My swim felt much better than the last time, but since I don't have anything other than my total time for the previous race, I can't compare my split times. But even with a better swim, I'm still not real fast at that distance. Granted, I think I need to cut myself some slack here, because I did end up having to swim back to the first buoy after following a pack off a bit off course (I couldn't really sight the buoy very well and made this mistake of following the pack) I would say less than half of those that went off course actually went back to correctly round the marker. I'm only cheating myself by not doing the full course, so I'm glad I did go back.
To make things even worse, I got to the buoy on the inside where it is basically WWF going around that turn with all the swimmers in the water. To make it even more exciting, I got my leg wrapped in the line that held the buoy, causing me to waste time and energy untangling myself from the rope (all while having people swim over and around me)
I finished with a 19:03 swim over the 1000 M (1000+ for me ... lol) course. In the last swim class we did a time trial of 450M. I finished with a time of 8:46 for that distance. So given that result, I think I tiered towards the end, or I just had a slower pace for the 1000 compared to the 450. Maybe if I swam more than once a week I would improve more, but given that the greatest gains can be made on the bike and the run, I will continue to focus my energy there, while working to slowly improve my technique in the water keeping me fresh for the bike and run. Maybe I will work on improving my sighting too ;-)
But after making it through the swim I improved on my transition time, and headed out for the run. I did what you are supposed to do and negative split my 5K. Not by a ton, but I did pick up the pace on the back half of my race. First lap of the run was a 8.07/mile avg finishing at 12:51, my second lap finished at a 12:16 bumping up the pace to a 7.85 pace. I knew I could run in the 7's, just not as long as I would like. But that is where training comes in. It felt great holding that faster pace at the end as there was at least one runner pacing me to the finish. I could hear their footsteps and breathing close behind me, then as we got within sight of the finish I could hear them pick up the pace and go for the pass. Fortunately I had enough energy left to "sprint" to the finish putting a nice gap between myself and those that were close by. It was a great feeling for sure.
Watching some of these people fly past me like jackrabbits is a bit awe inspiring while at the same time crushing. I'm pushing it at close to my max, and these people (guys and girls) just run past me like I am standing still. But then I have to remind myself that I am doing this for fun and exercise, and that back in the day I was a sprinter in track, not a distance runner. So I have to feel pretty good about the fact that I have trained myself to do this kind of distance in the first place.
So with that, I continue my journey. Swim class tonight. Time to go cool off in the Bay after a hot summer day.
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