I am a TRIATHLETE!!!!!!

My FIRST triathlon is in the books and was a success! I feel so great about the race and my performance that I can’t help, but grin. I did a triathlon, did pretty good, and was also able to cross off a 2013 goal that I had set for myself.

The night before I had everything neatly set out in my living room. I did not want to forget anything on race day! I was anxiously checking the weather all night. Two days before the race our weather changed from 95 degrees to 70 degrees and rain. With two days of solid rain I was really nervous that the road would be slick for the race.

I went to bed around 10:30 with my alarm set for 5:30 am. Unfortunately when I plugged in my phone it wasn’t charging. My alarm went off at 5:30, I hit snooze once and then my cell phone shut down. I awoke in sheer panic at 7:00 am thinking I had massively over slept and missed my race. Thankfully I didn’t over sleep and still had an hour before we needed to leave. Crisis averted!

Pre race:

We got to the race around 8:30 with plenty of time to get myself set up and get checked in. Jeni from Farmgirlfit was also doing the race. I was so grateful that she was there because she has completed numerous triathlons over the last couple of years.  She has become my “go to” person for all of my random questions. I mimicked my transition area like hers so hopefully I didn’t look like too much of a novice. We had some down time before the men’s race started at 10:00 am so we chatted for a while. I was so glad to have Jeni there. Just being able to talk to her, took my mind off of the race and made me feel more comfortable.

Top: Me & Jeni before the race

Bottom: My gear before I packed Friday night and then my transition area

While the men were swimming, I took the time to get into the water to try and get acclimated. My breathing was all over the place. To say I was nervous was an understatement! The buoys we had to swim around seemed so far away…...

The swim:

The swim was tough. I was expecting to get hit in the head, etc. but managed to survive with no bumps into other women. I was anticipating being at the bottom of the pack and that was exactly where I was. My first couple of strokes in the water were fine until I started getting water in my right goggle. From that point on the swim really went downhill. I tried to swim with my head above water to keep water from getting in my goggle and fogging them up. Swimming like that made me fatigue faster. I was finally able to get around the last buoy and then I just flipped on my back. I was able to make up sometime by alternating to my back every 30 seconds or so. As soon as I hit the shore I was sprinting to my bike. My transition time was pretty quick. I did take the time to dry off my feet and put my socks on which I knew would save my time later.

The bike:

The bike portion was awesome! I knew that the bike is one of my strengths and I had biked the course a couple of times prior to the race so I knew exactly what to expect. The course was rolling hills with a couple of straight stretches around mile 5 and around mile 7.

I immediately started to pick women off and was feeling really strong. About half way through the bike course I took some honey stinger chews and drank some Nuun. I wanted some fuel in me before I had to start the run. The roads were essentially completely dry too.

Eventually, I passed 18 women on the bike, setting myself up for a good run.

Bike stats:
5 mi in 16:45
5 mi in 17:28
.10 mi in :34

10.1 miles in 34:48 (17.4 mph average)

The run:

I flew into the transition area, racked my bike, swapped out my shoes, grabbed my visor and bib and was off. My legs felt pretty good at the beginning of the run so I went for it. My first mile was 7:00 min, second mile was 7:03 (I stopped for water) and my last mile was 6:00 min! I passed 12 women in total on the run. I went flying into the finish line.

Run stats:
1 mi in 7:00
1 mi in 7:03 (water stop)
1 mi in 6:00

The results:

My final finishing time was around 1:10 give or take. Given the time spent on the bike and my run that left for 16 minutes for the swim and transition times. I thought my transitions went fairly smooth so I am “guesstimating” my swim to be 12-13 minutes.

My performance was good enough for a surprising 4^th OA female and 2^nd place in my AG.

This race the perfect race for the novice triathlete. I am so proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something that I have never done before, but have always wanted to do.

I am officially hooked. Literally, I am in love with the triathlon. I see so much room for improvement in this sport that just thinking about it gets me excited.

--Tasha