My first triathlon!

Sorry--I'm sure lots of people write about their first triathlons, so bear with me? Mine was yesterday. It didn't go badly! I guess a lot of people are unnerved by the swim, what with all the kicking and arms flailing, but it didn't bother me at all. Maybe it's because I'm a black belt in karate:rolleyes:. Anyway, I swam to the first buoy just fine, trying to remember to breathe, and then on the second leg, I looked over and EVERYONE in my wave was like, 20 yards to the left. Oops. So I spent the second leg of the swim trying to rejoin the group, which I guess I more or less did by the time I rounded the second buoy (the swim was a triangle). On the third leg of the swim I was just so happy to have company again that it went by really fast.

So, I ran up the hill to the transition and futzed around with all my stuff and then off I went on the bike, which I consider my strongest event. I worked on passing people in front of me (although I was passed quite a few times). It was nice, though--I'm in a club called the Cyclonauts, and since this is our home triathlon there were a ton of us out on the course. Everytime one of them passed me they said, "Yeah, cyclonaut!" or "Good job!" I kept my heart rate at 180 or under, mostly.

Then the run. I am not such a good runner, and I spent the run being passed by other people. Seemingly, everyone, including a 65 year old woman and a blind guy. Oh, well. I pushed as hard as I could--my heart rate was always in the 180's. So, I finished in 1:52 something. The swim was a half mile, the bike was 17 miles and the run was 3.4 (I know, it was a weird distance). I had a secret time goal of 1:45, which I didn't hit, and when I saw the pictures that the Cyclonaut photographer took, I look darned chubby! WTF! I was always a skinny person. Now that I'm 43, weight has crept on. I'm 5' 7 and about 140 pounds, and I looked fat. There was another female cyclonaut, in really good shape, rockin' body, and her coach was running after her with fat calipers in the parking lot and criticising her diet. Really. I guess I have some work to do. I was a wee bit disappointed, but, I guess considering it was my first one, it was pretty fun.

Hey karatemom, welcome to triathlon!! You came pretty close to your goal considering this was your first race and you couldn't quite know how it'd all go together on race day. Welcome to the club of "passing on the bike, passed on the run," there's several of us here. ;)

I find that sometimes the pictures are flattering, sometimes they are unflattering - sometimes I look healthy, sometimes I look chubby. It's frustrating. You might have weight to lose or muscle to gain, but I don't think the "chase you around the parking lot with fat calipers" method is very motivational!!

Congratulations again! :D

Nice work for your first tri! Don't forget the time the sighting issue on your swim may have contributed to your overall time. Do not beat yourself up about the run. Now you know your limiters are and you can work on them.

Btw-I always look chunky in the photos. My husband says I don't look like that in real life..that's all I need to hear.

you did great! congrats, and welcome to the world of tris

Congratulations!

I'd be glad to be your height and weight; I'm 5'5"/148