race report: Bø Sprinten triathlon

The triathlon season has started! Finally!

And for the 3rd time for me it was Bø Sprinten.
750 meters swim (indoors pool), 20 km cycling, 5 km run.

After a hectic Saturday morning I finally managed to leave my house, a little late, and drove down to Bø, Telemark. About a 1,5 hour drive from Oslo (I may have broken a few speed limits). Signed in at 9:30 and was able to warm up in the pool for about 20 minutes before the heats started at 10.

I was curious about my swim time, since I have not swam a lot this year. I managed to swim in 12:56 though and came in 8th place total :-)
(my swim time last year was 12:09)
Several heats followed me so we had to wait quite a while until the cycling started. In fact we would not start until 1 pm.

I did not mind too much though because I wanted to make sure my bike was properly set up. My bike has been inside my living room for about 6 months, so I was glad I could take a little test ride while I waited. Another last minute thing was switching out the shoe laces with the stretch laces on my jogging shoes. (nothing like waiting until the last minute). Obviously it´s been a while since my last triathlon.

Finally the cycling leg started, and since I had the 8th best swim time I was 8th out of the gate (3 minutes 39 seconds after the first guy).
The weather was sunny and the temperature was nice (well, a little cold), but the winds were insane!! And as soon as I got out on the roads I realized that it was mostly side winds. I tried to use the tri-bars, but it was all I could do to not lose control, so I had to use the regular handle bars most of the time. After only a few minutes I was passed by a couple of guys. And more would pass me before I reached the half way point. No worries though. I just concentrated on keeping a nice cadence and not waste energy on the winds.
At the half way point, 10 km, I clocked in at 19 minutes. Not bad. I was hoping for a tail wind on the way back, but no such luck. The wind was coming from everywhere it seemed, and in gusts, so I just held on tight and tried to just keep a good cadence. I managed to use only 18 minutes on the way back so I was pleased. 37 minutes total on the bike, giving me a 32 km/h pace, which surprised me in those winds.

Into the changing zone, on with the jogging shoes, and I ran out. The winds were increasing, and it seemed like I was running at a 45 degree angle heading into the winds. This was a loop taken 3 times. It was supposed to be 5 km long, but my GPS measured 4,3 km. I managed to keep a very nice pace, and no one else was able to pass me on the run. It was a fairly flat course, and the dreaded hill from last year was now gone. I crossed the finish line after a 20 minute run.

I ended up in 18th place, out of 42. My total time, including the swim, was 1:10:41, about 14 minutes behind the winner. It´s impossible to compare my times from last year since they changed from mountain bike to road bikes (thank God), and the run track was changed as well.
It felt great to be out again, cycling and running, meeting up with the other triathletes, and just having a good time. I think my skiing this winter has paid off.

My photo album:
http://www.hustephoto.com/ph_BoSprinten_2010/

Bø Sprinten´s photo album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/106115835099005412782/BSprinten#

Final results:
http://www.hustephoto.com/ph_BoSprinten_2010/BoSprint_halvolympisk_170410.html