First Tri Completed!!

Yes, I finally got my first tri checked off the list! It was on Saturday and because it had such an early start, we opted to go up Friday night, pick up the packet, go to the orientation and share a hotel room. It worked out really well and I'm glad we did even though we found out our start times were 8:00 for me and 8:40 for Kelli and Tamera, not the 6:30 like we thought. I'm really glad we went to the triathlon clinic a few days before because Lisa Rainsberger talked about the things to do the week leading up to your event. I learned that the sleep you get 2 nights before is more critical than the night before. And I was relieved to hear that I could eat my favorite breakfast of waffles and almond butter (sans syrup) if I wanted to, which I did and felt great. Also had an apple about 20 minutes before the swim and then I didn't eat anything the rest of the race. Felt great, except for some cramps high up in my diaphragm on the run.

My first transition time sucked! 5:41 because I could not get my shorts to go on over a wet swimsuit! And I took time to dry off a bit and put sunscreen on! Will definitely have to re-think the whole clothing situation for the next one. The next one I will be wearing a wetsuit, so instead of dropping some bucks on some sporty triathlon shorts, I may just wear the bikini underneath the wetsuit so I can put bike shorts on easily over it. Was very happy that my heel spur did not act up during the run. Although, taking the last 2 months off of running because of it really hurt my run time. I have never been a great runner anyway, but I know I could do better if I trained consistently. Kinda hard to do when you can't walk on your foot for a few days after a run. However, the cortisone shot I got in my heel on Tuesday helped TREMENDOUSLY! I'm hoping I don't have to get another one in a couple of weeks and that the probelm will resolve itself. We'll see!

I am pretty happy with my results overall since I wasn't really sure what to expect the first time out. Next time, I will definitely try to have faster transition times and I'll be working on my swim and run times. The swim felt great - in and out in 11:30 and even lapped the girls I was swimming with. Felt very shakey getting out of the water as my adrenalin was in high gear! Walked to the transition, but should have run.

Felt good on the bike also. The course only had 2 small hills. I have heard not to go too fast on the bike part as you'll regret it in the run, but I think I could have gone a little faster. My bike time was 43:46, which was a few minutes behind the top finishers in my age category. If I could knock 3 minutes off my swim time, 3-5 minutes off the bike time and 10 minutes off the run (ha!) I could be a contender!! We'll have to see how the next 3 weeks of training goes. Open water swim will be interesting...

The run was not bad. A little boring since you couldn't wear your ipod, although a lot of people did. I started to walk at the 1/2 way point to get a drink and the lady I passed urged me on to run w/her so I did and we talked all the way back and it made it go a little faster. I had read in Tamera's "Slow, Fat Triathlete" book the night before that the author always tries to remember to smile (this is fun, right) and thank the volunteers for helping out, so I did. I smiled at the camera man and I thanked all the people watching traffic for us on the bike ride.

That's it for the race report. Overall, had a great time. We stuck around afterwards for the raffle prizes, but didn't win anything. I must say I was a bit dismayed at the lack of cheering for all of the competitors. I know it must get kinda boring standing around waiting for your person to come by so you can cheer, but all the more reason to do something while you're waiting -- cheer people on!! I must have told 50 people "good job!" When I passed someone on the bike, I said "good job" (unless it was a guy) and when I passed people on the run (they were coming back the other way) I said it too. Less than 5 people said something back. And very little cheering coming in to the finish line. In fact, they were so busy giving out awards at the end, that they missed the last competitor coming in, which I thought was very poor on the race official's part.

Anyway, next time I told Chris he has to be there so he can cheer me on at the end. It really is kinda disappointing to come in and have no one to greet you. Some people had flowers for their women and it was very sweet! Since the next one is local, I'm hoping to have a good cheering section from my family.

Until then - happy training!