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Blog entries tagged in Merrimack River triathlon

Wild Cat Sprint Triathlon

Posted by David Hardy
David Hardy
VTR Expert
User is currently offline
on Monday, August 04, 2014
in Triathlons

After a close to two year hiatus from triathlon I finally completed one yesterday. Why? No real reason. I just figured it was time. About mid-week last week I saw that the Wild Cat Sprint Triathlon was on Sunday in Lowell. The race is on my home turf and I know every inch of the course. If I was looking for the perfect race to get back into the sport then this was it. Even though I knew I was not in shape I knew I could get through a sprint and was hoping I could use this as motivation for the remainder of the year. I do not have this race on VTR but the course is almost exactly like the Mill City Triathlon

Prior to last weekend I had not done any swim training. On Saturday I went to the Merrimack River (the site of the swim course) and swam for 10 minutes to see what it would feel like and make sure I wouldn't drown on Sunday. I was slow, but pleasantly surprised all of those years of muscle memory were still there. 

Sunday morning came and I couldn't believe I had not been at the start line of a triathlon since my Ironman finish in 2012. I have to admit it felt good. As I entered the water for my 74th triathlon I felt a lot of fond memories of prior events and training. 

The Race

The swim was a quarter mile in the Merrimack River starting at the Lowell Beach. This beach is just slightly different than my vacation at Huntington Beach two weeks ago. (haha) I decided against a wet suit because the water was warm enough and I was concerned it would take me too long to take it off. I figured I would fly through T1 and make up for my lost swim time. I did several tests a few years ago that showed me without a wet suit I swim like a rock. I ended up swimming 9 minutes for the quarter mile (ouch!) but felt good in the water. My plan seemed to work as I came in 8th overall in T1 with under a minute. In hindsight I probably should have worn a wet suit but at least I felt good.

The bike was an 11 mile loop with only a couple of small hills. I recently sold my tri bike and purchased a road bike and on this course it hurt. The first 5 miles are completely flat on Pawtucket Boulevard and being in the time trial position would have helped a lot. Either way I muscled through the bike course averaging right at 20 MPH. I did mention I was out of shape, right? Either way I felt decent after the ride and it was on to the run.

The run is a perfectly flat 3 miles out and back on Pawtucket Boulevard. Now at least I was in a discipline I have actually been training for of late. I immediately noticed at the start of the run that I was not 100%. Go figure...it is a triathlon not a road race! I was able to maintain decent speed but did not have the legs to do anything special. I finished in 21:45 (7:15 pace) for the run. 

Observations

After two years off there is one important thing I forgot about triathlons...they are hard! This is not a simple 5k I can blast through in 20 minutes and then grab a beer. Even the shortest triathlons are a lot of work when you are undertrained and overweight. 

I have not earned the right to complain about my time. I am just happy I finished without embarrassing myself. I do enjoy triathlons and hopefully this will jump start me to enter a few more events before the season is over.

How did I do:

29th overall in 1:06:57

Check out the full results here.

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