I completed my first triathlon yesterday!! My friends from my running group came with us (my SIL was also doing her first one). My friends have done a tri before so right from the start they were helping. One helped me set up transition while the other was helping my sister in law. I did a few warm up laps in the water and then went to stand in line and wait for it all to start. Behind us were some girls from Arkansas also doing their first tri.
400 yd swim: the gun went off and it was a delay start on the swim, 2 people at a time. The first lady in the water was so fast. When it was my turn I ran and jumped right in. I had to stop and do breast strike for a few seconds twice and only really ran into one person. I finished in 9 minutes, well under my A goal of 10 minutes.
15 mile bike ride: Transition took about 3 minutes to get my socks shoes and helmet on. Then off I went on the bike. The bike route - phew. The first half was ridiculously hilly, but all the virtual bike riding I've been doing had really helped. Going uphill is where I passed people. The second half was almost entirely downhill which was amazing. I can't say I've ever experienced the adrenaline rush that I did when I was flying downhill at 38 MPH. I finished in 55 minutes, well under my A goal of 1 hour. I was flying high. The only part that sucked is after the 10 mile mark my left foot started to go numb and I had pain down my IT band. This has happened before on the bike but I thought I had it sorted out. Guess not 😬
5k run: The next transition took under a minute since all I had to do was rack my bike and take the helmet off. The run felt terrible right from the start. I was running at a 7 min/mile pace - WAY too fast given the past few months of terrible run training because of injuries. I managed to settle in around 10:30 ish, but my shoes weren't tight enough so I had to stop and retie them. It took everything in me to not slow down, I might've pushed too hard in the bike leg because my legs would not move. I didn't reach my A goal of under 30, but I did get my B goal Under 34 by finishing in 32. I might've been able to slip under 30 if I hadn't had to retie shoes, but if I had tied them tighter before the bike leg, the numbness might've been worse.
I was so happy when I finished and when the nausea passed that flying high feeling came back. This was a really really fun event and our friends made it so memorable. I have a lot of pictures and videos but fat secret will only let me post so much. I'll definitely be doing this again. Even my SIL said she was happy I pushed her into it and she'd be doing another one as well! I AM A TRIATHLETE!!
