My First Tri

I completed my first triathlon yesterday! My friend Jodi and I have been training together for 13 weeks with the crazy idea that it's fun to swim, bike, and run all in one day. While I was in the middle of the run, I definitely did not think that this was fun at all, but after it was all over I felt very accomplished. After my half-marathon a few years ago I had no desire to do another one, and still don't, but I actually would do another triathlon.
I convinced my friend Kendra to do the race with us too, and the three of us got up very very early Saturday morning and headed to Englewood for the race. We checked in, set up our transition areas, and battled nerves until our wave was finally called to hit the water a little after 7:00. About halfway through the swim I thought there was no way this was only the halfway point! But then when it was all said and done the swim seemed like it was over in a blink.
When I got to my transition area I stood there and stared at everything for a second, blanking on what I was supposed to do. But then I quickly got moving and started on the bike. It was an out and back route, so I started seeing the ridiculously fast people coming back a few miles into it. Apparently it is bike etiquette to announce that you are going to pass someone, so the faster bikers would say "on your left" as they passed. All I heard was "I'm beating you" which kicked in my competitive nature and made me bike faster. This resulted in my fastest bike time ever, and also a very tough run! I finished the 13 mile bike in 49 minutes, when it normally takes me closer to 55.
Brian and the munchkins had planned to arrive in time for me to finish the bike and cheer me on into the run portion. Seeing their smiling faces and "Go Mommy" poster definitely lifted my spirits! The run definitely proved to be the most difficult part. I knew this going in, but usually at about the 6th minute of the run I start to get in a groove. This did not happen on race day! The entire run was tough, which I'm pretty sure was due to the fact that I had used up too much energy on the bike. After a really slow first mile, I still ended up completing the run in 30 minutes. My total time for the whole race was 1:34:34. Woohoo! And, this time just happens to be :58 faster than Brian's time from his triathlon in March. Just sayin'.
Next on the agenda is for Brian and I to compete in the same triathlon. We'll see how that goes!