I Did it! My First Tri in Under 2 hours!

Waiting for my turn to swim

I thought I had achieved my two goals - to finish in under 2 hours and to not be last (I thought I was 3rd from last). I just checked the results and I was DAL - Dead A** Last. Either the 2 ladies who came in after me didn't have chips, or they finished their swims and bike rides faster than I. It was probably the latter. I was #248. #246 and #247 had longer run times and swim times, but much faster bike times. My times broke down as follows: 9:50.5 swim; 50:03 bike and 44:44.6 run for a total of 1:50:04. The Tri was a great experience.

Bob picked me and my bike up at 5:30am and we headed to the Aquatic Center. He even had "Old Red" cleaned up! It was just like any race day except he didn't get to participate since this was a Women's Only Tri.

The TRI was well run and everyone was really nice. While we were in line to get into the pool, the women were talking about not wanting to slow down the people behind us.

While I was on line, I kept looking for Stan. He hadn't realized that we were split into odd and even groups. He finally made it and took almost all of the photos, except for the one in chute, which was taken by Rachel.

I wound up passing one lady and another passed me.

I was amazed that I was as calm as I was this morning for the entire time before the race. I did have some issues once I started my swim. There was so much splashing and adrenaline, that I lost my breathing rhythm and struggled a bit for the first lap. My goggles were also leaking, so that made it a bit unpleasant. But by the 3rd lap, I gave myself a good "talking to" and straightened up my act. By the the 4th through 6 laps, I did fine. When it was time to get out of the pool, the helpers who were supposed to heave us out, did not. So I managed to pull myself out (only bruising my knee a little) and get going.



Me in the Pink and Purple Cap, Second Lane

My transition wasn't too bad - I took my time and used body glide on my feet before putting my socks and shoes on. What I failed to do was check my gear settings. When I got on my bike (at about 13 minutes), the pedals would not move. I finally figured out that the derailleur was in the 1 position and needed to be in 2. I got that fixed and took off. I finished the bike part faster than I had thought, but still felt like a slug. I thought I was the last one in, but it turned out there were still some people behind me.

 End of Bike Ride - almost in

When I got into the transition area and put my bike on the rack, the whole rack came tumbling down, my bike and all the other bikes with it. I screamed for help and a volunteer came over. We couldn't get it set back up. I asked if it could take off for my run and he said, "Go!", so I did.

In the Chute, Almost to the Finish Line

It took me until mile 1 before I could start running. I did 1:00/1:00 intervals and switched to intermittent ones, running as I could. It was great to have all of my TriPsyclone and Fort Bend Fit buddies cheering for me at the Finish Line. What a great feeling and the bling was nice too!

First Timers Finishers Medal

Jacque, Me and Susan - Numbers 233 thru 235, After the Race

Jorge, Carolyn, Me and Jacque After the Race

What did I like most about the experience? Cross-training really made a difference for me, as I have been able to tone-up. And I loved having the mixed feelings of excitement and anticipation that only come with doing something new.

Will I do it again? You bet!