TRI Hard

My triathlon was this weekend...and I finished - yay!!

Really, that was my goal. To finish and have fun. I would love to share my stats, but they won't be up for 2 weeks. Hello?!??! Can you say "chip timed"?

Anyways, so I really half-assed my way training for this one. I took this little class and they gave us a training guide for it. I took one look at it and thought, "yeah, right!" This was a SPRINT triathlon, so I really felt pretty comfortable taking it easy. We had to do a 300 yd swim, a 12.4 bike ride, and then a 5K. I knew I could do them separately, but together? That was the big question.

Training was easy. Basically, swim 30 minutes, run 35 minutes, and bike an hour twice a week. A couple of times I did a "brick" which is where you bike and then run. Running after biking is pretty hard! I still ended up using my mountain bike to ride. I knew that was not the best choice, but that is just how it worked out.

Race day started off kind of slow. Since I have not worked in over a year, I have had no reason to use an alarm clock and apparently, forgot how to set it. I wanted to wake up at 5:30 to be at the race at 6:30 and instead woke up at 6:17. Ooops. My pre-race was a little hectic, but was able to pick up my packet, get set up in the transition area, had the correct outfit on, and go to the bathroom before the race started. I did not get to warm up. Oh well, I guess that 300 yard swim was my warm up!

You get seeded based on your swim time. The fastest swimmers go first and the next swimmer starts 10 seconds after the one in front of them. The triathlon started at 7:30, but I started at 7:44 ish. Swimming for me is easy. I passed 3 people in the pool. Before I knew it, I was climbing out and heading for my bike.

I was really worried about the bike portion. Because of my mountain bike, I knew I was going to go a lot slower than everyone else and fancy smancy bikes. To help me cope with that, I decided to count the number of times I was passed. After 60 times, I would start getting worried about being last. I was passed exactly 50 times. I passed 2 people, but only because they were broke down. The ride was hilly, but I felt good. It probably took me around an hour to finish. Onto the run.

When I started, my legs felt like lead. That is pretty normal I think. It probably took 5 minutes to loosen up, but even then, I felt slow. I felt good...just slow. I got water at both water stops, which I never do (it is only a 5K). In the last mile, I started feeling kind of sick to my stomach, but I still felt very relax. When I crossed the finish line, the clock was at 1:48. Minus the 14 minutes it took me to start, I finished in about 1:34. That is one hour and thirty four minutes.

I really enjoyed doing the triathlon. I would love to do another. Well, another sprint triathlon. I really could not imagine doing a "full". I loved the fact that it was three different sports, and that I had to train in three different sports. I also lost about 2 pounds and I NEVER loose weight with excercise. (Of course, I am on the "running after a one year old diet".) The problem with triathlons is it is all about equipment: I would definitely need a bike, but everyone has tri suits, number belts, special laces, etc, etc, etc. For this race I bought a helmet, a pump, a pair of bike shorts and with my class and registration fees, I still spent $100. Oh well, at least I got the free tshirt!