I did it!

Today I finished my first triathlon, and I didn't die! This was a concern, based on how I felt Tuesday after the wet run. In fact, I felt better than I did on Tuesday, even though all my distances were longer.

I started in the second to last wave, which meant I didn't have to be there at the crack of dawn- I got up when the first group was starting- that's how slow I am (it was based on your swim time). I finished my swim in 17 minutes, which is as good as I've ever done. I really need to work on my form and efficiency though, so I can get faster. The top people were swimming the same distance in 6-7 minutes. I don't expect to get that fast, but I would like to cut at least 5 minutes off my time. One thing I definitely change will be to get spandex shorts and a top and swim, bike and run in those. No more messing with a swimsuit that chafes when biking and running. It'll save time in the first transition, too (it wastes time trying to pull biking shorts over wet legs and up a wet swimsuit).

I did my bike ride in about an hour- it was 2 times around a 6 mile loop, with a lot of long hills. Not steep hills, just long, neverending hills. It did finish on a downhill, though. I need to figure out how cycle faster, although I think it's really a case of building my muscles, which means I need to work out more.

I ended up walking about half the run- I was pretty dehydrated by then, and my leg muscles were super fatigued. Not sore- just too tired to move anymore. It was a really weird sensation. So, I need to hydrate a lot better, eat more shot blox to keep my energy up, and be in better shape so I don't reach such muscle exhaustion again.

Overall, it was a great experience- I had a good time and will definitely be doing it again. I still don't have sore muscles, which is great- normally, if I'd been running for two hours, my feet would be thrashed, and my leg muscles would be really sore. Instead, I'm tired, but not exhausted, and my legs are still really tired (carrying DD up the stairs was a reminder that 'hey, we're here and we're still not recovered from this morning').

I just looked up the results, and my official stats are:
Swim (500 m): 16:55.9 (4.1 seconds under! wahoo!)
1st Transition: 5:02.6
Bike (12 miles): 1:00:17 (right on target- I was aiming for 1 hour)
2nd Transition: 1:10.9
Run (3.1 miles): 34:30.8 (11.07 min/mile. I was aiming for 10 min/mile)
Total time: 1:57:57.1 (2.03 min under the 2 hours I thought it would take me)

I came in 352 out of 378 finishers (I wasn't last!!!)
In my division (30-34 women) I came in 42nd out of 45 (I also wasn't last in my age group!!)
I was 162nd of 179 women (I came in ahead of people!)

Ok, so I was a little worried about coming in last. But that didn't happen physically (there were people who crossed the finish line after me) or on paper with everyone's results compiled. Yay me!