Cohasset Triathlon Race Report

Cohasset Tri
June 29, 2014
Swim .25m / Bike 12m / Run 3.2m
Total time: 1:46:21

In preparation for this race, instead of training properly, I instead chose to focus on the competition. There were only 5 Athenas racing, and I stalked last year's results and thought I had a decent chance of beating one of them. 2 others had placed the year before, and the other 2 I had no intel on. That meant I'd only need to beat one of the two unknowns, and I'd have a chance at third place.

With that in mind, I set out to get on the podium. I have never tried so hard in a race. The whole thing was hard. The water was super cold, 56 degrees they said, but it was a hot morning, and I actually felt really good in the water when I went in to warm up (cool down?) It was only a quarter of a mile swim, so I just swam it all out as fast as I could. T1 was uneventful. I remember the person next to me in transition saying something about how the "worst part was over" and I was like, "huh? that was the only good part of the race!" but I didn't stick around for the rest of the conversation because, you know, we were in the middle of a race. The bike is just not my thing. I'm slow. I can't go uphill. I lose all momentum and come to a near stop. I didn't have to walk my bike at all on this course, but I came close. It seemed that all the downhills had sharp turns at the end, so I don't feel like I ever made up any speed. The end of the bike course couldn't get there fast enough. It seemed like there were just more and more hills even after spectators and volunteers kept saying things like, "last hill and you're home free".

Finally I got to T2. I was so happy to be off the bike, but what I quickly realized was that I'd never pedaled that hard on the bike, ummm... ever, so my legs were totally shot. I tried to run and there was just no connection between my brain and my legs. So, I walked. That was still really hard. Then there were hills. I tried to run wherever I could, and walked when I couldn't run. Continue that for 3.2 miles, with a sprint to the finish. As someone who never lays it all out there on the course, I definitely did that for this race. I didn't feel triumphant though, I just felt pain.

I didn't know how I had placed even after the race. I didn't see results posted anywhere. I waited for the awards ceremony, which I usually do anyway. I waited through about 40 minutes of awards, every single age group in 5-year increments from under 18 to over 70, male and female, including special awards like physically challenged athletes, and a special mention to triathlon/marathon legend Dick Hoyt. I loved all of that, don't get me wrong. What I didn't love, though, was that after all that waiting for them to announce the Athena winners, it never happened. He said, "Thanks everyone, see you next year!" and I felt like I was the only one left staring at the empty podium up on top of the stage. Had I known that I had placed, I would have marched up to him and demanded to be recognized (or, more likely, I would have politely asked for my medal and then slunk away quietly.)

Athena Division Results

My swim split was the fastest swim time out of the 5 of us. My bike split was the slowest, and my run split was the second slowest. So how the heck did I place, you ask? I gained a couple of minutes in the swim, and a minute or two in each of the transitions. In fact, the woman who took first place beat me on the bike by over 7 minutes and beat me on the run by almost 8 minutes. But overall, she only beat me by 6:40.

I'm happy with third place in that division, but it's sort of a sham. If I compare myself to my age group, I would have placed 43rd out of 45. Why am I killing myself to place in a division that isn't recognized, with a time slower than 98% of entire field? I did end up getting my medal in the mail a few weeks later, but with no note attached, and nothing on the medal that indicated what it was for, besides the name of the race. I guess that's how it should be. It felt no different than a participation medal. I'm not special. I'm not talented. I just showed up and performed poorly, but well enough to finish. I can't help but wonder though, if I had raced age group, maybe I would have placed 45th out of 45 because I wouldn't have been trying so hard. Maybe I would have come in dead last in my age group and decided not to try at all anymore. In a world where we compare ourselves to others almost as much as we try not to compare ourselves to others, which is actually more beneficial?