Summary and 2007 IMFL

Above, an overview graphic of my training, season by season. Report for race in 2007:

IMFL 2007
I look back at 2007 and can't believe I even finished that race with so little preparation. That '07 race was definitely an exercise in pain management, especially since it was my very first triathlon altogether.

Totals for 13 weeks:
Swim 21 miles (36,950 yards). Bike 638 miles. Run 114 miles.

Swim
13 weeks before the race, I couldn't even swim two laps in the pool (100 yards) without being completely winded. Clearly I was not raised as a fish. I had taken a stroke technique class earlier that year, but we never covered breathing technique. So after reading a bunch of articles and watching some swimming technique videos, I finally figured out a better breathing pattern that allowed me to lengthen my swim workouts. My longest workout was 3200 yards (~1.8 miles) swum in a pool.

Then there's also a big difference between swimming in a pool and swimming in the ocean. So before heading to the race, I bought a wetsuit and made a trip up to Walden Pond in Concord, MA for my first open water swim. Still didn't replicate the waves in the Gulf of Mexico, but made me realize how hard it is to swim in a straight line without that stripe at the bottom of the pool. Ugh, I zig-zagged through the whole 2.4 mile course.

Bike
About 7 weeks before the race, I got a new bike. Switching from a road bike to tri-bike with aero bars, it didn't take long to get used to riding in the aero position. Brian at Fast Splits in Newton, MA fit me on the bike; great guy, great shop. Clearly though I didn't spend enough time training on the new ride. My longest ride was only 72 miles. In the race I was ok through about that same distance, but the last 40 miles I averaged 2 mph slower. I had little left in my legs, ouch.

Run
My longest run prior to the race was only 13 miles, which I only ran a week prior to race day. Not a wise idea. My legs felt lead-filled for the first few miles. Eventually I was reduced to a combination of running and walking to get through the course, though I think I was able to pull it together to run that final mile through to the finish line.