Nautica South Beach Triathlon

Today was the first triathlon of the year. This was a sprint triathlon of .5 mile swim, 19 mile bike and 4 mile run. The day was perfect! It was overcast with east winds of 10-15 mph and 78 degrees. The only down side was the waves in the Atlantic. It was probably 2-3 foot seas rolling into the beach. Sea temp of 76 degrees.

I got to the transition area early and set up my bike and gear. I then stood back and thought about the layout of my gear and decided to re-arrange it again. I probably did that about 3 different times before I was happy with my little area. Finally I grabbed my wetsuit and went to the pre race meeting. That meeting was at 0710 and my wave start wasn't until 0755 so I headed back to my hotel, which was very close by, to avoid the port-a-potties. Once back at the beach I had about a 15 minute wait for my start. I didn't do a swim warm up other than rotating my arms back and forth. Once the cannon, yes they had a cannon, went off I was moving for the water. The waves were breaking for the first 100 to 150 feet off the beach. Then it was just 2-3 foot waves. My reward for not warming up was that I didn't really get into my groove until about halfway down the swim course. The good news is that it wasn't very crowded so I didn't get kicked in the face or swam over. The worst of it was getting a few mouthfuls of water, but I survived and finally made the beach. Once at the beach we had to run 200 meters before the swim to run transition time started.

The first transition went pretty smooth. I need to work on a few things to help me get in and out of transition faster. I had water to spray the sand off my feet but didn't really need it since the run from the water had knocked most of it off. I had a little trouble with my wetsuit but not to much. I was worried the most about forgetting something I might need for the bike. Somehow I got out of there without forgetting anything.

The bike was awesome! The course was well laid out and the Miami PD did a great job controlling traffic. I had a 20.8 mph average and felt great the entire time. I actually think I could have rode harder. I was only passed by four people on the entire bike course. I caught all but one of them before the race ended.

The second transition went pretty smooth also. I got into my bike slot and put the bike away. I put on my running shoes and was starting to head out when I realized that I still had my helmet on. I quickly removed it and started out. I also had to take a pee break before getting out of transition, which cost me some more time.

The run was an out and back along the beach boardwalk. It's a small boardwalk and at some points it got a little crowded but not so bad that I ever had to slow down. Once again I felt great coming off the bike and was able to maintain a 6:28 pace for the entire run. I was lucky enough not to be passed by anyone on the run course. Running is my best event and I look forward to that point of the event. The finish line was on the beach with bleachers filled with spectators cheering and clapping. It was a quick, fast and very enjoyable race.

Times: Swim - 16:04, T1 - 2:20, Bike - 54:44, T2 - 2:45, Run - 25:54

Total time: 1:41:49 which gave me 11th in my age group and 70th overall male.

Life is good!