This weekend I participated with a bunch of friends in what we called the “Slacker” Tri. So basically what that means is a group of us, who have trained together for triathlons the last couple years have slacked this summer, for one reason or another. Obviously we aren't as fit as we have been at this point in the summer the last couple years. That being said, we are all slightly competitive people and thought we would sign-up for an Olympic Tri Relay and place a little wager on it. So 2 teams, 6 people, each person doing one sport. It’s worth noting some other friends of ours had a relay team too, but they displayed way too much dedication to training to be include in our stake. Anyway, we had a boys v girls bet. Loser has to provide the winners with a steak dinner…fully catered by the loosing team.
So everyone rolls in before the race and you can immediately tell it’s different from other races. The normal jitters that generally occur before competing are non-existent. Instead of psyching ourselves up to kick-ass, we sat in a circle and talked about how much we all slacked this year….except for one or two people who, IMO, are overachievers. This conversation continued to the point that we all almost forget to get marked and barely get set-up in the transition area in time to start.
First up the swimmers…..the relay teams start last and were supposed to start at 8:15. Unfortunately when we moseyed on down to the beach at 7:55, the other teams had already started. Whoops. So our swimmers got a late start and no warm-up. Both are pretty good swimmer and did well actually, but generally slower than the past…in addition the slow crawl to transition from the water probably didn’t help our team.
Next up the bikers…..Here is where most of the time on the course is spent. The 40k ride is hilly and windy and depending on the wind speed can seriously affect your time. Our rider is pretty good and he is generally very fast and can get it done. He did pretty well, but the ladies rider was a rock star. She had a PR by something like 20 minutes. Now I’m not accusing her of anything but I think someone may have been training a bit in secret, or using some sort of enhancement…..just saying.
Now I was the runner and therefore had to wait a couple hours before my leg started. I’m not sure if the mimosa I had prior to my leg helped me out at all, but it was sure tasty. That being said I did finish without stopping…very slowly though. As you may know I tore my MCL earlier this spring and have been very slow to pick up more speed and distance on my runs. This was the second time this summer I ran a 10k without stopping due to knee pain. I actually did finish with no pain and a bit faster than my last Olympic 10k time…..however that run was after a 1.5k swim and 40k bike. Still way over 10 minute miles
Based on past results, the boys gave the girls a 20 minute handicap…and they killed us. I think they finished about 5 minutes after us. So congrats Team We Try…Now I want a drug test from Ginger.
Turns out the girls did really well; they finished 3rd and the other team of ladies, we refused to bet due to their general fit level, finished 1st!
Oh also, we finished 3rd……out of 3....but we still got a prize because we placed!
We decided to make it an annual event and hopefully we can expand the teams next year :)
