My Tinman Report

Last weekend I participated in one of the most popular races on the islands of Hawaii, the Tinman Triathlon, which celebrated its 28th anniversary. And I won!

The early race start of Oahu’s races is something that makes the whole race experience even more exciting, spooky and intense. Setting up the bike transition in the dazzling floodlights, makes you feel like you are going on a stage to perform your best show, ever. The race started in the dark, which did not really bother me, because usually all I see on the swim is bubbles and feet anyways. And often times it is good not see whose feet are in your face. The swim was rather uneventful; I was second out of the water. By the time the first group hopped on the bikes and went over Diamond Head, the sun came up and that’s when my race started. I got to use Dr. McMahon’s aero wheels and the humming sound put me in a state were there was just me, the road, and my bike. And the police man on the pacing motorcycle to the left of me. He did not bother me, however once in a while he turned the volume up on his radio on. He did that maybe 3 times, even once started to sing along some Hawaiian song. That was somewhat distracting. I had the fastest women bike split of the day, which I expected. The run was painful. Not only because of the usual race pain, but also because I really had to use the toilet. Having to use the toilet while going hard, THAT is painful. I guess most people reading this blog know about that. All in all a good and fun race!