Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Toronto Island Give-It-A-Try: My First Triathlon

August 22 was perfect for a triathlon.
We were body marked on the mainland and took the 6:30 ferry to Hanlan's Point.
Outside temperature was 17 degrees and the water temperature was 19 degrees which made wetsuits optional.

My wave was at 8:20.
My goggles got water in my first 2 strokes, so I stopped, stood and readjusted them.
I then had to catch up with the others. I swam close to a straight line towards the first buoy, almost hit it at right angles turning into the parallel line with the shore. The 2nd turn was also a close one to the buoy and I was then facing the sun. I was getting tired by then, and couldn't find the last buoy. Nobody was around me, and I kept looking up to see just the sun ahead. I almost panicked. Then I saw someone on my right and it seemed that we were going towards the same point on shore. So I kept swimming until I could stand and run out of the water.

I did not rush in my transition one. I did take my goggles and started to unzip my wetsuit. I then jogged to my bike. I took the time to wipe my feet before putting my shoes on. On my mountain bike I went, for 10km! I got many 'on your left!' and people passing me. I kept a steady pace and got to the transition zone without a glitch.

It was then time for the 2.5k race. I adjusted my knee brace and set off. This was not like the Nike 15K, it was just a loop, part of which we had to do twice. I was able to finish it without too much trouble, stopping once to take a sip of water.

I felt great finishing the triathlon. It didn't push me to my limits, but it was a challenge.