So I did my first triathlon - started with a super sprint, but it still counts!! I was hoping to do it in May of 2020, but covid!  I appreciated the extra year anyway! :)  I found two other newbies to share a hotel with so that was very nice! We bonded and shared ideas and information...and the cost!

I thought I got to the site very early with plenty of time.  But I was slow and casual about it and then still felt rushed at the end!  I checked in, set up my spot with all my gear. I wanted to go to the bathroom before the race but I didn’t quite need to yet.  So I went for a 10 minute brisk walk to warm up. Then went to the bathroom, then had to squeeze into that wetsuit that may or may not be too small!  The water start line was .65 miles away so the guy was up there telling us we needed to hurry up and get down there - no pressure or anything! AGH!  I got my stuff on and got down there. Hoping into the water at the finish line and swam to the start for my warm up.  The water felt not too cold and all was well!!

I registered as Athena (which is code for fat person) so I got a 5 min head start, which meant I got to head out first!  Start bell blasts and off we go into the water.  I don’t know if I started too fast, even though I intentionally started towards the back, or what the deal was, but I was quickly out of breath!!  I was struggling with freestyle so I tried backstroke - still too many waves and people and they were splashing water into my face.  Back to my front.  But I needed to keep my head out of the water and I was very much struggling to breath.  I stopped at EVERY kayak to catch my breath!!  It was really hard and I hated every second - and I LOVE swimming!  My guess is it was the wetsuit! I’m hoping my next tris will be without it and will be better!  I kept thinking “good thing Bertha didn’t do this” and “no wonder Jenni does duathlons!”  I eventually came to the end, peeled off my wetsuit, put on my old shoes and WALKED back up to the transition area!  I was definitely looking forward to “resting” on my bike.

The bike ride was cool.  It was in the foothills on curvy rolling hills.  It was a lot of working shifting and I took it slow and cautious.  There were a couple hard hills but mostly it was very nice and enjoyable!  I was wanting clip-on shoes cause a few times I lost my pedals when I didn’t shift quick enough for the downhills!

The run was on a narrow trail, mostly pack sand.  It was also small rolling hills so I walked the uphills and tried to run the flat and down, but sometimes that was too rocky or uneven so I walked that too.  It wasn’t terribly hot or hard though so that was nice!

I certainly didn’t win any speed contests, but I wasn’t last! :)  There were 3 people who finished after me LOL  (also fellow fat folks!).  As I came in to the finish line I FINALLY noticed that my kids were there with signs and cowbells!  No one has ever been there to cheer me on before!!  So the fact that they woke up early on a Sunday, drove 1 ½ hours, and paid $12 parking, to cheer me on for my first triathlon on Mother’s Day was very special!  Afterwards we ate a bit, I showered and checked out of the hotel, then we walked/hobbled around the galleria and refueled! My left piriformis was sore, but was better the next day with lots of stretching!