Tempe International Sprint Triathlon

I am happy to say that I successfully completed my first triathlon. This was a warm up for the Olympic distance triathlon Jenni and I will be doing in August in Idaho. Since neither one of us had competed in a triathlon yet, we wanted to do a warm up to get the experience. We are both very glad we did! On Friday I started getting that familiar tickle in the back of my throat. In anticipation of a cold I started taking coldeeze (?). Unfortunately it didn't really work. On Saturday I started feeling tight in the chest. I was just hoping I could get through Sunday without issues. I barely slept Saturday night because I kept waking up every hour coughing. By the time I woke up I had to use the inhaler. I figured it was just a sprint and the excitement would get me through it. There was no way I wasn't going to compete.

Here is a picture of Jenni and I right before the race. The water was 75, but since we will need wet suits in Idaho we both decided to swim in them. The only trouble with a wet suit is how tight it is around the neck.

There were 1300 people competing in the race. They had sprint, Olympic, and relays competing.

This was the transition area loaded up with all the bikes. Jenni had a balloon tied to her bike so she could find it easier. I was going to do the same but forgot. My bike was three rows from hers so I just used her balloon to find my bike.

The swim was a water start. We were all basically floating in the lake until they said go. Prior to the race I wasn't really worried about the swim. I feel pretty strong in the water so I didn't think it would be an issue. Wrong. When we took off I was ok at first, but it was basically like being in a washing machine. The people in front were kicking my head, the people to the sides were splashing water, and the people behind me were grabbing my feet. The first time I put my head in the water and turned to breathe I took a huge mouthful. All the sudden I couldn't breathe. My wet suit felt too tight and I started hyperventilating. I reached up and pulled open the velcro and unzipped the wetsuit down to my waist. That seemed to help the tight chest feeling, but it took some tough love on myself to get my head on straight. I finally started swimming and just chanted stroke, stoke, breath. This seemed to help calm me down. After I got around the second buoy I seemed to do better. After the third buoy I was home free but my goggles fogged up. I didn't care, I just wanted to finish. I kicked and swam as fast as I could and before I knew it I was done. Thank the Lord.

Here I am coming out of the water. What a relief.

Keith and the kids were standing there when I came out. It was great to have a cheer section. The kids were sooo cute.

I found out later that I spent way too much time in the transition areas. For the bike transition it was 4.5 minutes. Yikes, what was I doing, watching TV.

Here I go. Before the race I was really nervous about the biking portion. I don't feel that strong on the bike so I was really afraid to be biking with other people. After the swim I think it didn't matter.

Here I am coming in. I passed a lot of people on the bike course, but I did get passed by a few 50 and up women. They were serious bikers. You should have seen the quads bulging as they flew past me. You go girls!!!

My transition from bike to run was not much quicker. After looking at these pictures you can tell I must think I have all the time in the world. As if I can run a seven minute mile and don't need to worry about the time...yeah right.

Oh wait, I need a drink.

My hair, gotta fix my hair.

Another drink and a thumbs up...tick tock...tick tock. At least I look like I am enjoying myself.

Here I am coming around at the end of the run. The run felt great. I only got passed by one guy who wasn't even racing and wearing head phones. I did pass a lot of men on the run who looked like they wanted to pass out.

In for the finish. Final time 1:28. Not too shabby. Total time in transitions......8 minutes. If I could have improved that I would have been 9 out of 31. Instead I finished 14 out of 31 for my age group. Not bad for a first timer. And that horrible swim I thought I had was actually 10 minutes 28 seconds. If I hadn't panicked for the first minute it would have been a good time.

Jenni was in an older age group so she finished after me. Here she is coming in. Great job Jenni!!!!

And the sweet taste of the victory beer. Jenni's sister Janice had them waiting for us when we finished. It was great. Nothing like a cold beer after all that hard work.

Elle and Pierce were soo cute watching. They kept shouting "we love you Mommy". Don't worry, it isn't Elle's beer, it just looks like she is holding it.

Overall it was a great experience. Jenni and I are both glad we did the practice run. I know now what I need to improve on so I am looking forward to Idaho and the Olympic distance. Final tally:

Swim: 10.28

Transition 1: 4.30

Bike: 42.20

Transition 2: 3.30
Run: 27:50

Look out Coeur d'Alenene, here we come!!!