200 lbs vs 1/4 tonne

Sad, horrible, anger, reallY?,

CALGARY HERALD
"A drunk driver plows into a group of cyclists in norther Mexico, killing one rider and leaving 14 injured. The cyclists were racing in the city of Matamoros, near the Texas border, when they were hit on Sunday."

FOX NEWS
"Juan Campos was apparently drunk and had fallen asleep at the wheel before crashing into the race in Monterrey, Mexico, police investigator Jose Alfredo Rodriguez said.

A photograph taken by a city official shows the horrifying moment of impact. The force of the collision sent bicyclists and equipment high into the air and Matamoros newspaper El Mañana described children crying, women shouting for help and men trying to lynch Campos before police arrived to arrest him.

Killed in the crash was Alejandro Alvarez, 37, of Monterrey.

Campos told police he was an American citizen from Brownsville, Texas. The U.S. consulate could not immediately confirm that.

"We are looking into the incident in terms of whether American citizens were involved,'' consulate spokesman Todd Huizinga told the Associated Press.

The crash happened 15 minutes into the race along a highway between Playa Bagdad and Matamoros, authorities said.

A total of 452 cyclists were participating in the 21-mile race, which was canceled after the incident."

My First Triathlon

I can now officially call myself a triathlete:) Yesterday supersprint was completed in 59:19.04 placing me in 41st place (out of 302) and 9th in my age category (out of 20).

THE PREPARATION
From September to December I focused on learning to swim efficiently.
January to May was focused on training for the Vancouver marathon and
May was dedicated to biking. This isn't the typical or advised training schedule, but it's what worked for me and ever changing goals.

THE SWIM
500m--12min45sec--2min33sec/100m

Usually I swim at a a 2:00/100m pace but I take breaks when I get tired. So considering breaks I figured 2:30/100m was about right. I estimated the swim to take 12-13 minutes which was a mistake. Although my time was within the range, it's because I was caught behind some slower people.
The organizers decided to put 5 people per lane so it was super crowded. I wasn't mad about getting a slower time, but I'd like to swim to my full potential for the next race instead of breastroking and drafting behind someone for 300m. I tapped people's feet a few times to indicate that I wanted to pass, but they weren't good about letting me pass. So I settled with a slower time.
Next time I'll swim with the 10 minute group and take breaks if i need to.
Actually, screw that, next time will be an open water swim.

TRANSITION 1

Arms felt heavy and I took forever to put on my helmet.
Hands were wet and I took forever to put on my gloves.

BIKE
16km--30min30sec--31.5km/hr
I was a little nervous since I'd only done 2 long rides on my new bike.
I was most happy with my performance on the bike. I passed ALOT of people and only got passed by two people on Cervelo's. Practicing corners at high speeds definitely paid off. Riding a model of Lance Armstrong's old bike (Trek Madone 5.2SL) also helped out.
I recently became comfortable with riding in the drop down position which cut alot of wind resistance but next year's purchases will include Aero Bars.

I couldn't get my foot out of the clips...so i fell on my hip at the dismount line. It left a nice scrap on my hip bone, but DON'T Worry, the bike is OK!

TRANSITION 2
My arms weren't jelly so this went much quicker

THE RUN
3km--16min06sec--4:45min/km
The first 200meters were almost worst than the last 10km of my marathon. I felt like puking, my right glute was hurting, arms weren't swinging and I wasn't wearing my footpod so I didn't know my pace.
After screaming down hills on the bike my body naturally ran faster than it should have, so I had to slow myself down for the first km. The 2nd km felt better and the IT band started irritating me for the last km. I'm glad it was a 3km run and not a 5km because I most likely would have had to walk the last 2km.
I've never run so hard yet moved so slowly. I'm pretty sure my HR was in the 180's yet my pace was 4:45, which is my 32km pace.

PLACINGS
Swim--175th place
Bike--25th place
Run---36th place

OFFICIAL results: http://www.multisportscanada.com/Results/2008_Try_This_Triathlon_Overall.txt

Clearly, Swim is my weakest of the three. I surprised myself with my bike result and as a runner I'll settle with my run knowing that I need to work on the bike/run transition more...after I rest up my IT band.

THE SUPPORT
-My training groups at UCTC and Running Room.
-My race day group: Dan, Kat and JoJo who kept calling me a hottie every time I ran/biked by.
-Everyone who's given me pointers on swimming. I've definitely improved but now I lack the confidence in swimming with faster people.