Triathlon Number 1 -- Complete

Guelph Lake II-  Me on the bike

Well, I did it!  Completed my first triathlon last weekend.  As I was getting ready for FINA Masters World Championships, the only triathlon that I was willing to try was the Guelph Lake II Sprint at the end of this triathlon season.  It consisted of a 750m swim, which is much too short, a 30km bike, and a 7k run.  

With swimming being my main focus for most of this year, I had let my running slide, in fact, my husband let it slip out to my coach that I really hadn't been running on a regular basis since Christmas.  I had dropped the cycling 4 weeks out of Worlds, and before that, I had only gone for a handful of, once weekly, long bike rides.  I figured my cardio fitness and my swim training would pull me through.  Guelph would be an opportunity for me to see if I liked doing triathlon and give me an idea of what it's like to race one.

Gallacher, Me, Robin

My coach, Lee Hart of Tri-Hart, provided me with an overview of what to expect.  Gallacher Patterson, my teammate, helped me to set up my transition area and both he and my other teammate, Robin Whiffing, helped to get me warmed up properly for the race.  I had also switched my wave start.  Originally I was to be in the 5th of 7 waves, however, my swim is very strong and my bike not so much.  I moved to the first wave with the young competitors and the elites.  This would give me some well needed space to get on my bike without worrying about lots of people around me.  So I put on my wetsuit and headed down to the lake.

The mass start was a little scary.  I thought I would come out with a black eye from some guy kicking my face, but I managed to stay bruise free and settled in behind a young Waterloo Swimmer who kindly pulled me easily to the finish.  First woman out, second out overall....I learnt it is easier to let someone else do all the work.  Wet suit came off and I ran my bike out of transition and across the line.  I couldn't believe it! I was first out of transition 1.  It was short lived as Gallacher quickly came up and passed me just beyond the line.  

Got the shoes off.

Lee had given me something to work on for the bike.  I had just figured out this skill a couple days before and am still not that good at it.  The goal was to put on my cycling shoes, and take them off again while still riding the bike!  I know, many of you triathletes are excellent at that, but for someone who just became comfortable with grabbing her water bottle while riding, this is a scary endeavour.  Although I dropped my speed down to a crawl, I managed to get my shoes both on and off and stay on the bike.  Another small win for the day.

With the bike complete I ran to transition, put on my new running flats, took a drink, had a shot block, and hit the trail.  I was surprised that the run didn't hurt more.  I was trying to slow down in the first 2km, as I thought I should only be running at a 4:30 km/hr pace and I was running at 4:22, thinking I may not have enough for the finish.  I was wrong. I ended up running a 4:07 km/hr average over the 7k (as my competitive nature took over my rational thought) which boosted my confidence and giving me the 3rd fastest run for women. I placed 3rd in my age category, and 8th fastest woman overall.  Now if I could just get a little faster on the bike......

Finished my first Tri

3rd place finish 40-44 age category

All in all it was an amazing experience.  I learned a great deal and realized I have a lot more to figure out.  I am just a baby in this sport.  

I would highly recommend trying new things, branching outside of your comfort zone. I have seen many  swimmer friends also dabbling in this sport over this summer.  Check out my friend Mike at swim-diesel.

In just under two weeks I have another challenge scheduled on my calendar.  It is an ambitious undertaking, in such a short time, but an experience that will ready me for next triathlon season.  Shhh...it's a 70.3.  The goal is to finish as I will only have 5 weeks of tri training under my belt...yes...crazy.

Don't worry though; I am not leaving the pool...just shifting focus for a bit.