Day 48 - TRIATHLON!!

Ahhh. All the hard work has paid off and the day of the triathlon has finally come - and gone.

Had to get up early and get to the tri site by 6:45 a.m. We went inside the Oldham Co. Community Center to get our packets, timing chips, get marked and mentally prepare for the day. Set up our gear in the transition area, and had lots of time to stand around and watch all the other atheletes prepare as well. Our start times weren't until 8:30 a.m. so we watched the first of the triathletes take off in the pool. Surprisingly, it didn't look as if they were swimming very fast, but as I was told in my earlier swim lessons, form will get you further faster - plus, this isn't exactly the Olympics!

Shane (the boyfriend) showed up and I bribed him to take plenty of pictures. Pretty soon we were lining up and before I knew it I was standing at the end of the pool with my tri suit on, swim cap in place, and goggles around my neck. Hopped in the pool, which was only slightly frigid, and simultaneously kicked off the wall and hit the timer on my stopwatch. I was off!

Now, since in every one of my practice rounds of this 400m swim I could never get the full length without doing a little backstroke every now and then, imagine my surprise when I made the entire swim doing freestyle with a minimal amount of breaststroke. It felt great, and at no time did I feel winded or too tired to make it. Twelve minutes after my first stroke, I was pulling myself up out of the pool.

Surprisingly, I ran pretty adamantly to T1 to dry off my feet, lace up my shoes, put on my helmet and sunglasses, and I was off again. Transitioning from swimming to the bike was fairly easy, but the big burden was yet to come. This was an extremely hilly course throughout with an eight mile out-and-back which lent very little breaks. It seems that every time I got down one hill or around a corner, another hill was staring me right in the face. I didn't think to check the stopwatch when getting on the bike, but according to the computer on my handlebars I completed the miles in 40 minutes. I probably could've saved a mere 10 seconds or so if I hadn't missed the turn to the finish line and been forced to do a quick turnaround - but overall it was a good ride. Even if my glutes and hamstrings were barking afterwards.

On to T2 and all I had to do was slip off my helmet, don my hat, and take in a quick Gu and some water. My watch told me that I crossed the start line for the run at 52:23. Now, they had told me that this was a cross country run and, knowing only that meant that we would be running on a grassy trail, I didn't anticipate the uneven ground and - oh jeez - are those MORE hills? Through the grass, over a stream, onto some gravel, and back through the hills to the finish line I go. At mile one (of the 1.86 total mile run) I was a little disturbed to see that it had apparently taken me sixteen minutes to run that distance. This only made me pick it up a bit during the last leg, and I cross the finish line in an unofficial 1:15. Yeah me!

Felt great afterwards, and a nice big brunch at Cracker Barrell just topped it off! A few things I will have to remember for next time around: Invest in the cycling shoes and clips. My tennis shoes got wet in transition and my feet kept slipping off the pedals. Consider a silicone swim cap which will actually keep my hair DRY - not just out of my face. And definitely bring a change of clothes for afterwards. Although the tri suit serves it's purpose for the race, a wet, constricting one-piece isn't ideal for standing around and celebrating.

Until next time...