My first "podium" finish!!

So, I finished the Philytri Sprint event and felt great. I had achieved my goals (ok, i was off 27 seconds on the run). Had my gear packed up and was starting to the car with Jodie - my support "crew" today. Figured, I could just check the final results online later.
Why not just check the results posting before we leave? What? I came in 3rd in my age group? I think we better hang around!
Honestly, I was so surprised by this outcome that I got pretty choked up. That was not in the plan!
So, what happened?
Bottom line - I kicked it on the bike. The road course was sweet! Nice and smooth new pavement and a beautiful day. My goal was 55:00 on the bike portion. My actual - 48:39! The rest of my goals v. actual were right in line:

• Swim goal: 14:30 - Actual: 14:25. Perfect! I'm getting better at this goal setting.
• Bike goal: 55:00 - Actual: 48:39. Awesome! I guess this goal is going to be tougher to achieve in the future!
• Run goal: 23:30 - Actual: 23:57. Pretty close. Sort of balances with the swim. I was pretty tired from busting my butt on the bike.
• Transitions goal: 5:00 total - Actual: 4:45. Skippy!
• Overall goal: 1:38:00 - Actual: 1:31:47. Wow.
  

My position at the finish was entirely unexpected. Here's how I rated:

• Overall: 123 out of 1,436 participants. Top ten percent. Nice. 75th on Swim, 282 on bike, 214 on run. (Which means the swim leg is pretty darn important to the outcome, for me.)
  
• Overall males: 106 out of how many, I'm unsure. But I imagine 60-70% were male. So definitely better than "middle of the pack".
• Age 50-55: 3 out of 44. Amazing.

Thanks and love to Jodie for supporting this effort! Thanks Angie for inspiring me to "tri". I am totally surprised and grateful for the opportunity to have taken on the challenge of this sport.

(p.s. remember, I am trying to raise some money for "Serving at the Crossroads" through this blog. If you haven't already, please consider making a donation through the link at the lower right hand corner of this page. If you've already done so, Thanks - the new clinic is under construction and lives are being saved and the community is being improved!!!!)