Tim Hickok and I ventured down South for the San Diego International Marathon last month. It was quite an adventure for me, as I had never done anything of that particular distance before. Tim is a veteran of 20-plus triathlons over the past few years, whereas I rode my bike for the first time in two years at the Solano Beach triathlon.
The swim began as a 1 kilometer Ocean (calm) water swim, where the start was treading water. Unlike Solano Beach, Tim went first, because I competed in the Clydesdale (yes, I weigh 200 pounds) division. Despite swimming breast stroke all the way, no wetsuit and wearing glasses, I passed 2 freestylers and finished in 28 minutes.
The bike was 30 kilometers, and very hilly. Again, I don’t have the proper equipment (mountain bike and running shoes). I was one of the last 10 people off the course.
Finally, the run, which I thought would be the easiest part. Once I had been exercising for almost 2 hours, it was a little difficult to run a 10K. Despite walking about 7 minutes, I finished in about 52 minutes, and a total time of 2:47, only 41 minutes behind Tim, and 70 minutes behind the winners.
Despite being saddlesore for about a week, I would like to try one again, and maybe someday do an Ironman.