I beat him! Yeah!... and it felt good!

They say it's the taking part that counts, but in the 'Stroke and Stride' - my first ever Cayman duathlon event - I simply had to beat him, and I'm delighted to say that I did...

The Cayman 'Ogier Stoke and Stride' on August 13th 2008 was, to put it simply, an excellent event. It was my first ever 'Stroke and Stride' and being a very weak swimmer, who, to be honest, hadn't trained an inch for this event, I was a little apprehensive on the night. There weren't any good excuses to back out though - The sun was shining, the sea was as calm as it could be, and I'd told all my friends that I was doing this!

OK - so a 400 metre swim in the waters off South Sound's Sunset House and then a 2 mile road run along South Church Street. Easy!? Well - no it wasn't!  I've never been a great swimmer and that is what I blamed for my being the last male to finish this whole event with an overall time of 37 minutes and 55 seconds - somewhat behind Marius Acker's winner time of 17 minutes and 23 seconds. But hey, didn't I start here by saying I beat some guy? Yes, I sure did as I'll explain a little later....

Anyway, as a newcomer to this duathlon scene, the event couldn't have been better managed or the welcome friendlier. In total, 154 people turned up for the event - a record crowd I belive. There was a great sense of 'fun' in the air, and everyone was clearly there to enjoy themselves - whether they were the serious athletes, the novice participants (of which there were several), or the spectators enjoying their CayBrews up at Sunset House.

As the starting whistle went and the calm sea was suddenly turned into wild white water as over 100 swimmers began the challenge, it was very reassuring for me to know there were official life-savers out on the waters in their kayaks, watching over us like hawks poised to swoop. I was very pleased to see those guys - but fortunately made it without their assistance.

Out of the water it was then into 'transition' - swimming cap and googles off, and running shoes on. I'd like to say I was off 'like a bat out of hell' as the saying goes, but there were too many witnesses around who could testify against me on that one - The swim had taken everything out of me - but I was determined, and got on with that road run.... Again that part of the race was perfectly organised - marshalls along the route to direct us and cheer us on..... After a combined 37 minutes and 55 seconds I had made it.... Across the finishing line - and what a perfect place to end - The Sunset House bar!

So there's two more 'Stroke and Strides' left this year - on the next two Wednesday's. One other great thing is teams can enter as well as individuals - so you don't have to run or swim if you can find someone else to do that part of the race for you. Excellent. (Next week I'm just running and have a partner for the swim which is extended to 600 metres!)

Oh yes, and the person I beat? It was my former self - the Andy that told me "OK - You can run a bit - but there's no way you can swim any meaningful distance, so you'll never be able to do this event!". I'm glad I proved him wrong! I achieved something here.

This article is a personal blog entry on CaymanActive.com. Anyone on Cayman can blog on these pages on any sports, health or fitness related subject. Just get in touch with us, and we'll get you going!

Written by :

CaymanActive.com

 

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