First time for everything

Up until now, I've never seriously considered participating in a triathlon. I never really saw the point. Why take away from something I love (biking) to spend time doing something I barely tolerate (running) and something I really don't enjoy at all (swimming - I was going to say "hate", but decided hate was a bit too strong. Barely).



So what could make me change my mind about participating in a triathlon? Trading in my least favorite event of a triathlon for an event I love, that's what. In a couple of weeks, I'm going to do the "Bash Winter Triathlon" up at soldier hollow, which consists of a running leg (on snow), a mountain biking leg (on snow), and a CX ski leg. As is usual, I told my coworkers about this event and they just rolled their eyes and shook their heads.



The format of the event is not ideal, at least not for me anyway. It is a 2.8 mile run, a 2.8 mile bike, and a 2.8 mile ski. Who ever heard of a triathlon where the run and the bike are of equal lengths? Don't the organizers realize that the top riders (not me) will be finishing the bike in about 10 minutes?



I think I've only run 2.8 miles a couple of times in my entire life, so it should be interesting. Earlier this fall when I was doing a lot of travelling, I think I ran 2 or 3 times, and I ran 2.5 yesterday morning and felt surprisingly well. I should mention that I ran it very slowly to try to get my running legs. The first mile was a 10-minute mile, the second was a 9-minute mile, and the last .5 was on 8.5 minute mile pace. I figure I can run a couple more times between now and the race and still feel fresh for race day. No matter what I do though, I'm sure I'll be too far behind after the run leg to catch anyone, but oh well.



Ballpark estimates:

Run: 30 minutes
Bike: 17 minutes
Ski: 25 minutes
Plus transition times (changing shoes/boots)



It's tough to guess how fast I can run or bike on snow, and I've never timed myself on skis, so we'll see how it goes.