Maxi Triathlete

This weekend was amazingly busy, but in a good way. It's hard to imagine that I was supposed to be doing a triathlon this coming weekend, but I'm still trying to stick with the "everything happens for a reason" philosophy.

The BIG thing this weekend is that we did our first practice "super sprint" mini tris at Beaver Lake. I think it was like 500 yard swim, 3.5 mile bike & 1.5 mile wun.

First time I got in the water, my first thought was, "HOW THE HELL DID I DO THIS WITH OUT A WETSUIT LAST WEEKEND??" So we scared off some guys that were fishing at the park (one of them actually had a fish- so I know they are in there) jumped in the water, and were off. The swim was OK- I hung back a little bit, and rolled onto my back to calm down and breathe two or three times.

The wetsuit wasn't as tough to get off as I thought it would be (still thinking that sleeveless was a good choice), and I was feeling warm enough to leave off my arm warmers. I slipped on my race belt skirt to cover what felt like my nakedness in my tri suit (yeah, covers more than a bathing suit, but feels thin) and was off.

The ride was OK, but I did get a little cold. We were in a hilly area, with lots of trees, and I was also having some problems shifting. I think I need to get my shifter adjusted, since I seem to be able to giggle it into gear, but who wants to do that in a race, even if I'm not in that big of a hurry.

By the time I got back from the ride, there were several ladies back from their run, so my coaches had me just go out for 3 min, and back for 3 min. Getting off my bike, my butt felt like rubber. I think a lot of it was being chilly, but it really felt like when I actually started to wun like my chub should slough off. Like I really was wearing a fat suit.

The second time we went out, I was feeling more confident. I didn't roll over a single time on the swim, and actually got back right as the first runner was coming in for my bike ride. So this time, I decided I was going the distance on the wun. I ended up walking, but I didn't slow and I didn't stop. I also saw a little deer right at the turn around having a snack.

It was as I was on my way back in that second time that it occurred to me. I have jumped in the water, ripped off a wetsuit, jumped on a bike, come back & dumped the helmet, and the wan. I'm officially a triathlete! Maybe not a competitive triathlete yet, but a triathlete nonetheless. It was a mini tri, but I didn't feel OK about calling myself a mini ANYTHING. :)

On the wardrobe front, the wetsuit went great, the tri suit was very comfortable, and the race belt covered my rear, which was my mail point. It rides up a little, but between now and Sept 20, I'm thinking I can shrink the waistline at least enough to make that work. All in all, I felt great, and I MIGHT be able to do it this weekend, but I'm really happy to have more time to get better. :)