Dam It!

One of my 29 by 29 goals was to start swim and bike training for a triathlon, but I got a bit ahead of myself and  completed my very first triathlon this weekend.  The Dam '09 is a triathlon that takes place just a few miles from our house, so it was a perfect first race for me!

I never would have been able to do it without Mike and Veronica.  They not only lent me a bike and took me to swim class, but we trained together on this very course so that I felt really confident (albeit still a little nervous) when the race started.

We started off with a 400m (1/4 mile) swim, the discipline I'm most comfortable with.  I was number 152 with people starting every 10 seconds so I had a bit of time to get nervous while I waited to start.  Thankfully, all of that disappeared when I got in the water.  I passed 5 people during the swim, but I was determined to stay on my pace and not go out too hard.  I didn't want to be tired going into the 10 mile bike course.

The bike was the most challenging for me because I'm not used riding with lots of other cyclists.  The course was three loops over the same route so I pretty much constantly had people flying by me.  But I just focused on my race and tried not to get thrown off by their presence.  By the time I got to the 4 km (2.5 mi) run, I knew I had it.  I was tired, but the end was in sight!!

When I crossed the finish line, I was all smiles.  Geoff was there to cheer me on along with Mike, Veronica, and some friends of Mike's from work who had also competed.  My grin was so big that it got comments from the announcer. 

I completed the race in just under one and half hours (the time is adjusted based on when you start the swim).  My favorite thing about triathlons is that it is an individual event with racers of every level so I could just focus on running my own race and meeting my own goals.

When I finished, I felt like I could do anything!!!!!  If only my legs weren't so tired.