found myself smiling while on the bike, riding through the country over old wooden bridges and (minimumally) talking to fellow competitors. I even smiled while passing a house where teenagers were hanging out the second floor windows trying to motivate me to run faster by yelling, "are you a man or are you a [insert what you want]?" Afterward Kim Crowley placed my first triathlon medal around my neck at the finish line, the race crew fed us grilled burgers, turkey burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and fruit.

Here's a shot after the race with me holding my bike in front of my transition area. As you can see, no one gets much room in transition.

Roger and I loaded bikes and gear into my pickup truck, Chesapeake, and retraced his bike-path home to Easton. My family was waiting for me when I got home. We had a celebritory dinner for us all (I'm not the only one who had a great weekend). I'm now a triathlete, but there's much more to come. Stay tuned.