Triathlon #2, Event #5 of 2009

I know that I have lots to catch up on but I HAD to tell you about my Triathlon. It was at the same park as the last one and this one was sooooo much better.
First of all the swim was half of the last one so that helped.
Big debate before the race if we wear swimsuits or not. We wouldn't be in the water long so we shouldn't get too cold out there, but they keep the less talented swimmer more bouyant (I have no idea how to spell that word). Less transition time without the wetsuit. So I caved in and didn't wear a wetsuit. Get there and see that we are 2 out of maybe 5 women not in wetsuits, so panic set in a little bit. Especially when a seasoned triathlete came up to me in my two piece speedo outfit and said "Wow, you're hardcore." Followed with my nervous giggle. Brandon and Drew started in the heat before us.

Then it was our turn....

And remember the panic of my last swim....not so much. Thanks to Billy B. I did the backstroke the whole way. :) He told me that I would excert less energy and get further with the backstroke than with my backwards frog kick stroke..lol. And I did. Don't open this picture any bigger...not a pretty sight but I just wanted to show you that there were people behind me...I was not the last one out of the water. And I am not in a crazy panic like last one.

And here my partner in crime and I are leaving the transition together...I had to put this picture up. Remember how she forgot her helmet last time, well she remembered it this time. HOWEVER, (I love you Debbee) although she remembered her helmet she forgot to put it on the right way and wore it backwards the whole race. I'm in red and she is in pink. :)

I guess I will add a cool picture of Brandon, this was him finishing his bike section (great pic from our photographer Krista!)

Bike course...cake compared to the last one. I got a road bike and oh, what a difference it makes. I love me some mountain biking but the road bike goes a lot faster when you are on the road. But I won't lie...I still got passed a lot. So frustrating when (pardon me) very large people pass you with ease when you are working hard and say "Great job". Arrgghh...I'll catch them on the run. :)

And here is the whole crew finishing.




The run went well....I have learned that your legs are mush but only for the first mile so I pushed through that and once again, I did not get passed. Well, if you want to count the 13 yr old girl that sprinted past me at the end I guess you could count that. I actually ran with a little group of 12 adn 13 yr olds at the end and they pushed me to a hard finish. I was soo impressed by all the random people out there competing. Kids...I mean little kids out there. There was an athlete who was a double leg amputee, there was a young man (don't know the correct term) but he was in a wheel chair and could not talk or walk and he did it with a partner. Over sized people. It was just super impressive to participate in an event where there were so many different people and everyone is sooo friendly. I think because it is such a small field compared to the running only races. And I am very blessed to have a husband a group of friends who enjoy doing this so we can do it as a community.

WE DID IT!

And of course we had to get a group photo with the photographer and our little cheering crew. Thanks friends! Now on to train for another 5K PR.