I tri!

This morning I competed in my first triathlon as an adult. Dunte and I drove to Midland after I got off work last night, we arrived around 11:30. A big thanks to the Shahan family for hosting us.

So here is the story:

Dunte and I settled in to go to sleep and I was gittery and excited and couldn't go to sleep. To pass the time I was bothering Dunte, which he wasn't thrilled about. To settle down I decided to visualize the race. I imagined jumping in the pool and swimming a smooth relaxed 500 yards, then I imagined getting out of the water and going... where? I didn't know. And then it hit me that I didn't know the setup at all. I didn't know the bike course, I didn't know the run course. This didn't help me nerves but I finished a general visualization and fell asleep.

5:30 came early, but I got right up and was excited, sort of. Dunte and I ate and chatted with Patrick and his dad. Before I knew it we were in the car, and my nerves weren't too bad yet. I was as prepared as I could be, now it was time to do it. We get there, and setting up was more rushed then I thought, and then we waited forever!!

They had a staggered start because it was a pool swim, so with 172 competitors, starting every 30 seconds: it was time to hurry up and wait. Waiting in line I had butterflies, but when I got up to the front I took a couple deep breaths and was ready to start.

Ready. Set. Go.

I jumped in the pool and was ready. I love swimming, I was relaxed and taking it easy. A couple people passed me (which happened a lot throughout the morning) but I was okay with that. 500 meters and 10 minutes, 10 seconds later I jumped out of the pool feeling really good.

I jogged to the bike and put my got all of my stuff, I wasn't terribly disoriented. I spent 2:03 in transition and then was on the bike for a good ride. It was a steady pace, with a steady cross-wind. The landscape was as flat as a crepe, you know those little thin pancakes (hehe). I kicked it into the big ring and stayed there the whole time. Several very encouraging competitors passed me, and I loved all of the support. It really helped, and if I ever pass someone I will be sure to shout my own variation of, "Looking good! Keep it up!" My favorite cheerleader passed me going almost twice as fast as the others and from behind shouted, "Looking good babe!" Before I could even question who this over-friendly stranger was, Dunte flew by me. Check out his story (after the weekend because he is racing tomorrow) at www.thefitlife.me He kicked some serious tail. I down shifted and spun to loosen up my legs before the run, after 54 minutes 54 seconds on the bike this was necessary.

Getting off the bike I felt pretty good, tired for sure. I wasn't completely out of it, but I was wishing I had invested in some bike shorts. I only spent 1 minute 27 seconds in the second transition. Now was the run... the dreaded run.

I got started and things were going well. I ran for 3 or 4 minutes feeling good, and then I found the big ugly wall again. It smacked me right in the face. The run took me 43 minutes and 47 seconds, which is a really long time. I walked a lot, especially in the last mile. I really wanted to run across the finish line, and I didn't think that was going to happen if I ran too much in that last mile. I almost puked, but I didn't.

I did finish, I did run across the finish line and I did finish in under 2 hours. The final time was 1 hour 52 minutes and 22 seconds. I really enjoyed it, Dunte ran with me for the very last part of the run and I enjoyed running with him right before I finished. I wouldn't have done this if it wasn't for his craziness, I am in better shape for it, and I really loved it.

Side note:
You should do a triathlon! You can do them in teams, so find a friend or two and pick the least of the  three evils (for you personally) and do it! It is really rewarding, and not a bad way to spend a couple hours on a Saturday morning.