try tri

eric says that the only reason people do triathlons is that they aren't very good in any sport so that do one that consisits of muiltiples. he says this in jest, for the most part.
i did my first triathlon today and it kicked my arse. it was fun but maybe i should have listened a little more to some of the advice i had been given about the swim. my friend charity did it too. this was her 11th triathlon so she helped keep me under control before the race.
the wetsuit was great. it kept me warm and it helped keep my arse up. too back i had such a terrible swim. i made it to the first marker in crawl when i realized i was pushing too hard and needed to back off so i switched to breast stroke. big mistake. my crawl technique was terrible - for some reason i wouldn't put my face in the water. was it because i was afriad of the goose terd? was it because i was afriad i wouldn't be able to tell where i was going? whatever it was, it totally contributed to me getting too tired too soon. breast stroke was no better in that i still couldn't put my face in the water. this was terrible. i rounded the second marker and thank goodness i was as slow was i was because the front group of women totally missed the 3rd marker and headed straight for the 4th. they all had to swim back up and around. by the time i got to the 3rd maker the 35-40 men started mixing in. this did not help my situation because they started grabbing at my legs and splashing me in the face. on no! my face was getting wet!! what the hell? i finally made it to the shore and was totally spent. what a mess. the beach was totally rocky and i had no idea i had such delicate feet! once i made it to the grass i was able to sort of start running. sort of.
i made it to the transition area and remembered to take my time with the wetsuit. it came off fine. i dried my feet, put on my socks and shoes and my jersey, helmet, gloves and sunglasses and headed out. once on the bike i had so much fun! the ride was a blast! i was crusing along. i don't know how fast i was going or what what going on, but i was having fun. i had ridden this route before a long time ago and passed through the intersection that i totally plowed over this guy on my old mtn bike team. no one had gotten hurt so i had a little chuckle. i passed people on the hills and then some of the would pass me on the down hills. it was so fun. until the last two miles or so when my foot started cramping. i haven't ever had that happen on the bike. it has cramped during the swim, and it cramps during most swims, but i have never had it happen while on the bike. so i lost time there in an effort to constantly stretch it out to aviod major distaster.
once i was off the bike, running into transition the foot was fine. i changed my shoes, put on my knee brace and headed back out for the run. i had been told that my legs would feel like bricks and i never did any of the brick work outs because i had a three week taper which consisted of not exercising, but i think my foot issue and the fact that my run was starting out so mellow, my legs felt fine. most of the run was on a grassy trail which was a lot of fun. when we did hit the pavement it was so awesome to feel how easy it felt. i had told myself at the begining of the run that i would run the first 20 minutes and then re-access the situation. after 20 minutes i was feeling good so i think i even managed to pick up the pace a little, but that might just be me thinking that. i was slow but i ran the whole thing! i finshed the whole triathlon!! i am so proud of myself and i am looking forward to my next one. ok, actually, no im not because the next one has a swim that is twice as long, in salt water. i have some work to do. i will now take the advice that was given to me and i will, i have to, go for some open water swims in a non-stress environment. i have to get that under control! my new goal is to complete the whole swim in crawl. ok, well, maybe i will start with completing the swim with mostly crawl, or how about without panicking and without hyperventilating? ok, thats a good goal.
results aren't posted yet and neither are photos. i saw them with the cameras and i tried to stretch my neck so that maybe i won't have a double chin in them. we will have to see what that is all about. i am so vain, but i am ok with that.
all in all, it was totally fun and a great experience! i can't beleive i did it! eric came out to watch and to cheer me and charity on. he managed to be in several places along the course and i saw him in each leg! it was so great to have him there and that he was so supportive of my race!