SWIM * BIKE * RUN

I completed my first open water triathlon this past weekend.  It has been a goal of mine for a couple of years since I watched my husband compete in them.  I decided this year that I would make it happen. At the invitation from my friend Steph I signed up for the Blue Lake My First Tri in Portland, OR.

On the drive home Steph asked me two questions, and although I gave her an answer right away the questions are still rolling around in my head, and my answers have evolved, so I decided to write it out...

What could I have done better?  

• The day of the race I needed to eat a better breakfast, but I had been nauseous during the night so all I could stomach was dry toast and half of a 7-Up.  Needless to say I was really hungry on the bike, which made the nausea return in a big way.  I need to work on anti-anxiety techniques for pre-race jitters!
• Leading up to the race I should have been attending the Masters Swim class to strengthen my weakest area.  I will now put my intimidation of that class aside and start swimming with them once a week.

What did I do right?

• The day of the race I really felt I left it all on the course.  I had never swam in a wet suit before let alone swim that distance in open water.  My goal was to not panic in the water and I didn't!  Another goal of mine was to finish in 1hr 30min and possibly come in the top 10 of my division.  Not only did I hit that goal, but I came in 5 minutes faster and got 3rd in my age group!
• Leading up to the race I trained well in the bike and run, figured out what nutrition while racing worked for me, and stuck FIRMLY to the training schedule my wonderful trainer, Khiva, put together. She also ran us through a mock-transition which enabled us to be calm and organized in both the swim/bike transition and the bike/run transition.

The best part of this experience was completing this with Steph.  She had some obstacles to over come herself and knocked the race out of the park!  She's hooked I think.  Steph, thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone and inviting me to do this with you!  

We all need people in our lives to challenge, encourage, and partner with us and I feel so blessed to have people like that in my life.  I have to say I didn't feel the same elation that Steph did upon finishing that day, but now as I look back I feel good about accomplishing something I set out to do. It's like child birth, it doesn't take long for the pain of the moment to disappear to want to do it again :)