Sunday, June 20, 2010

Heart of Texas Triathlon #2

I competed in my first triathlon this morning. My running coach is the race director, and I thought it would be fun to try out. I've wanted to compete in a tri for quite a few years now, but have never done it. A friend from my running club, Kathleen, allowed me to borrow a bike, as mine is a mountain bike, and I could not ride my mountain bike as fast as I could one of hers. In fact, yesterday, I went over and rode three different bikes, determining which bicycle to borrow for the event. Thanks Kathleen for your generosity! :)

Before the race I was quite nervous. I was thankful for Kathleen's help, encouragement, and explanations of everything going on, how to handle it, and what to expect. She's an experienced triathlete. She helped me park the bike, put the towel down, take the bike for inspection, register, and everything else a person does in order to prepare.

I do not own a tri-suit, nor am I making an investment, so I felt kind of silly to say the least in my bikini bottom and sports bra, but at least they matched and it worked quite well for my purposes.

I was the very last person to start...number 115, as per my request. I know I am not a strong swimmer, or not anymore at least. Our swim was short, 300 meters, which took me 13 minutes! Swimmers started every 20 seconds. Number 105 went off, and then I had to wait, 20 seconds, 20 seconds, etc. until Number 115 was called. The people in between did not show up. I waited nervously for my number to be called so that I could start. And I started way too fast. After 50 meters, I was worn out. You swim up and down the lane, and then under the lane, and up and down the next lane. This goes on for six laps. The swim was tough for me, and I wasn't sure I wanted to even finish half way through them swim. Thank God for encouraging people all throughout!

When I finished swimming, I looked at my watch and kind of laughed at how bad I was. The next two parts were by far, my fav! I love riding and running, so with flip flops on my feet, I walked across the grass, took off the flip flops, put on my shorts, shirt, socks, and shoes, and helmet, and was ready to ride. The ride was 10 miles. It was relatively easy--I even passed some people! Wahoo!

After riding, I took off my helmet, placed my bike on the rack, and started to run. Wow! That was the hardest run I have ever done! The first 1/4 mile I was trying not to fall over and trip. No wonder people say that bike to run is difficult. I kept a nice clip on my run. I was surprised that I had ran the first mile in the 8's. I was able to pass a few more people on the run. The run was 2 miles, and I finished the entire race in 1:11:10. Surprisingly, I won an award. You can see a picture of the medal below. After the awards ceremony a group picture was taken, this picture will be on next weeks t-shirt. Guess I'm doing another tri!


As you can see, I am number 115. I am proudly wearing my medal!


The medal I won at my first triathlon!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Way to go Faith, that's awesome!!