A little background of my Tri story...the summer of 2017 pictures started popping up on Facebook of local triathlons. That’s when this crazy dream became alive! There were two problems…     1. I couldn’t swim   and  2. I did not own a bike. But I set a triathlon goal for myself and I was determined to accomplish it.

In March, 5 months before Tri, I started personal swimming lessons. I needed some serious help if I was going to swim 1/2 miles in open water! There were days I was in tears. I had panic attacks with putting my face in the water. I couldn’t swim 1 lap without stopping to catch my breath. But I just kept practicing and by the time race day came I was very comfortable in the water.

I started using my husband’s mountain bike for cycling. I figured out really fast this would not work for 12 miles on the road. ouch! I began researching what type of bike I needed.  I visited local bike shops and got fitted for a bike. Who knew there were different sizes of bikes? (not me!) I ended up buying Schwinn’s Ladies Road Bike. [you can find it here ] There was just one more problem…I had to learn how to ride it (for real). I seriously had to YouTube “how to change gears on a bike”. Riding it on the road with cars was another challenge. After a few rides I got the hang of it. This whole bike thing was very humbling for me and a great laugh for me husband! If you’re wondering, the bike is amazing! It was great for the Tri and I can pull our bike-trailer with my son.

                                   RACE DAY!!!! 

     Sprint Triathlon- 0.5mile Swim, 12mile Bike and 3.1mile Run.

  I arrived at the park an hour early. Start time was 9am and I didn’t have too far drive. I had NO idea what I was doing or how to set up my gear?? Thank goodness check-in was fast & easy. WHEW! I quickly ‘observed’ how others had their gear set up and copied them. My redneck bucket idea was humbling but worked well. It carried my gear in and gave me a place to take my wet-suit on/off. That hour before the race went by fast then it was time to get my suit on! We had a half mile walk down to the river. That’s when it hit me: the swim was a long way! I began to panic…wondering if I could actually swim in open water…

Swim– they allowed everyone to get into the water and position themselves out in the river. This gave me a few minutes to get comfortable and swim out. Being new to all of this I positioned myself in the front of the swimmers and towards the inside. When the start gun went off I got plowed over by swimmers. I got kicked hard not once, but twice!! It knocked the wind out of me; leaving me trying to catch my breath. I tried to swim and fight my way through the water. I decided to swim freestyle with my head above water. This kept me moving but allowed me to breath easier. I was sloooow and in the back with about 10 other swimmers. Boy, did it look like a long way to the finish! I tried putting my face in the water and swimming faster.  The water was so dark, and freezing cold. I gave up trying to swim with my face in and swam with my head above water. At one point I became so tired I wasn’t sure if I could finish. It felt like I was out there for a hour! I told myself…  “just keep swimming, just keep swimming”  like Dory from Finding Nemo. Finally I got close enough that I could stand up and pick my way over rocks. I have NEVER been so happy for my feet to touch land!!!

Bike- I ran up the embankment to T1. There was very few bikes left. I felt really discouraged that the swim took me so long. Thankfully my family and BFF was there to cheer me on. Getting out of my wet-suite was challenging. It took me 6 minutes to get changed and back on the road. I was excited for the bike route! My goal was to keep an average of 15mph (remember I’m new to cycling). The first several miles were slower as I settled into the ride. There was one big hill. I struggled to get up. At the top was the half way point then I flew back down at 23mph!! I remember thinking, “if I hit a rock, I’m going to fly off this bike!” The second half of the course I rode faster. It seemed easy over all and the course had great scenery. 

RUN- off the bike into T2. This time my transition was 01:48. Woohoo! My goal was just to run hard; no certain pace. I figured my legs would be trashed, but they really felt good. I was happy to see I was holding a 7:45-8:00min pace. Unfortunately, the course started before I realized it and I walked a few minutes at the start. The course was out & back along the river. The 3 miles went by fast! I was surprised how many people walked the run part of the race. A lot of them looked half dead! I cruised towards the finish line…SO HAPPY TO COMPLETE MY FIRST TRIATHLON!!

It was a great experience and I was happy with my overall performance. I defiantly have a lot to improve on but I will be doing another Tri in the future.  

TOTAL FINISH TIME 01:45:44