On June 11th I competed in my first official Sprint Triathlon in Provo. The swim portion was in Utah Lake with a temperature of 60 degrees. I had never done an open water swim before and was so nervous! Adam and I went to the local reservoir once to practice and I had a total panic attack because my new wetsuit was very tight and I felt like I couldn't breathe and that it was choking me. I was so afraid the half mile swim of the race would be too much for me.
I've often heard the swim portion described as being like swimming in a washing machine. It was totally like that. There were arms, legs and people Everywhere! They were swimming over me, I was swimming over them. It was chaos. Then there was the occasional backstroker kicking me in the face. I was seriously panicking.
But once I made it around the buoy that marked the half way point everyone spread out and I was able to relax and hit my stride.
If you can believe it, this is actually a picture of me that Ryan took. He said he tried to take a picture of everyone with a white cap on. I knew it was me because I remember looking back at that guy who kept swimming over my feet.
I was the 13th woman out of the water and finished with a time of 22:43. I think I could do better without the wetsuit but for this race I was glad to have it because the water was so cold.
These may look like some tough pictures but in all honesty I was exhausted and just trying to catch my breath before my bike ride.
The bike ride was four laps along roads near the lake. It was totally flat and super fast.
I did the bike in 40:36 which is great for 12 miles!
My friend Autumn played waterpolo with me in high school. She and my brother Adam have been doing triathlons together with a goal of doing Alcatraz next year. I think she's awesome!
Adam did great and has been a wonderful support for me. I don't think I would have done this race without his encouragement, or possibly intimidation. :)
When I started this 5k my calves were like rocks. I was so worried they were both going to cramp up on me. This was where I was wishing I had trained a little more for this race but with five kids and a five month old it was a challenge.
I was so happy everyone came out to watch my race. It really meant a lot to me to have Ryan and all the kids there cheering me on.
Adam finished in a stellar 1:29 min.! Way to go Adam!
I came in at 1:39 min. with a 36 min 5k. Not a great run but I was so happy that I did it. I took 3rd out of 8 in my age group and 34th out of 52 women. Right in the middle is fine by me. I'm a happy camper.
Autumn finished in 2:05 which was 30 min. faster than her last Sprint Tri.! I think that's amazing and it really inspires me to try tri again!
So this is what I posted later that day on Facebook:
I'm 37, I have 5 kids, my youngest is 5 months old and I just finished my first Official Sprint Triathlon with an open water swim!!! I'm allowed to be a little proud on my birthday right?!
