i love to tri

I can honestly say that I love to do triathlons. Well not just any triathlon considering I have only done sprint distance races. Today a competed in my 5th triathlon. It actually ended up being a biathlon or is it duathalon, because of inclement weather. I'm pretty sure it would be called a duathalon....run, bike, run. It was the AF Woman of Steel and it is only for woman, i love that part, such sisterhood. I signed up for it in December and then in February we booked our cruise. So for 2 months, my workouts were focused on getting swimsuit ready for the cruise, then we went on the cruise in April and came home and my focus was more on losing the cruise weight. So I was then left with 4 weeks to train for the triathlon. I did what I could but I didn't feel like it was enough, I knew I should've been training harder and I just wasn't that into doing a triathlon. Actually a little regretful that I had signed up. It wasn't until this week that I started to accept it more and became more nervous and mentally preparing. I don't own a road bike, just a one speed vintage cruiser that I got for free that is way too small except for rides around the neighborhood. So I borrow my step dads mountain bike when I go for rides but for a triathlon I insist on renting a good road bike. It makes SUCH a difference to have a road bike and not a mountain bike! I picked my bike up on Friday and then picked up my race packet. They give out pretty good swag, the best goodie bags I've received are from the AFWofS. This little braclet came with our number "I AM A WOMAN OF STEEL" I drove the course as a refresher and thought that I wasn't ready for the bike course, I only trained on flat streets and this had a few hills.

Saturday morning I woke up to rain, good steady no break in the clouds rain. I just got ready like normal and headed to the race. It was cold. They announced they were canceling the swim portion (not sure why rain would interfere with a swim) and we would run a mile rather than swim the 300 meters. I was bummed because I can swim 300 meter about 4 minutes faster than I can run a mile. So that would just add more time. I felt good during the race and really enjoyed myself. It is a USA triathlon event so no headphones are allowed so it was just the road and my thoughts. It makes me happy to compete and push myself, I do surprise myself with what I am capable of doing. The race included a 1 mile run, 12.75 mile bike and a 5k run. I was a little dissapointed in the 5k. I knew I could run it at a good speed but after riding my bike hard for 50 minutes, I couldn't get my legs going for the run like I wanted to.
My final time was 1:27:51 and if your interested in my times they are here by the way, I am not yet 30 but because I will be on 12/31, I had to be in the 30-34 age group. I would have scored much better in my age group if I were with the 29 year old. like it really matters. my pace time on my run bugs me, I know I could've kept my miles under 9 minutes. I beat my last years time by 6:15 and that race was swim bike run. But I feel great today. I'm not sore or tired which I'm also impressed by. It feels good to know I'm fit and can do stuff like this when I don't feel ready. I feel very blessed that I have a healthy and strong body, I'm grateful that I have strong legs that allow me to run and bike and I know I'm blessed to be able to compete in races like this. Our bodies are amazing.

my set up. the orange backpack and bike with the white towel are mine.


more post race goodies. at the end of the race they had typical fruit, water, juice, cookeis but because it was a woman's race, they had Diet coke available as well. That would be the last thing I would want to drink at the end of a race. or pretty much anytime, not much of a soda girl. But we also got chocolates, a necklace and our shirt. These fancy fabric shirts are the new thing for races now. Luckily it fit this year because I ordered the same size last year and it was a belly shirt. click on the picture to see the necklace charm better.


cheeese. Me at the end of the race, gathering my belongings. I was there solo this year so I had to be my own photographer.

Everyone has a designated spot to hang their bike and keep their bag. The spots are marked by a pink piece of paper taped to the pole that indicates your name, age, city, etc and also a question "why do you tri?" You answer the question when you register for the race. My answer was "because I'm addicted" and I can honestly say, "I am addicted".