BRW Triathlon Series

[Minty]

Well - I did it. I was both harder and easier than I expected. I am so proud of myself that despite the pain of sunburn and a chaffed bum, I can't stop smiling. Yay for me!

Things I learned the hard way.

1 - there is more running in the swimming leg than there is swimming

2 - I'd rather give up the extra power of clipless pedals for the ease of running my bike down the chutes wearing normal runners. Running with cleats sucks. A lot. Toeclips next time.

3 - There is no such thing as too much vaseline when it comes to preventing salty tri pants from getting abrasive and chafey in the ride and run. My bum is rather red today.

4 - Running on soft, dry, sand is REALLY HARD. I really should have put most of my training into running so that I would be strong enough for all the running between transitions.

Happy surprises

1 - I had the best guys on my team. They each came in under 55 mins, and knew I was hoping for 70 - 80 mins but they cheered me on, congratulated me and basically made me feel really good about my efforts.

2 - I swim a little better than I thought. There was quite a bit of swell because the tide was coming in, and the was a lot of seaweed and other rubbish in the water from the previous day's rain. Despite this, I managed ok and drank less salt water than I expected. Inhaled a bit of it, but didn't drink so much.

3 - When it's all over the pain is just a memory. (Well, sort of).

4 - I can eat three sausage sandwiches and drink three stubbies in quick succession at 10am in the morning - a previously undiscovered talent.

5 - The team number written on my arm in texta did not come off in the shower, but I'm so proud of it that I'm glad it didn't.

So - that's how a 108kg, 33 year old does a triathlon. Yes, I'll do it again next year - but I'll be fitter and faster and a lot healthier. For me, it's a really good way to push me back into the running I did 30kg ago - and drink beer at 10 in the morning! Nothing beats that!