I DID IT!!!

Today I completed my triathlon that I've been training for since January 6th. There was an official triathlon an hour away, but I was getting frustrated with logistics and hefty fees and decided to just do one by myself. Adam babysat Penny at home and I headed over to the YMCA. It was great! The best part was that I was able to do the distances I wanted and not worry about comparing myself to other athletes. I didn't get a t-shirt, any pictures of myself at the finish line or have anyone giving me water and encouragement along the route but I still feel like a champion. I guess I came in both first and last but I'll concentrate on the first part. Mostly I just surprised myself at how well I did overall even though my training has been non-existent for the past 3 weeks.

I knew when I started that I wanted to swim .5 miles, bike at least 11.5 mi. and run 3 mi. but once I started biking and running, it was really easy to do a bit more. I was mostly worried about the running. I haven't done much of it lately and wasn't sure of myself. I have never really run outside and have never done more than 3 miles, but once I got outside for the running segment, I had a ton of energy and once I finished the 3 miles, decided to do another loop to get 6 mi. My knees and hip joints are killing me right now, but it was totally worth it.

People seem a little disappointed with me for not doing an "official" triathlon, but it's not like it's any easier doing it all alone! Even though I did the bike segment on a stationary bike, I had it set to a really tough level with about 20 hills of varying intensity and was sweating my rear off. I KNOW the biking is easier in a group and most of the official triathlons have relatively flat biking surfaces so this was definitely harder than it would have otherwise been. I have a feeling I could have pushed myself a little harder on the run if I had someone to pace myself to. But I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. I want to do another, but will probably just do another by myself since it's way more convenient and less stressful. Plus, I can keep it flexible if I feel like going farther. My most compelling competition is myself and I push myself incredibly hard so this was the perfect way for me to do it.

Here are the nity gritty details for anyone interested:

I started at 10:09 am at my YMCA

Swim: 900 yards (a little more than 1/2 mile) in 14:38 (in the 25 yard indoor pool - 36 laps)

Transition: I didn't time my transitions, but tried to keep them under a minute. I jumped straight out of the pool, put on shorts, shoes, socks and headphones and got on the bike. I did the whole tri in my swimming suit.

Bike: 15 miles in 44:09 - approx 20 mph (on the upright bike - set to frequent steep hills the whole time. Very tough)

Transition: Grabbed a power bar, hit the street. It turns out I couldn't eat the power bar so I chucked in a trash can around mile 2.

Run: 6 miles in 1:04:24 (outdoors on the sidewalk - ran a 1.5 mi. loop twice. Had really bad cramps from miles 2 through 3 but had committed NOT to walk so I was able to run through it. My run time was a lot slower than I've been doing on the treadmill, but my legs were pretty mushy from the challenging bike and I was able to keep running the whole time so I'm not disappointed. Plus, I was able to double my distance so that made me feel pretty good! So I ran a little over 10 minute miles. Not bad, but I'll do better next time :)

I finished at about 12:15 pm and called Adam to get ready to EAT! I must have burned 1500 calories and we had a big Oreo cookie party when I got home to make up for it.

I'd like to thank:

Shonen Knife and The Crystal Method for giving me a soundtrack to compete to. When I started the run and Get Busy Child came on my mp3 player, I took it to heart and stepped it up a notch.

Adam for taking Penny so I didn't have to worry about the people in childcare getting me out of the pool to change a diaper.

Jared for all his encouraging comments - who also happens to be training for a marathon of his own and is full of good advice.

Everyone who I told to bug me constantly about doing this triathlon until I completed it. You guys kept me on task and reminded me why I wanted to do this in the first place. THANK YOU!

My neighbors who when I went over today to tell them about my finishing, were too exhausted to talk because they had just finished a 16 mile run of their own! Covingtons, you guys inspire me. Maybe I'll try a marathon one of these days as well. For now, thanks for being good examples to me of physical fitness and for all your encouragement.

So that's it. I think I would like to do another triathlon, but don't know when. I'm not sure what will happen to this page. My original goal was to complete an Olympic level tri and I would still like to do that. There is the Los Angeles Triathlon in September that I would like to compete in if I'm able. I'll take a break from tri training for now and just focus on yoga, pilates and weights. Those are the things I really enjoy right now.