On the bike at Trinona -- my first Olympic distance triathlon.
Beginning the run at Trinona.
Finishing in 3:09 at Trinona. I was hoping to break 3 hours but a bad T1, an inadequate bike and a head cold kept me from accomplishing my goal.
Starting to take off my wetsuit following the swim at the Rochester Triathlon.
Dismounting from my new bike at Rochester (lighter, clipless pedals and aero bars make a huge difference!).
Finishing at Rochester in 2:47 - about 22 minutes faster than my time at Trinona. I felt great and couldn't be happier with my finish!
Monday, June 29 -- I never thought I'd feel like this after doing two Olympic triathlons in two weeks, but I'm sad today.
The challenge is done. The races are over. I trained for months and yesterday I achieved my goal of beating the clock and a certain someone else.
During the run I felt incredible, I was running sub 8-minute miles over the last two miles and I was truly happy for myself to come in at 2:47 when I was really only hoping to break 3 hours.
I discovered something yesterday. No matter how much I try to "win" a race by beating someone else, the only time I'll ever be happy in life is when I accomplish goals that I set for myself.
At TRINONA on June 14, I completed my first Olympic triathlon and it felt great. I didn't break 3 hours but the days leading up to the race I had a cold with achy muscles and I don't think I felt up to par during the race.
Two weeks later at Rochester, I felt better and I had a new bike with clipless pedals and aero bars (both of which make a huge difference!).
Rochester was the culmination of months of training and what I hope is the end to a very difficult time in my life.
A 2:47 triathlon surprised me -- I didn't think I was capable of that. Here is a breakdown of my race:
SWIM - 29:43 (59.43 seconds per 50 meters)
T1 - 3:29
BIKE - 1:20:42 (18.48 mph average)
T2 - 1:39
RUN - 52:09 (8:24 per mile average)
TOTAL - 2:47:40
Compared to TRINONA, I swam faster, transitioned faster, biked a lot faster and then even ran faster. It was a complete success.
But like I said earlier, now there's a letdown.
I'm planning on doing a half Ironman in Lawrence, Kansas, next summer. I hope to do a full marathon this fall. On Saturday, I'm doing a bike-run relay race with a friend. And later this summer I plan on doing a 100-mile bike ride.
All of these things just haven't cheered me up yet. Yesterday's triathlon was such a major milestone for me that I'm left wondering what's next.
How do I push myself in new ways? Where will I end up going for that sense of adventure? Who is going to join me for the journey?
The Damm Journey has been pretty exciting lately. Triathlons, weekends in Des Moines/Mankato/Minneapolis/Okoboji, golf tournaments.
But more than ever I'm filled with this sense of wanderlust. Wanting to meet new people and discover new things. Overcome new obstacles and greater distances.
Indeed, it has been the best of times and the worst of times.
What will the next tale be?
One of greatness or one of mediocrity.
One of success or one of failure.
One of happiness or one of sadness.
More than likely, all of these things will merge together and form the rest of my life (all of our lives for that matter).
And we'll be left to simply...
Enjoy the ride,
Damm
