I "Tri"ed, so you can now call me a Triathlete!

Yep, I did it. I competed in my first triathlon, TriFAHL. It was a sprint triathlon, which means the distances of the 3 events were shorter. TriFAHL was a 150 yrd SWIM, 6 mile BIKE and 2 mile RUN. I was quite nervous and skeptical leading up to the race. I was sure I would drown in the pool and not even make it to the bike or run.

Funny story about the swim...my expertise of swimming does not go beyond know how NOT TO DROWN. I have never swam laps (other than the 2 times I practiced before the race, which totaled an hour tops), I have never swam in a race...I've never really swam...more just float or jump off something into the water. I was sure it would take me a good 8+ minutes to swim the 150 yard. I could do 50 yards (1 down and back) in 1 min but I then had to stop and catch my breath for another 3 mins before doing another down and back.

Just before the race started they had us all line up according to how long we thought it would take us to swim the 150 yards. They started at 1:30 mins or less, then 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00...and that was it. Sorry Grandma, but my first thought was "SHIT!" Not one swimmer was still standing there looking for the 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 or even 8:00. Well, 4:00 it was. I was quite happy to get near the back of the line (only 3 ladies behind me) only to find out that we weren't the 4+ min group but the "we have no idea how long it will take us" group. I was happy! I didn't want to be the very last person, so I pretended to be somewhere between the 3:30 and 4:00 min groups. Yes, I was unsure of how this was going to turn out.

So the first swimmer got in the water and they yelled "GO!" There were 20 secs between each swimmer as we started and followed or passed (in some cases) the swimmer ahead of us. I did not pass or get passed...again, very happy. Come to find out, it only took my 3:32 to swim...WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT! I'll admit, it wasn't pretty. I did the traditional freestyle with my face in the water, freestyle with my head above water gasping for air, a breaststroke or two, and the backstroke. Oh well, I did it nonetheless.


This was at the registration table before the race even started. They did a safety check on all the bikes. I was asking if my tires had enough air...I'm a clueless novice!


Then I was out of the water and running for my bike. I took my time during the transition so I was sure I didn't forget anything. I had to dry off a bit, put on some shorts, jacket, socks, shoes, and helmet. I also knew I needed to drink some water and eat some of my Sport Beans (sugar and caffine fill jelly beans, and for long races they make the world of difference for me). So I thought through everything to make sure I was fully ready to jump on my bike and hit the road. I had remembered everything; however, my transition time was not stellar. It actually took me 2 more seconds to transition from swimming to biking than it did to swim the 150 yards...FAIL!


Here I am on my bike. Not much else to report. Don't you love the pasty-pale look?! I look a little tense...it's because I'm thinking "don't wreck, don't wreck, don't wreck".


The 6 mile bike was just that...6 miles on a bike. Although most people count the bike portion the fastest part I don't. Biking is where I lose ground on my fellow racers (see my post from the bike/run I did a couple of weeks ago). I'm just not a fast biker and the mountain bike instead of road bike makes it even worse. It took me 30 mins to bike 6 miles, while most everyone else was between 22 and 27 mins...again, oh well. I biked back to the transition area, jumped off my bike, grabbed another drink of water and handful of Sport Beans and headed off to run the final 2 mile stretch.


On the home-stretch. Just climbed the last hill and straight for the finish line!


Not that I'm a fast runner, but running seems to be where I can make up some ground. I was able to pass a fair amount of racers who had passed me on the bike. This made me happy yet again. The 2 miles, although there were several hills, felt really good and I was able to keep up my pace. The run portion of my race was 14 mins and change. Although, I must admit that I was surprised that I had run 2 miles at a 7 minute/mile pace...so I mapped the run online only to find out it was more like 1.66 miles. Once again, oh well and who cares. I had finished my first triathlon and I felt fantastic.

This race was just what my ego needed. It had been bruised by the Go!STL Half Marathon and the Arise 5K run/8 mile bike races that I had done just weeks earlier. I was really starting to question whether I should continue to race. Now I'm back on track, training hard (somewhat hard or hard for me) and registered for my next half marathon in Quincy, IL on May 14th. I'm continuing my swim training, as this is a terrific way to do extra cardio work on top of running. Let me just tell you, SWIMMING.IS.HARDWORK! I plan to keep my training up all Spring and Summer and am "considering" the NEMO Triathlon on September 11th. The only issue with this is that NEMO is a full triathlon...this means 3/4 mile swim, 18 mile bike and 5 mile run. If all goes well I will be a finisher of the NEMO Triathlon!