Wow - I actually won an award in a triathlon - a coconut trophy. I am so pleased - I feel like when I won a blue ribbon at field day in elementary school. I have won trophies in running events, but never expected to finish above the middle of the pack in a triathlon. Somehow I managed to capture 3rd of about 20 guys in the 45-49 division.
My swim was really solid. I swam straight, had few collisions, and was generally able to concentrate on my stroke. I was even first out of the water among the Nambanners in a time of 30 minutes 42 seconds (the course was short - call it 1500 meters? - maybe a bit more).
My bike was close to my most optimistic goal time as well - 3:06:42 - I maintained my target of 30k per hour on the flat stretches despite limited training.
The amazing thing is that I placed so well despite the fact I was not able to even run effectively. I decided right at the start of the run I was going to have to walk early and often. For the first 8k I managed to run for 4 minutes and walk for 30 seconds, but by the bridge at 14k I was walking more than I was running. I was a bit concerned about heat exhaustion (my friend Kyle from Silicon Valley Triathlon Club collapsed and had to get an IV during the race -- he still managed to finish). When teammate Mika Kume blew past me on the uphill section of the bridge and exhorted me to run with her, I just smiled and kept walking. My run time was 1:59:42 and overall time was 5 hours 45 minutes and 27 seconds.
Running in the heat was pure misery, but overall I was delighted with Ironman China experience, more happy it seems than most of my teammates. The bike course took us through the narrow streets of a traditional Chinese village packed with villagers screaming "Go Go Jia Yo!" and out into countryside past water buffalo and throngs of baffled farmers and coconut plantations. I would imagine most of the participants would have been happy to keep the course on the flatter, faster highway but I am glad the organizers took us through the village. The event was well organized for a first time organization.
More later
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