I am now a triathlete

I DID IT!!! I DID IT!!!! I finished my triathlon!!!!

Go me! :)

So, first of all, I was waaaay more worried about the shorts issue than I should have been, because it was 70 degrees out and my legs were not cold at all. I had forgotten that I had a pair of normal shorts that I could wear. They are made of that quick-dry stuff, have an elastic waist, and are longer than my running shorts but not too bulky. I wore those and they worked out fine. They rode up a little bit on the run, but my running shorts do too.

Circle swim also went well. I guess it's a lot easier when you aren't in the pool with a freaking porpoise, like I was when I practiced last week. My lane partners were nice, and weren't passing me at every single turnaround.

Problems: eating a Clif bar on the bike was a major hassle. I don't like Gu (a gel that athletes use to power up), but there's a reason to use it. I didn't want to eat in transition, so I got on my bike and started riding. Well, I couldn't open the damn Clif bar. It was hermetically sealed or something. So I'm trying to open it with my teeth while riding, then choking it down, then trying to get my water bottle and wash down the Clif bar before I really do choke, all while nearly knocking one lady off the course as I'm passing her, and nearly getting run over by someone who's passing me. Point of the story: Gu is good.

Second problem: something -- sunblock, hairspray, sweat, I don't know what -- ran into my eyes both at the beginning of my bike ride and about half way through the run. I was tearing up so badly I couldn't see. I actually ran with my eyes closed for a little bit. So next year I'm going to skip the hairspray, and get that sport sunblock that doesn't run.

Also, WTF was up with the wind? It was in my face both on the ride out and the way back. Sucky.

The bike ride was difficult for me. I was disappointed; I was hoping to take 30 minutes but it took me 45. Also, see wind issue, above.

The run went well. I recovered from the bike a lot more quickly than I expected to. I only felt like I was dragging for the first half mile or so. It took me 43:00 to run 4.1 miles, but considering that I stopped for water, stopped to mess with my shoelaces, and had just ridden 10 miles on the bike, that's pretty dang good. I average 10 min/mile usually anyway.

The weather was awesome. We could not have had a better day. Not a cloud in the sky, and it was so warm, I actually just wore my windbreaker over my bathing suit and was not cold or hot. It was so great. And the ride and run in the sunshine, on the roads through the woods, next to the stream, was definitely the highlight of the race.

Anyway, while I was doing the triathlon (particularly the bike part), I was thinking "Stupid triathlon! I'm never doing this again!" But afterwards, I felt pretty dang good. I did have a good time overall, I got a really cool t-shirt, and I am so proud of myself for completing it! While I'm not interested in getting all hard core or doing one where I have to swim in open water, I might actually do this one again next year. We'll see.