Some brutal facts

It was a lot of fun, and very encouraging, to get an age-group third in the PhilyTri Sprint event. One interesting outcome of that finish is that it qualifies me to enter the USAT National Championships in Tuscaloosa, AL. Jodie encouraged me to give it a go - but, let's just get some perspective:

• As well as I did on the swim, if I were to extrapolate my pace over the Olympic distance event I would not even have been in the top ten swim times of my age group. That is a pretty clear indication that, given a choice, the better athletes will go the Olympic distance. So, the competition is much stiffer at that distance.
• If we go ahead and extrapolate pace for distance at last year's USAT Nationals (which go the Olympic distance) I would have finished at the top of the bottom third of the field. And, who's to say I could maintain the same pace at that distance? Unlikely, I think.

So, while I'm still encouraged by the PhillyTri results it is clear that I have no claim to any unusual prowess in the sport of Triathlon (or any other sport for that matter). On August 16 I will take on my first Olympic distance triathlon at North East, MD. Since the distance is roughly double any event that I've entered so far it would probably be a good idea to start thinking "middle of the pack" again - as far as finish position goals go. Better yet, let's just get a "finish" and try to achieve some respectable times from a "personal record" (PR) perspective.
If I surprise myself at the Olympic distance I can think about Nationals next year. If not, I'd be happy to become a "Sprint" distance specialist. Then, I could just settle into a reasonable training routine and avoid a lot of complicated logistics around nutrition (which becomes an important consideration at the longer distance).
Something I could do for a lifetime - and enjoy it.
What do you think?