Triathalon completed!

Ok - August 1st has come and gone and...I did it!!! I completed the triathlon. I had a lot of goals when I started training. One was that I actually complete the triathlon. Another, though I didn't realize it at the time, was not to come in last. Happily - I did not. I came in 9th in my age group (out of 23) and 53 (out of 183) overall.

Breaking down the events:

The Swim:
Wow - for all the training I did, I was expecting the swim to go better than it did. Unfortunately, I had rented a triathlon wet suit and had not tried it before hand. Had I tried it, I may have realized that it was too tight in my neck and chest area. I just could not catch my breath. I spent a good portion of the time just gulping air. I did not swim freestyle like I had done for so many hours in the pool. Instead, I did some weird hybrid of a side stroke and a dog paddle. Sigh. In the middle of the swim I actually had a slight panic attack (not a good thing in water). If there had been a boat nearby at that moment, I probably would have asked for a ride (thereby getting disqualified). Thankfully, there was no boat close so I just decided to keep going. I un-velcroed my wetsuit and tucked it under and that did help. In spite of what I thought was a dismal swimming event, I came in 86 out of 183.

A point of irony - the water was very warm - 75 degrees. I could have swam without the wetsuit but I wasn't willing to give up the buoyancy.

Swim to Bike transition
The swim to bike transition was one I had been worried about. I was mostly worried that I wouldn't be able to get my wetsuit off. However, it went just fine thanks to the person at the wetsuit rental shop who showed me how to do it. (I also practiced). I just pulled on a shirt, shorts, hydration pack, socks, shoes, gloves, helmet and sunglasses. Wow! In retrospect, that was a lot! Then I had to run to the "mount line".

The Bike Portion:
Thank goodness the bike ride was awesome. I basically spent the entire time passing people. I swear I think I passed 50 people. I was just flying. It was the most fun part of the race for me. And even though I was passing people, I said, "good job" to everyone who I passed and gave a shout out to anyone who passed me. It was bliss. I am so grateful to my friends who helped me with the bike by lending me a road bike and getting it fit to me. It was really good. I came in 29th out of 183 on the bike portion.

Bike to Run transition:
This transition was also fairly quick. I just had to divest myself of all my bike stuff and start running. I wasted a few moments trying to find a handkerchief and ended up blowing my nose in my towel. (I know, over sharing). I left this transition in 28th place out of 183.

The Run:
This is where it all fell apart for me. I thought the swim was bad, but it was nothing compared to the run! I had definitely under trained in running and it showed. I just did not have the stamina to keep up a good pace especially as it was HOT with the sun just breaking as I took the running course. All those people who I passed on the bike? I think they all passed me. I even walked a few times when I could not catch my breath. It was dismal. I came in 110th out of 183 in the run which pushed my overall place to 53 out of 183.

After I ran through the finish I was handed a medal. My daughter was so excited! She asked if I came in first place and I told her I didn't. Then she asked if I came in second. I told her everyone got a medal. She was still pretty excited about the whole thing. She also got to witness the kid's triathlon which interested her. I told her that if she did it next year, I would do the triathlon again. This is just about the only way I would do it again. I think I may just be done. Don't get me wrong - I am glad I did it. But I haven't been bitten by the "bug".

I kind of lost track but I would like to go back and see if I can figure out what the total outlay of money was and how far I swam during my training.

In summary, the actual time that I raced was only about 1 hour and 35 minutes. I didn't even really feel sore afterwards. If anyone wanted to try a triathlon, I would definitely recommend it. Definitely train for it, but do it and enjoy it.

Where am I now?

Everyone has to start somewhere, right? So where am I starting on this journey to a triathlon? I am a 41 year old woman who has three small children and a super smart, funny DH. I work almost full time and am at least 20 pounds overweight. I live in Portland, OR. Because I have three small children and a cool job, I have not made it a priority to work out. I also love to eat. Subsequently, the weight has snuck on. I am conscious of it and I know it is not healthy. I am drawn to the idea of a triathlon because I believe cross-training will be good for my body.

My goals:
* Reduce my percentage of body fat. (It would be easier to say that I wanted to lose 20 pounds but I don't think that is the best assessment).
* Create long term work out habits. (Ones I can carry with me after the race.)
* Compete in a triathlon. (Date is set for August 1, 2009).

Have you ever done a triathlon?