training: day one hundred and fourteen
RACE DAY! HOLY CATS!










training: swam 800m, biked 40k, ran 10k in 3:25:57

i did it. not fast at all, but not last either. the results were posted at www.tinmanhawaii.com, but removed due to a problem with the winner's results. They're back up again. they got it worked out for him, and i'm glad because otherwise he went from first place to seventh place, due to a drafting penalty that probably should not have been assessed in the first place.

here's all my stuff laid out BEFORE we even went to hawaii. i had a huge checklist that i went down (twice) to ensure i didn't forget anything. using the list not only soothed the totally obsessive-compulsive aspect of my personality, it also guaranteed everything got loaded into my backpack, which i took as a carry-on, since if any checked luggage would get lost, it would be the luggage with my triathlon gear in it! note the sports drinks and bars--i can't drink gatorade as it tears me up. i had been training with the active diet drink for a month before it occurred to me that i wouldn't be able to buy the stuff stateside. so i had to pack it in. i didn't need most of the stuff, but you should always be prepared.

the hat and the helmet are not on the bed with the other items because i am superstitious. there's an old wive's tale that a hat found lying on a bed portends a pregnancy. i am not taking any chances. i like my giro helmet a lot. the hat is pretty cute for two dollars and worked really well for me during the run.


this is the bike i rented from The Bike Shop Hawaii. they're a great group of people, do business with them if you ever have the chance. the bike is aluminium and has some carbon fiber components. it was a lot lighter and much more nimble than my terry bike. i was really suprised. i was unable to use my carnac shoes with the bike, mostly because they're an older style requiring an adapter plate. i was going to bring my pedals and shoes with me, but late in the game, we discovered we didn't have a pedal wrench at home so i couldn't bring my pedals. the straps worked out OK for me, although next time, i'll bring my pedals and shoes (we bought a pedal wrench at the shop. along with pedals and shoes for chris' recumbent).

this picture of the race packet course information page was taken the day before the race--it's the course map with my landmark notations on it. i took all kinds of notes! it turned out that on the race day, the course was coned off and all kinds of cops and race officials were around for guidance, so i did just fine. i had the map with me just in case, though the pink ink ran all over, thus rendering the map useless and turning my right boob partially magenta (i had the map tucked in my top). chris thought the notation DO NOT DROWN for the swim course was pretty funny. i did not. i was being serious!

check-in for the race began at 0400! i got up at 0330, after going to bed at almost 2300! luckily, i got a good night's rest the night before, which everyone says is what matters, anyway. i am not going to show you the really bad picture of me, but i will say that i look just like my mom with a three-day hangover. visualize that one yourself, i ain't showin' you. i will show you this one.








there are no prep pictures. unlike japan, hawaii is dark at 0400.

there are no swim pictures. i shooed chris off because i had such a bad case of the nerves. i was the last wave of starters. i was not the last swimmer to finish, though. and there were people cheering when i got out of the water, so it helped. but i was pretty freaked out during the swim. i was also pretty pissed off because my goggles fogged. oh well. i did the swim in just under 22 minutes. normally, it takes me half an hour to do 800 meters. i also got a huge gouge on my right inner shin, probably from scraping on a rock. i was too psyched to even notice until i got to T1 and went to get on my bike.

speaking of T1 (swim to bike)










T2 (bike to run) off and shuffling!










the run was AWFUL. it went around diamondhead crater, it was in the sun and the later morning and it killed my time. i could barely run after the swim and the bike, and although i made good time (for me) on the first two legs, well, after that, i literally had no legs to stand on. i walked or shuffled the uphill parts of the run ( there were a lot of climbs) and jogged the downhills. because of this, my time was utterly destroyed, but i did come in under the four hours, like i anticipated way back in april. i did not do anywhere near ten minute miles during the run, even though i mentioned that, too. because i am vain, i "saved a little bit" for the finish area and was able to actually, properly run the last 200m or so, past the stands, the remaining spectators and into the chute. the volunteers at the finish liked my skull and flower socks, too.

and that was my first triathlon. been there, done that, got the t-shirt and i got to fill in the other eye of my daruma.










i want to thank everyone who helped me along: the nice japanese swim instructor who helped me get more comfortable and even a little more proficient in the water, my family and my friends for taking an active interest in what i was doing. i want to thank the organizers and the participants, too--especially the other triathletes who friendly and warm and helped me get oriented and offered lots of encouragement. most of all, i want to thank chris for swimming endless laps with me, putting up with not seeing me very much (other than asleep on the couch) for putting up with more take-away dinners and fewer clean socks than was really proper, because i was too tired to do anything except hold the couch down, for backrubs and footrubs and for turning a blind eye (and a blank check) to the silly amout of money i spent on gear and for helping me scout the course and calming me down, for getting up at 0330 on race day, and for loving me so much that no matter what crazy goals i set myself, helping me to reach them.

ps: chris has decided he is going to do the tinman next year, too.