I survived a triathlon!

First of all, thanks for all the sweet comments wishing me luck on the last post! Y'all are awesome!

Second, my husband and I lived through our first triathlon (obviously since I'm blogging about it) and we had a BLAST! It was so much fun and I'm really glad I didn't go into this with unrealistic expectations and a super competitive attitude. I just showed up to have fun, enjoy being outside, and try out a new sport to see if I liked it. I talked to the people around me, heard about other events that people had participated in, and took a few deeps breaths to appreciate the fact that I am physically able to do this type of thing! It was a great experience and it went really well!

It was an early morning on Saturday when the alarm went off at 4:45 AM! We made it to Oak Mountain State Park and set up the bikes at the transition area. I was watching the people around me to see how they were organizing everything and there is a LOT of planning that goes into the transition area set up! My main concern was not to knock over a row of bicycles that cost anywhere between $500 and $7,000 in a Kramer-like domino effect. Mission accomplished there at least! The yellow bike is mine and its name is "Bumble Bee." Does anyone else name inanimate objects?

SWIM 400 yards - 10:58
The event started with a 400 yard swim in the dreaded lake (eww!) but it went pretty well considering the degree to which I had been worrying about this part! We lined up according to our estimated finish time and they let someone into the water every 5 seconds. I enjoyed waiting in line and talking to the ladies around me. They were so encouraging and friendly and really put me at ease. My husband was about 10 people away so I couldn't talk to him. I got into the water and had a few seconds of panic when I couldn't touch the bottom any more so I floated on my back to catch my breath and calm down. After I did that, I was fine. All of that swimming technique I had been working on went out the window once I put my face into the lake water and realized that I couldn't see anything. I swam 90% of this with my head above the water. I got passed by several people in the lake but I expected that. The water temp was comfortable, there were volunteers in kayaks asking if the swimmers were ok, and the swim was over before I knew it.

T1 - 5:31
So I guess I should've practiced getting a pair of bike shorts over a wet swim suit, or a bike jersey over a wet head, or socks onto wet feet. I felt like I was flying through my transition and thought it had taken me around 2 min. Nope, FIVE and a half freaking minutes?! I am SLOW getting out of the water and onto the bike.

BIKE 13 miles - 52:54
The bike part was definitely my favorite even though I'm better at the run. Biking is just fun. Flying down a huge hill hitting 30 mph with the wind cooling you off is the best feeling. I was passed a few times but I also passed some people so I felt good about the biking. My pace isn't great but I enjoyed this section the most.

T2 - 2:29
I ran my bike back to the rack, removed the helmet, and changed into my running shoes. I'm slow at this too, now I realize that the transitions are crucial to having a good time overall. I really didn't think this would take that long! My legs felt really wobbly after the biking so I was slow getting onto the running course.

RUN 3 miles - 24:21
It was HOT by this point in the day... very humid and the sun was beating down on me. I set my watch and thought I was doing around a 9:30 pace at mile one. Apparently I didn't set my watch at the right start point because I was running FAST! I like to stay around a 9:00 minute mile pace (especially after two other events!) but I didn't know how fast I was running and just listened to my body. When I got hot, I slowed down. When I felt good, I ran faster. I picked up some ice water at mile one and drank the water but kept the ice.

(TRIATHLON TIP: If you have a bike jersey with pockets in the back on a hot day, fold the top over the cup of ice, put the cup in your back pocket and it will keep you cool. This was a HUGE advantage!)

I felt great during the run and was passing several people. The heat was really getting to the runners. Many people were walking. There were a couple of guys just standing still at the water stops. I was SO proud of the way I ran! This was my fastest pace ever!

Total finish time: 1:36:12!

I finished a few minutes before my husband so I was able to grab the camera as he crossed the finish line! (He started later than me in the staggered start).


I am so proud of this man! I remember when he used to spend 20 minutes on the elliptical machine and claim that he had a really good workout. Not this boy runs half marathons and did a triathlon! I love our healthy and adventurous lifestyle!

This was a great first triathlon for us and we both had fun. That is the most important part of an event to me! The volunteers were great, there were plenty of water stops, the course was beautiful (except for the lake swim- eww!), and it was a new type of challenge for us.

Have you ever done a triathlon?

Thinking about it?

If you've done one, which one and what were the distances?