Triathlon

It's 3am and I am at work. I am doing post-data migration set ups and first pass verification. We are working on an upgrade of our European Oracle database and applications, going from 11i - 11.5.9 to r12 - 12.1.3. It's not glamorous, but usually it's a 9-5 gig, but because it's a global effort that will span 5 days we are working around the clock...not everyone all the time, but we pass the baton to keep things moving. Oh yea, this is just our "Mock Go-Live" which means this one isn't for real, it's our last practice.

So why is this titled Triathlon, yet all I have rambled about is my working at 3am this morning? Because this 3am to 10am working comes just 3 days before my first ever Triathlon. Today is supposed to be the second day of my active rest and recovery before the Tri. I should be sleeping on schedule for 7-9 hrs, not napping for 3 hours then working way off my normal schedule.

So I decided about 18 days before the Tri to do the Tri. Sure, I was eyeballing it for quite a few weeks, but I had not decided until 14 days ago. I chose Jack's Generic Tri. I chose it because it's a short Tri even for a sprint distance, it seems beginner friendly and it's rumored to be a great event for everyone. I am very excited and nervous. It turns out that a co-worker and a rugby buddy are doing it too and we are all in the same age group, 40-45.

The past 2 weeks have been a crash course in Tri training with a practice Tri, a bit of open water swim (OWS) practice in lakes, quarries and barton springs, BRICK workouts (back-to-back Tri activites, like Bike then immediately Run) and constant reading about Triathlons (especially the multitude of beginner mistakes there are to be made). My diet has been pretty serious, mostly a Paleo for Athletes diet. I have lost 11 lbs in July. Oh yea, July 4-10 I was in Costa Rica - not eating all that great, but I did manage a couple of runs, ocean swims and hikes so there was that.

Aside from working at 3am today I feel pretty prepared. I will blog again with my results.

Goals for Tri:

1. Survive and finish without a "DNF"

2. Finish in 1:45 or better

3. Beat my practice time of 1:35:12

4. Finish in the middle of my AG (age group)

5. Finish in the top 35% overall

6. Beat Todd (coworker) and Tres (rugger)

7. Have fun (this really should be #1)

Now that I have these goals out here on virtual paper I have them to answer to.

Until next time...