tri-ing

Running is my forte.

Completed my first triathlon this morning, despite myself. I didn't go to bed last night til long after midnight, had trouble falling asleep, and awoke with a start a handful of times to stare at the absurdly low numbers on my bedside clock. Finally, I got up at 5:24am. I had put together most of my gear the night before, but I busied myself with gathering the sorted piles-- swimming, biking, running, afterwards.

Julie arrived, loaded everything into the car, and we were off to Blue Lake. While setting up my stuff in the transition zone (where you leave your bike and gear you'll need for each leg of the race), I was setting out my favorite running socks when I realized that I didn't have shoes. No shoes for doing the bike and the run. Wow.

Luckily we had arrived early enough that Julie zipped back to my house, grabbed my shoes, and brought them back. Since no one but participants can enter the transition zone, she was going to give them to an event volunteer who would put them with my stuff since I might be in the water by the time she got back. After she left I realized that I had set up all of my things in the wrong section, so I moved my bike, helmet, socks, sunglasses, shirt, bags, water, and everything else to the rack with the correct number range.

By that time the first wave or two of the swim had started, and while waiting in line to use the men's bathroom (the women's side was closed-- at an all-women triathlon!) I saw Julie walking up with my shoes. No doubt about it, Julie saved my ass for this event.

Moving on to the next tribulation: the shiny purple strap that comes in the race packet, with which you affix the timing chip to your ankle. I couldn't get mine to snap closed, although Sara's Ironman training buddy, John, mashed it shut for me. During the swim I could feel it coming loose, so I had to stop several times, take a deep breath, and bob in the water while making sure it was still fastened.

The swim itself was long, but not as difficult as I had feared. When I got out of the water it felt good to jog to my bike, putting nervous energy to good use. I toweled off, put on my socks, shoes and helmet, and tucked the timing chip with its strap down into my sock. The bike portion of the race was like being in a cloud-- misty rain, warm and humid. I enjoyed the ride, though, and passed quite a few people-- a big improvement from last year.

When I passed over the mat from my bike into the transition area, to prepare for the run, I didn't hear the telltale beep that lets you know your chip was registered. My chip was gone. I asked a volunteer standing in the transition zone what to do, and she said that I could still finish the race if I wanted. If I wanted! I ran off to tackle the running portion of the event.

So overall I had a great race. I enjoyed each part, I had great people cheering for me-- Fred and Shetha brought Andrew and Gabriel-- an amazing support crew with Sara, Leslie, John, Teres, and all of the other wonderful Luna Chix ladies, and I can't wait to do it again. For what it's worth, Julie said I crossed the finish line at 10:03am.