{I tri'd}

Sometimes, my mouth gets my into trouble. Like the time I said to my friend Mary, "We should do a sprint triathlon." Then I went home and worked Google over until I found one in Tempe for women only. 10 weeks of training in the pool, at the gym and on the trails led to me standing in my swimsuit at 8:00 am on Saturday morning beside Tempe Town Lake and 600 other women.

(Mary and I headed to Tempe at 6:00 am on race day!)

It had been a rocky road. I was having trouble with my hamstring, had a clogged ear for a week and intermittant back pain. Not to mention I spent last Monday through Wednesday in bed with a cold!

My wave started at 8:10 am. We jumped into the lake and treaded water for about 8 minutes until the start. Once the horn went off, you just put you head down and started swimming. I had been training in the pool at my gym which was a pathetic 14 meters long! This leg was 750 m.


The swim was fantastic, definitely my strong event. I did veer to the right a little... The temperature was perfect and it had no taste whatsoever (my two biggest concerns). ----------> Look at me staying clear of traffic.
Mary and I rented really sweet roadbikes for the occasion after we determined that our mountain bikes would be a hindrance to our times. (This argument is akin to an author of a bad novel blaming it on the pen...) The 13.5 mile ride was two loops of the same course and actually really fun. It would have been nice to have been more comfortable on the gears. They were different than my mountain bike and you use one lever to shift up and another to shift down. I couldn't keep it straight so often I would shift the wrong way first.

I was really worried about the run. The first mile was tough and your legs seem like they are on backwards after being on the bike. I found my groove and went for it. It was getting hot. I got discouraged when I saw the "Mile 1" sign. I thought it meant one mile left because I felt like I had been running forever!

Sailing into the finish was the best feeling ever!

Final time: 1:43 (See official results)
Place: 133/396
Back to real life...

Cheer squad. Not pictured are my dear friends and neighbors, Lamar and Danae Echols! Danae was working strep throat but still came out and cheered. She was the first person I recognized as I was running into transition from the lake. Also, Mary's hubby and boys and our neighbors, the Andrewsens. It really helps to see people you know!