I have really been looking forward to the Cayman Islands Triathlon Association Social Triathlon - it is a modest little local race, but of a peculiarly lovely kind, and at this point it has now added 33% to my triathlon racing experience (counting in terms of total races if not time spent). It was fortuitous that it was happening while I'm here - a great workout in preparation for the NYC Triathlon in four weeks.
(I was here and volunteered last year, but had neither the nerve nor the bicycle to compete - this year, I have at least a bit more nerve and Brent was kind enough to loan me the Poor Little Blue Cannondale - so named, I am told, because its precursor was the Poor Little Red Mazda - and also his bike shoes, as it turns out the shoes I brought have different cleats and I was too lazy to switch the pedals out - also, the shoes he has are better! Bigger, but better!)
Anyway the alarm was set for 5, but I woke up at three with an utter fit of bicycling-related nerves, couldn't get back to sleep - in fact, though, it was all good. Perhaps 30 people racing, and I have pasted in some pictures below (thanks, Brent!) to give you the feel for the situation.
The course obviously isn't closed to traffic, but it was done as a loop (left-hand-side driving here) with all left-hand easy turns except for the final turn back into the parking lot for the transition to the run, so very manageable...
It is certainly a very warm race, which is one reason that it is probably for the best that there are no pictures of me on the run! I am in the orange bathing cap (a trophy from the Park-to-Park swim the other week), and there is a very good shot of me on the Poor Little Blue Cannondale coming out of the transition area into the road. Sprint distance, in theory exactly half of Olympic distance but in practice perhaps approximate: 800 yards swim, 12.4 miles bike, 3.1 miles run. My time was 1:37 and change, not speedy but not bad considering the heat (which makes running more of a trudge-type situation!).
(Brent did not race - he was a course marshal, in a very good luridly colored shirt from the DHL Duathlon earlier this year.)
4 comments:
Very nice! (It has been a long time since I thought about the Poor Little Red Mazda!)
Looks like a lovely day for a swim, bike, run!
Sounds like fun! That ocean looks lovely.
YAY for more tri experience. Sounds like a nice low key, fun event.
Looks like a blast! Good luck on the training towards NYC!
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