Today, we finished our first triathlon. We signed up on our 5th wedding anniversary and decided to try it together. We left the house Friday afternoon and arrived in Anthem, AZ at 5:55 PM. Check-in closed at 6, so we made it just in time. We picked up our race number, timing chip, jersey, and a bag full of goodies.
It was dark, but we wanted to drive around the bike course. We checked the map and cruised around for a little bit. Anthem is a really nice place and there is a ton of activity for a community on the out-skirts of Phoenix. After six or eight u-turns, we saw the entire course – at least we saw it in the dark.
We left to check into the hotel and double checked all of our gear in the room. After a little cable TV (we don’t have cable at home), we fell asleep and slept comfortably through the night.
We woke up at 5:45 and Deanna headed for the shower. It seemed to me that she was in there quite a while. So, I asked what took so long and she said, “I shaved”. I didn’t want her to be the only one with silky smooth legs so here is where I learned my first triathlon lesson. Lesson 1: Don’t shave the “bear fur” off your legs the morning of the race. It takes forever!
Well, we finally made it to the race and I set up my transition area. Several of the people I talked with were first-time racers too.
We all set up and headed to the pool for the seeding. The event coordinator called out times and as your 400 meter swim time was called you stepped into line. He started at 4 minutes. Needless to say I was near the back of the line with my estimated 10:45 swim time.
During the swim it seemed like I could not catch my breath. I must have been to anxious or nervous. So I did the first lap swimming free-style and finished the last 6 doing the breast stroke. I did alright and only had two people pass me in the pool. We all knew that was something I needed to work on anyway.
After what seemed like swimming for hours, I finally left the pool. I was up and running to the transition area to get on the bike and make up some ground.
The transition to the bike went smooth. The only hard part was putting on a bike jersey while still being a little wet. This is where I learned Lesson 2: Buy a tri jersey and wear it in the pool, bike and run. The other option would be to dry off with a towel, but I am going to go with a tri jersey.
The bike went well. I made up a lot of ground. There was a light headwind on the last part of each lap. Knowing the transition to run would be a strange feeling, I took it easy on the last part of the last lap. I wanted to save some for the run.
The run started off with rubbery legs, but never felt really tired. I had two gel packs on the bike ride and two water bottles, so the gas was in the tank. My legs never felt normal, but they kept right on moving and I gained some more ground. My feet started having a couple hot spots towards the very end of the
run. It was nothing painful, but it helped me learn Lesson 3: run with socks, or practice running without socks. I think I am going to try running without socks a few times at home before I give in and go with socks on the run.
As I finished, I jogged to the pool to see where the ladies were at. They had just started. So, I picked up my bike and gear and quickly put them in the Jeep. I changed and made it back to watch Deanna start. She took off and leaped into the pool.
She kept her swim very steady and smooth, finishing without stopping at all.
She kept at it and made it to the end of the swim.
The transition to the bike went quickly and she took off on the bike.
This was the first time she rode the bike all on her own. Especially the first time riding just over 14 miles without someone there to coach her if something were to happen. We practiced the tire changing in the event of a flat. Luckily, she didn’t flat and did not need her newly acquired skill. She finished the bike looking strong, but I noticed there was still a lot of Gatorade she had on the bike still in the bottle.
The transition to the run went well. There was only a little trouble putting on the shoes. I think the new speed laces may have been too snug. I made sure she took a bottle to drink while on the run since I knew she didn’t drink as much as she should have during the bike.
She left on the run looking very strong. I waited a little while and then I saw her entering the tunnel, which was just a few hundred meters from the end.
As she neared the finished, she put in a little extra kick and even picked up the pace to finish strong.
She made it!
I am so proud of her as this is no small feat. She did it! I did it! It was awesome to share the day together where we both accomplished something for the first time that most people will never even try.
Our goals were to finish second-to-last, or better, and we both exceeded our goals.
See all of the pictures in the Anthem Holiday Classic Dec 11, 2004 photo album.
Related posts:
