First Annual MudMan Training Event

Pace yourself.  That’s my lesson of the day.  Today was the first annual MudMan training event, held at the Lowcountry YMCA in Port Royal, SC.  The event was sponsored by Carolina Sportscare and Physical Therapy and featured a 400 yard swim and 5K run.  The event was well run and the volunteers were great.  The hope is that MudMan will grow, possibly into a competition instead of a training event.

I made a few mistakes.  First, I didn’t have a great handle on my swim time, so I started a spot or two behind my ideal position.  I passed one swimmer, which was fine, but towards the end of the swim, I passed a second swimmer.  If I had been pacing myself a little better, I wouldn’t have passed the second swimmer.  I finished the swim in just over 7 minutes.  I should have finished about a minute slower to conserve energy.

Going into the transition I was pretty winded.  The official timing was a bit wonky, but I think it took me about 2:30 to get dried off, a shirt on, and my shoes and socks.  The run would have been a bit better if I wasn’t so winded at the start.  The run was 4 .8 mile laps around the YMCA campus.  It took at least the first lap for me to get my breathing under control and settle into my pace.  The run was pretty uneventful after I fell into my rythem.  I finished the run in 29 minutes and some change.  My total, without the transition, was 36 minutes and a few seconds.  If I had paced myself better in the pool, I am pretty sure I could have turned in a sub 26 minute run.  Adding a minute to the swim and saving up to three minutes on the run would have put me at 34 minutes, which was what I had hoped for.

Overall, I am really happy with the morning.  It was a great opportunity to take an inventory of my training.  Three months ago, I couldn’t swim more than 50 meters before needing a break.  Less than a year ago, I couldn’t run more than two miles without being completely winded.  I also hadn’t been on a bike in years.  Now, I regularly run 5 to 10K, swim over a mile three to four days per week, and don’t have any problems going for a 24 plus mile bike ride.  I realize that I need to work on my sprint swimming and get my breathing under control.  With only a month before the Parris Island Triathlon, I have a lot of work to do…

Tagged as: Swimming, Triathlon, YMCA