my first triathlon - split times are in

So, the official results of my first triathlon are in. I've known for a week that I finished the race in 1:55:42, coming in 282nd of 385 racers. That felt pretty good, all things considered. Way above the last one in.

So, here are my splits (and how they rank among the 385 competitors):

• 1/2 mile swim: 0:16:44 (279)
• 13 mile bike: 0:55:17 (277)
• 4 mile run: 0:43:41 (273)
• Total: 1:55:42 (282)

In looking at the times, I'm assuming the transition times are included in the leg that follows, since by my bike computer, I know it only took me 48 minutes to ride the course, and it took a while to get from the lake to the transition area.

But when I'm stacked up against my age group, I came in 40th of 42. Meh.

I take comfort in the fact that guys from my age group placed 2, 3 and 5 in the overall race, so it's a competitive bracket. If I think it's going to get easier as I get older, I'm sorely mistaken, though. The 40-44 bracket is almost as big as my 35-39 group, and I'd have placed 32nd of 38 in with the same time in the older bracket. (It seems I'm not the only one discovering triathlons are a great way to get and stay in shape.)

At least now I've got my baseline from which to get better, no?

Oh, and I caught the Ford Ironman 70.3 Florida Triathlon on TV this week. Inspirational stuff, and I think I've set my sights on doing something that distance in a couple years :^).