tokyo running days

A marathoner / newbie triathlete's training blog.

Monday, June 12

The first tri experience.

I am back from Oshima alive, and it was soooooo much fun! I really enjoyed this pack of assorted aerobic sports.

OK, to tell you the truth, the swim part wasn't easy for me. The ocean was quite rough and I really wanted to run away when I was waiting at the starting area, and even though the distance was cut in half from 1500m to 750m, I had some life-threatening moments in the water, not physically, but psychologically. It was so scary to think how far I was from the shore and how deep the sea I was swimming in. Many experienced triathletes told me about kicks and slaps you get in the water when you are in a crowd, but for me, it's more comfortable to have people around me so that I can feel I am not the only crazy person who dare to swim in this rough sea. I some how managed to finish my swim part with 22:25 / 188th out of 223. I was surprised that I wasn't the last one.

The 40km bike part was the most enjoyable for me. The course wasn't so hilly, but there were some hills and curves I really enjoyed. As I wrote in my blog before the race, I cycled hard and try to catch people in front of me one by one. Though I felt I need to learn the right gears at some parts, I am quite happy about my bike time 1:20:55 (incl. transit time) / 133rd. I was actually aiming for 80-90min range for the bike part, and without transition time, it was approximately 73min. I know I took so long at the transition. I rediscovered how disorganized I am.

I had some sort of pressure about my run part as a runner. I set 45 to 50 min as my target time range, but I had no idea how fast I could run after swimming and cycling. The 10k actually was totally different experience. My legs were feeling very funny and awkward at the first couple of kms, I felt as if I was a puppet or a robot. I simply couldn't go any faster. But when I got used to the feeling, I started to enjoy passing people. I passed 22 people and finished with 45:55 / 70th / 120th overall.

I have no idea if my oveall time 2:29:15 is slow or fast, but I can say, I enjoyed this new experience. I think I want to do it again sometime.

At last, I would like to thank Taeko-san, Mami-chan, Kanako-chan, David, Gary, Akira-kun and Stuart for sharing this great race experience with me. Arigato!

Overall time: 2:29:15
Overall place: 120th out of 223
Women category: 7th out of 40
Swim lap (750n): 22:25 / 188th
Bike lap (40km + transit time): 1:20:55 / 133rd
Run lap (10km): 45:55 / 70th

4 Comments:

At June 12, 2006, Blogger Jay said...

Congratulations. What a great debut triathlon. You are so courageous. I would not have had the guts to enter the water if my first triathlon was in such a rough ocean.

 
At June 12, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

初トライアスロン無事に完走おめでとう。
天候が悪かったんじゃないですか。
海水を飲まなかった?
くさやは食べましたか?

 
At June 13, 2006, Blogger Stephen Lacey said...

Well Mika, chalk up another great achievement for you. Congratulations. I would say that 7th out of 40 in your first race is pretty darn special. And with such a slow swim-bike transition, you obviously have a lot of room to get faster even if you don't improve your swim, bike, or run!

 
At June 13, 2006, Blogger mika t. said...

Jay, thanks. I was so happy when I heard that the swim part will be cut in half, but it means I have to do another Olympic distance triathlon...

しょうじさん、くさや食べました。すごーく臭かった。味はおいしんですけどねー。その他、ポストレースパーティでは、お刺身とか、お魚のミソスープとか、あしたばを使った料理とか、いろいろ出ておいしかったです。南蛮が陣取ったテーブルは、あっという間に料理がなくなり(くさや以外)、他のテーブルに食べ物を調達しに行ってました。

Steve, they gave prizes for top 6 people, so I was even close to the prize, but when I compared my time to theirs for each part, I was way way slower than them. A long way to go.

 

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