Anyone Can Tri - Triathlon

This was the first triathlon of the season.
Sunday, May 4th at the Southern Saratoga YMCA. Goal time: under and hour
The distance is what is considered a sprint distance. 350 yard swim, 11 mile bike, 3.1 mile run.
I was worried about the swim because it was a snake swim. This means that we start in the first lane of the pool and swim down to the end of the lane. When we hit the wall, we turn and swim under the lane line into the next lane. We then do a full lap in that lane (down and back) and then swim under the next lane line and do it again. We do this until we reach the last lane. We then exit the pool and exit the building to the transition area.
My swim time that I predicted was 6:15. I needed to put a time dwon for registration. They put us in a line for the swim start according to our predicted swim time. I was in the 3rd group about 30 people from the start. I ended up swiming a 5:58 which included the time it took me to exit the pool and the building. I was very pleased with my swim. I had the 15th quickest swim. This is usually my weakest area.
I got to the transition area and started to put on a long sleeve form fitting shirt. This is tough to do when you are wet. It took me a solid minute and a half just to get that shirt on. Then came the bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses (for bugs more than anything). I got out on my bike and immediately started to pass people. That was encouraging. I was one of the few that had a tri-specific bike so I had a bit of an advantage. Since the bike leg was only 11 miles and I had been training on much more mileage coming into the race, I felt great and kept the cadence up for most of the bike. I came in averaging roughly 22 mph. My bike time (including transition) was 32 minutes. That was good enough for 6th fastest bike time.
I came into the transition area worried about the run. I've been nursing some tendon issues in my knee recently so I was concerned about racing on it. I've been able to build up to 4.1 miles, but that was more of a jog pace. I went out in race pace and felt REALLY good. My legs were responding well to what I was asking of them so I went with it. I started passing people immediately. The good thing about starting in the middle of all of the heats is that by the time you get to the bike and run you have people to shoot for. When I passed one person I would set my sights on the next.
My run got stronger as the race continued and I came in with an 18:58 split. I know I am capable of a faster time, but I'll take it this early in the season.
I ended up third overall with a time of 58:10.Next up... GHI Workforce Challenge. I'll be running for The College of Saint Rose in downtown Albany.
Goal time: 22's.