Well, I did it! It was only a sprint triathlon, but a daunting task nonetheless for a person who one year ago today got winded if I walked up a flight of stairs too fast.
The race was swim half a mile, bike 12.5 miles, and run a 5k (3.1 miles). My first time ever swimming in open water, I thought I was in the back of my wave of swimmers but I still had one guy basically swim right over me. Had to put my goggles back on and cough up a lung of water, but I was surprisingly able to get back into my rhythm pretty quickly.
The most difficult task of the day was probably getting out of my wetsuit. Don't tell anybody, but as I was putting my helmet on I actually saw a guy pull his shorts down while he was struggling to pull his wetsuit off. An extra bonus for Sandra, but he acted like it was no big deal, pulled his shorts back up and coninued with his transition like nothing happened.
The bike was...painful. I train on the Jersey shore, where you can find a few hills but it's mostly flat. The good news is I passed at least 30-40 people on the bike, and was probably only passed by 4 or 5 people. The bad news is it was a very hilly course, when I got to the top of each hill my thighs were singing a very sad song...
Which led to a difficult run. That was hilly as well, but a really nice run through town. Lots of people out cheering you on from their front porches, which was nice. I ran a 5k in 27 minutes last month, and for some reason I thought I could do the same in a triathlon...wrong!
It took me 31 minutes, my weakest split of the race, as the hills on the bike took their toll. The first mile I felt like my legs weren't even moving, after that I started feeing better. I need to find hills to run on too, I suppose...or find flatter race courses! My worries about my tri-top came true, I really felt like I was bouncing all over the place. Good thing I was running so slowly, if I was running faster it would have been worse!
Didn't seem to bother me in the April 5k, I didn't even think about it. I did that race in a t-shirt, but the tri-top is so form fitting it seemed to accentuate every movement of both body parts. I went to a triathlete forum yesterday and asked busty women what they do. More than one mentioned wearing two bras during the race instead of one. Ugh.
The best part about triathlons is the cameraderie among the athletes. Everyone who passes you seems to say something encouraging, and I was doing the same. It's truly very friendly out there in the middle of the pack, and after the race during the athlete's buffet there was certainly a common bond of pain and accomplishment.
Well I start training today for my next race, in August on the Jersey shore, so no hills...but an ocean swim. Then I finish the season with what is called an Olympic distance race (guess why) in September. Swim a mile, bike 25 miles, run a 10k.
If you've ever thought about training for a triathlon, I can tell you the sense of accomplishment after you finish is absolutely overwhelming.
Sandra
The race was swim half a mile, bike 12.5 miles, and run a 5k (3.1 miles). My first time ever swimming in open water, I thought I was in the back of my wave of swimmers but I still had one guy basically swim right over me. Had to put my goggles back on and cough up a lung of water, but I was surprisingly able to get back into my rhythm pretty quickly.
The most difficult task of the day was probably getting out of my wetsuit. Don't tell anybody, but as I was putting my helmet on I actually saw a guy pull his shorts down while he was struggling to pull his wetsuit off. An extra bonus for Sandra, but he acted like it was no big deal, pulled his shorts back up and coninued with his transition like nothing happened.
The bike was...painful. I train on the Jersey shore, where you can find a few hills but it's mostly flat. The good news is I passed at least 30-40 people on the bike, and was probably only passed by 4 or 5 people. The bad news is it was a very hilly course, when I got to the top of each hill my thighs were singing a very sad song...
Which led to a difficult run. That was hilly as well, but a really nice run through town. Lots of people out cheering you on from their front porches, which was nice. I ran a 5k in 27 minutes last month, and for some reason I thought I could do the same in a triathlon...wrong!
It took me 31 minutes, my weakest split of the race, as the hills on the bike took their toll. The first mile I felt like my legs weren't even moving, after that I started feeing better. I need to find hills to run on too, I suppose...or find flatter race courses! My worries about my tri-top came true, I really felt like I was bouncing all over the place. Good thing I was running so slowly, if I was running faster it would have been worse!
Didn't seem to bother me in the April 5k, I didn't even think about it. I did that race in a t-shirt, but the tri-top is so form fitting it seemed to accentuate every movement of both body parts. I went to a triathlete forum yesterday and asked busty women what they do. More than one mentioned wearing two bras during the race instead of one. Ugh.
The best part about triathlons is the cameraderie among the athletes. Everyone who passes you seems to say something encouraging, and I was doing the same. It's truly very friendly out there in the middle of the pack, and after the race during the athlete's buffet there was certainly a common bond of pain and accomplishment.
Well I start training today for my next race, in August on the Jersey shore, so no hills...but an ocean swim. Then I finish the season with what is called an Olympic distance race (guess why) in September. Swim a mile, bike 25 miles, run a 10k.
If you've ever thought about training for a triathlon, I can tell you the sense of accomplishment after you finish is absolutely overwhelming.
Sandra
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