Our First Triathlon and Other Activities

Well, we decided to attempt a triathlon and see what it was like. We know a few people from church that are very active triathletes, and it sounded like a fun challenge to try. We selected a "Sprint Triathlon," which is the shortest category in terms of distances. This event was held in Gainsville, Ga and consisted of a 1/4 mile lake swim, a 12 mile bike ride, and a 5k (3.1 mile) run.

Being new to the sport, we definitely had some need of training. We've been running a lot lately, and we both got mountain bikes this year and have been doing some riding, but swimming was a different story. Tamra has a swim background, so with a little practice she definitely looked the part of a seasoned swim competitor. I had a little more work to do (it turns out the "doggie paddle" is not the preferred swim stroke for races).

Here's Tamra's bike in the transition area. Neither one of us had a road or tri bike to use, so we both just used our mountain bikes. We knew that using mountain bikes for the bike leg would make us pretty slow (as they are twice as heavy and not built for aerodynamics the same was that road/tri bikes are) - but we figured that was OK for our first event. We did at least swap out our regular off-road tires for some smoother ones, which did help.

Tamra did great - she finished 13th out of 117 women for the swim leg, and somewhere around 27th out of 117 for the entire triathlon. Pretty impressive considering it was her first triathlon and the fact that the mountain bike cost her significant time on the bike leg, (though her performance was hardly surprising to me).

I was both slow in the bike leg and the swim leg. However, I was pleased to finish the swim using the freestyle stroke the whole way (no breaks, no switching to the breast stroke to catch my breath, and at no point did rescue swimmers need to be dispatched to come get me). I did make up some ground on the 5k run, finishing 13th out of 152 men for that leg of the race, and finished 80-something for the men in the overall triathlon.

We both had a great time, and plan to do another triathlon next year. Maybe next year we'll find some road bikes to borrow or rent and see how much difference that makes.

In other activities, we've also been keeping up with rock climbing. Our climbing gym is just 15 min. away - which is very nice. I try to climb at least twice a week and we try to go as a family at least a couple times a month. About a month ago, I made a day trip to the "Horse Pens 40," which is a popular bouldering spot in Alabama (i.e. a field of large boulders that you climb using safety pads and spotters instead of ropes/harnesses).

Here I'm finishing up a slab problem (not quite vertical, mostly flat rock face), called Merlin. This is somewhat of a "high-ball" problem (anything ~15 ft. tall or greater). Of course we used multiple pads and spotters for climbs like this.

I don't remember the name of this next problem, but it was a fun climb with good holds. Here's me at the beginning:

The middle:

And almost at the top:

One thing about climbing outdoors, when it's really hot out, you don't get the same grip on the rocks. Consequently, here in the South, outdoor climbing is actually best Fall through Spring. As good as the boulders are here at the Horse Pens, I'm definitely looking forward to making another trip later in the year, when it's cooler and the friction on the rocks is better. Maybe I can get Tamra and the boys to come next time too (and we'll try to remember the camera).