Bengal Spring Sprint Triathalon

This past weekend, I participated in my first ever sprint triathalon. I have been wanting to do this for a while, and about a month ago I saw this one advertised. It was here in town, cheap, and the swim was the day before the bike and run. I thought it was a good way to get my feet wet, so I started training.



A month is not enough time to train. Need longer.


I was not last! That was my worst fear, that I would be dead last.



I was second to last, but I was not last. And I did beat my own record, so that was good. But there was an 11 year old boy who beat me.

Here I am getting ready for the swim. Oh, the focus.

I had to swim 700 yds, which is 14 laps or 28 lengths. I knew I needed to rest some, and was so relieved to see other people doing the same. My mom and Jason and the kids came to see me. Michaela brought her MP4 and was taking pictures of me. My swim time was 21:09 minutes. Not bad; it usually takes me 1/2 hour at the gym. I ended up being the 4th slowest swimmer. Someone did it in 8 minutes. 8 minutes!!!

The next day, Jason and I went to the bike/run at 9am. My mom took the girls to an Easter egg hunt in our neighborhood and then brought them later.

Here is Ava in front of the clock. This is about 2 minutes before I finished.

A picture before the race began.


Since I was the 4th slowest swimmer, I had to wait a while to start the bike. They had the fastest swimmer start at 9:30, then the next person started based on how fast they swam. So I had to wait until the clock said 21:09 until I could start. There were some super fast swimmers, and then a bunch with 17 and 18 minute swims, and then 3 people after me. So that left me standing all by myself, waiting for the clock to tick to my time. Akward.

The cheese stands alone.

Then, because I started all alone, I pretty much had the course to myself. I saw other bikers on their way back, and two people passed me, but other than that, I was alone. It was hard to know how I was doing this way. I didn't have anyone around me to gauge my progress, and since the computer on my bike is broken I couldn't tell how fast I was going. I think I would have done better if I had been more in the thick of things. Next time I will swim faster!

This is coming in from the ride. It was a 13 mile ride, the last bit uphill. I had promised myself I WOULD NOT get off my bike and walk it up that hill. I didn't have to!

I took off my leggings, jacket and helmut and started running. At this point I am thinking " 3.2 miles. I am going to die." I had a gel pack in my jersey that I ate. Not sure it helped, but it sure didn't hurt.

During the run, I actually passed someone, and that is why I wasn't last! At one point, I went off the trail by accident, and had to climb up a steep hill to get back on. I am sure that effected my time by at least 1 minute.

My girls were all there waiting for me, and Ava ran up to me saying "Mommy! Yeah Mommy!" As I came into sight, all the other contestents were cheering for me. (Because I was almost last, they were all already done!) It was emotional for me, but I would not embarass myself by crying!

I ended up finishing with a time of 1 hour and 43 minutes. The person who won did it in 47 minutes. Wow. I took 50 minutes to bike and 1/2 hour to run. Next time I will push harder on the bike. Maybe if I can see some other people biking, I would know how hard to push!

I am so glad I did this. I want do to another one soon, maybe the one in August. I will need to train more; my goal is to be at least 3rd last next time!