I Tri-ed!

This morning was my long-awaited mini-triathlon.  It was really hard (and by the end, very hot and humid) but I finished!  I actually beat my goal time which was 1 hour, 25 minutes by 8 minutes and came in at 1 hour, 17 minutes.  This mini-triathlon consisted of a 225 yard swim, 10 mile bike ride, and 2 mile run.  

Robbie made shirts for him, the girls, and my parents to wear.  It was so sweet of him!

Campbell and I walking my bike to the venue

Here we are shortly before the race started (notice my bare feet...I should have brought flip flops to wear since I had to leave my shoes in the transition area about 30 minutes before the race.  I thought about it but wasn't sure what to do with them while I was swimming so I opted to just not worry about it.

The swim was much harder than I anticipated.  I have trained for the swim but it was always in my own lane and the water was calm.  Due to the number of people swimming, the water was very choppy and I ended up swallowing and breathing in a lot of water.  I also swam the first 50 yards way too fast and got tired quickly.   Next time, I'll have to pace myself better.

My mom with the girls in the bleachers in the aquatic center getting ready for my swim.  You will not see a picture of me in my swimsuit :)

Heading out on my bike.  If you look closely, you can see that my shirt matches my helmet.  I may have done that on purpose, but the matching water bottle was just a coincidence!  The biking was my most comfortable part of the race.

The run was the hardest part for me...I just am not a natural runner...  I was pretty tired by this point and ended up walking more that I had anticipated.

So happy to be done!

I did learn a few things that I wanted to share (both in case anyone is thinking about doing a mini-tri and to document for myself for the future).
-Bring a paint bucket for the transition area to sit on.  After I noticed others doing this, Robbie called my dad and he brought one for me.  It really helped so I didn't have to sit on the ground to put my shoes and socks on.
-Practice getting your bike on and off the rack in the transition area before the race.  I used Robbie's mountain bike for the race and since it was so big, I had a hard time parking it.  I wasted probably a minute wrestling with it, especially putting it back on the rack because I didn't realize the handlebars wouldn't go under the rail and I had to turn it back around to back it under the rail and rack it.
-It was worth it for me to spend the few seconds to pull off my swimsuit top after swimming before putting on my shirt for the biking.  I was much more comfortable today than the training sessions I did in my wet swimsuit.  (I wore a sports bra under my swimsuit top).
-Tape a goo pack (nutrition) to your bike.  It was a great pick-me-up about halfway through the ride.
-Be sure you have your goggles before you line up for the swim.  That way you don't have to run and get someone to get them for you out of the transition area.  Yes, this happened.  **sigh**
-If you're not used to drinking Gatorade, Powerade, etc, don't try it during a race.  I took a cup halfway through the run that they handed me and I really didn't like it and it actually made my throat hurt.
*I may add to this list as I think of things...

I'm really happy that I finished and am already looking forward.  Robbie and I are going to be looking for a co-ed sprint triathlon (which would have a similar length to this one) to do together.  Training for this event has been very motivating and I want to keep up with the progress I've been making.  I think that with continued training, I could do even better next time!