THE BIKE (1:23:48; 19th out of 49 in my age group; 523nd out of 822 total athletes)The good news is that I didn't crash, get a flat or fall over.
The bad news is that I lost some serious ground on the bike course. You could really see how strong other athletes were as compared to me. This is something I plan to really work on --- leg strength and sprinting to increase my speed. I averaged 17-18 miles per hour. I have to push that up well into the 20's.
The added piece is that because of where I was seeded, there were a lot of very strong athletes around me whizzing by on their fancy bikes. I was in awe.
The course was quite technical with a number of 180 turns. There were a few hill spots, but mostly a relatively flat course.
The bike route consisted of two loops through the Georgetown/Rock Creek Park part of town. Luckily there was some shade and some nice downhills to help pick up speed.
Regardless, at times I seriously felt like a circus bear trying to ride a unicycle compared to some of the other bikers. If I want to be more competitive I need to: drop weight, become more proficient and increase my strength.
It was great to see my family on the course --- Mark was on the Memorial bridge and the parents were at the transition. I could hear them cheering me on.
I also saw a lot of the Snapple trainees out on the course and it was nice to cheer everyone along.
I did see a few accidents and a few flat tires. Luckily I didn't have any technical problems.
All in all...lots to work on here...but for the first time out I couldn't be happier with this leg.
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