I Tri'd and Succeeded!

Today I competed in a triathlon for the first time.  It was a "mini" sprint triathlon which consisted of swimming 300 yards (6 laps in a 25 yard pool), an 8.4 mile bike ride and a 2 mile run.  My friends Corri and Lisa talked me into to doing it after we did the Ragnar in February.  We thought it would be a fun way to cross train, try something new and keep in shape since the Rangar was over.  Training was really fun because I was doing something different everyday and on Saturdays we would ride together and throw our bikes in our cars and run so we could practice the transition.  Everyone at the race was really supportive and even though it was competitive most people were there to have fun and challenge themselves.  The only thing that was a bummer is that the had a malfunction in the timing chips during the running portion so several of us did not get to see what our overall time was.  My swim time was 7:46 min.  I have been doing it in just under 7:00 min at the gym but there was problems with congestion in the pool and my shorts were also threatening to slide off when I pushed off the wall so I wasn't pushing as hard which slowed me down.  I did the bike portion in 34:20 min which was much better than I expected since that included both the transition after the swim and before the run.  I felt really strong on the bike which I thought would be a challenge.  I was in 5th place in my division after the bike portion out of 15 ladies.  As for the run...I think I did it in about 22 min.  I started off slow #1 because I forgot to take off my helmet (Ha!) so I ditched it on the grass and then I missed the timing mat and had to turn around to hit it.  Luckily it was only about 15 feet I had to retrace.  Also my calves were really tight at first.  So I went slow until they stretched out and then tried to pick up the pace.  But I really didn't find my running legs until I started the second mile.  I tried to calculate as best as I could by estimating my run time and I think I finished right around 1:03:66 which would have put me in either 4th or 5th place.  I felt really great about that considering it way my first time!  My goal was to finish under 1:10:00 which I did so I consider that a success!  It was fun and I hope to one again soon.  Bud even said he thought he my tri ;-) next time.  Enjoy the pictures!

Just before the start of the race

Abby observing all the activity

Waiting to start the swim

Almost time!

Thumbs up and here I go!

Start of lap 2

Done!

Bike transition (not the best shot but you get it anyway)

 

And I'm off!

Finishing up

The ditched helmet ;-)

Crossing the finish line

We're done!

Cute little Abby :-)

And now for a massage :-)