Finished my first tri

And I loved it!

Me thinks I will have to change my blog name...

How about...

Ramblings of a Swimming, Biking, and Running Addict,

or perhaps

Ramblings of a Triathlon Addict. :)

What a blast these events are!

Here is a quick summary of my day. I will have to post pictures later, I am at Starbucks and forgot my camera to upload the pictures.

Swim
I have only swam a handful of time this year (well OK maybe twice), with one of those swims being on Monday, so I was very nervous about the swim. Even though I have swam a lot in the past, I knew that it would be an interesting experience. I was also nervous about wearing my wetsuit, and oh did I mention that this was my very first open water swim, not to mention first time wearing a wetsuit?!! I figured there would be lifeguards if I got in trouble :) :)

Well anyway, the swim was fun, I just tried to stay steady. I usually breath bilaterally alternating sides, but I found it easier to breathe every stroke, since there were so many people around me. I kept calm, but this would not be good for someone who is claustrophobic.

Swim time: 17:40 (2.22 minutes/100m).

Very pleased with the swim. I know I can improve on this with some training and also not veering off course so much. I am a bit of a zig-zagger!

Transition to bike
I don't have my T1 time (I wish sports stat would provide this), but I can tell you it was a wee bit rough. I came running out of the water and I felt a bit like a lead balloon. I had trouble getting my suit off, I felt clumsy coming out of the water, like I might trip and fall. I then had to run with my cycling (tap) shoes until the bike mount point. I felt a little dizzy at first on the bike, and had trouble clipping in. I finally had clipped in and then there was a huge hill. I grannied down and pushed up the hill, but my heart was racing, and I decided to dismount. Not a great feeling, but it really felt like the right thing to do since I felt dizzy. I waited a few minutes, the dizziness passed and got back on the bike. I think it was just inexperience with the transition swim to bike - I must practice this in the future!

Bike time: 58:47 (21.9 kph).

I know this time can be improved. Just this past week I biked a BRICK time trial with the Nachos, and my 16.3K time was 34:01 (28.5 kph), and it was because of the dismount, but I still felt happy that I pushed through and this was about experience, not trying to kill myself, and just going through the motions was enough.

Transition to run
This transition was much smoother. I decided to keep my cycling shirt on, and was off without much fuss, although I forgot my handheld water, and Hubs caught up to me with a cold bottle of PowerAid. Thanks Hubs, you are a sweetie! Again the legs felt funny, but the BRICK workouts I have done (well one on Thursday) prepared me for this feeling. It was hot, but I just ran it, walking occasionally to take quick sips of water

Run time: 27:31 (5:30km/min)

I felt pleased with this time, since I felt like I was going much slower, I think alot of it is heavy legs after the swim/bike.

Overall time: 1hr 43 min 53 seconds. Not too shabby, and I guess I blew away my 2 hour time goal. Still I think I can improve, especially if you add up "race times' (86 minutes) to total time (100 minutes). Yep, almost 14 minutes, but I think some of that is running to the transition from beach, to bike mount, from bike dismount. Or of course I could just be a high maintenance girl, which is likely true too!

Thoughts for next time:
-less is more I will ditch the cycling top for a onesie tri suit under the wetsuit
-practice swim to bike transition
-practice swim in open water

Other than that, I loved it, and can't wait to do another. I think I will sign up for the Ironman 70.3. First I have to develop a training plan that will allow me to train for both this Ironman and St.George in October.

Anyway, thanks for all your well wishes. Some of you mentioned that you were hoping to try one to and I say go for it!! You can do one with not much training, just try one for fun and see how it goes and if you like it!!

I will try to catch up on your blogs before my 2hrs free at Starbucks expires (on holidays with no wifi!!)
Thanks for reading!

This tri stuff is complicated!

I was packing everything for my first sprint triathlon tomorrow and I discovered how complicated this tri stuff can be, so I thought I might share my pre-race packing list/thoughts with you. I am in Parry Sound right now, but we are driving approximately 1 hour to get to the race in the morning, so the plan is to be packed and just to get up and go in the am.

Wearing to race (travelling in the car)
-sports bra
-comfy shirt
-triathlon shorts (like bike shorts but with less padding, I'm guessing it will feel less like a wet diaper than normal cycling shorts when I get out of the water. Ewww...
-sandals

Once I have set up in the transition area, I have a long two hour wait for my swim heat. I will get my body marked, make porta potty trips, and watch the kids participate, which should be fun. The transition area closes at 8 am and my heat departs at 10:05am! Maybe I should pack a lawn chair and a book...

For the swim over my sports bra and tri shorts I will wear my wetsuit (Zoot Women's Synergy Wetsuit)



Plus
-goggles
-swim cap

Then...

SWIM 750 meters

In the transition area, I need the following items for the bike

Strip off suit, goggles and cap

Transition One Items
-road bike
-camel back water backpack
-bike shoes
-socks
-helmet
-bike shirt with race bib attached and GU in the pouch
-Sun screen
-body glide (just in case)

BIKE 21.5 km

-strip off bike shoes, helmet, possibly cycling shirt

Transition two items
-running shoes
-hat (I'm a sure I will look like Chuckie's bride by this point.. :) )
-tank running shirt (If I'm boiling...)
-handheld water bottle with GU

RUN 5km

Hubs and I went today to pick up my race kit and the water was choppy, but the race volunteers assured me it will likely be calmer in the morning. Lets hope so...

The triathlon is taking place in a picturesque little Ontario town called Pentetanguishene which is located on the Georgian Bay, which is part of Lake Huron, one of the Great Lakes. Its very beautiful, and quite cold, so thank goodness for a WETSUIT!

I am not putting any expectations on myself other than to have fun, maybe aim to finish in less than two hours, but if I take more, so be it. Even without the time pressure I am still nervous, but I think more so about the transitions and forgetting something.

I will report back tomorrow with a race report! Thanks for reading!