I am a TRIATHLETE!

Less than a year
after I ran my first half marathon
AND my first marathon
I completed my first Triathlon!

16 days prior,
I was only flirting with the idea
of competing in a Triathlon...
NEXT year

Well... here I am.
A triathlon finisher!










I got to the race area at about 6:30
after battling closed roads near the start
the feeling of nausea due to nerves
therefore not being able to eat
and getting my stuff together and walking over

I immediately found Ally, yay!
We signed up together
and coincidentally
I met her exactly a year ago that day!

We got out packets,
got tattooed up with our numbers,
Numbered our helmets & bikes,
I got air in my tires,
and replaced the missing plug from my bike (doh!)
and made our way into transition area to set up



Yay!  Everything is set...
(until I learned my bike was the wrong way!
Rookie mistake #1)
Thanks Tyler!

I went for a little walk and ran into Dani
(Who I just met Wednesday morning
but had been following her blog for over a year.
It was also her first Tri!)

We heard that the transition area closed at 7:30
and were all totally confused
(Again...Rookies!)
since our wave didn't start until 8:50
The race started at 8am, with a pre-race meeting at 7:50

But once we realized that it meant
we'd be staying on the beach
watching all the waves
it turned into a great time period
of FREAKING out on my end

I choked down a banana and my Energy Bits

Then we met up again with Dani
& kept running into friends from Zoom

Everyone asked how I was feeling
or if I was ready
and I was NOT enthusiastic
at all

Meanwhile..Ally kept saying
over and over
I'm so excited, I'm so exicted

This picture definitely shows my nerves vs her excitement!

Everyone else took off and then finally,
at 8:50am
it was our time to go
(The Novice Women wave)
Standing in the chute to take off
I was getting wicked anxious
But worked my way thru it
and knew I wasn't going to drown
so told myself to just have fun
and get to the finish line

And.... we're off!

The first 1/4 mile or so
I was freaked out
by all the people kicking around me
But only got kicked twice
and then found a spot to the side.
I didn't feel totally comfortable
until I got around the first buoy
But then I felt good and kept telling myself
To JUST KEEP SWIMMING :)

Out of the water and into transition I go!

It wasn't as hard or crazy as I anticipated
..next thing you know, helmet is on and I'm on my bike!

The 9 miles weren't bad but my legs were getting sore
and I was scared I'd wear myself out for the run

Also...around mile 6
my bike started making a weird noise
So I got a little freaked out
and slowed down a bit.

Come to find out,
at the end of the race,
it was just the plastic guard
on the back of the bike
that popped out of place
which I hadn't removed
Rookie!!!

Got off the bike and started the run
I look down at my watch 1/4 mile in
and I'm going an 8:30 pace
WOAH, who am I?
Oh wait, I do NOT feel my legs!
1/8 mile later.. OH HEY
There ya are.....Yikes.
I went from not feeling my legs
to feeling like complete jello
and just trying to maintain
a 10:30 pace

I kept telling myself
YOU are a runner....
MOVE!
I am not fast
But it was a little frustrating
to be fighting so hard
for a 10:30 pace

But then...there was the finish!

I crossed and felt amazing.
I did it!!
1:45 was my goal
and later I found out,
that's exactly what I finished in!!

Followed the race with free beer in the beer tent
Thanks Boston Tri!



















and then Brunch with some teammates/friends

I went home and crashed!
A shower
An attempt at removing my number tattoos
Another Rookie FAIL
Some more food and a nap

Woke up feeling refreshed and amazing!

Thanks to everyone who helped with the Tri learning, buying and training process over the last 3 weeks!  Proud to be a part of the club!