I did it!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was the FEWarren Aquatic Center's 20th annual mini-triathlon and I participated!! I completed 500 yards swimming, 13 miles biking, and 3 miles running (running/walking) in 1:43:07!! I tied for first in my age group!! I was so proud of myself and I had an absolute blast! I think I'm hooked!!

Here I am with my transition area all set up. It was a chilly morning and the locker room was on the way to the transition area so I actually ended up throwing on my clothes and shoes inside then coming outside to bike.

Matt (my dear friend Melanie's hubby) and I all jazzed for the event!!

Here we go!!!

And we're off!!! My lane buddy didn't show, so I had a lane all to myself which was pretty nice!!

Done with the swim, now on to the bike!!!

Almost ready!!

This was me completing my first lap (of 2) on the bike course. Heading north on the bike was no fun because the wind was heading directly south, plus there hills!! I am so glad I ended up renting a road bike vs using my mountain bike. I could tell it made a huge difference!!

Done with biking, on to the run!!

Hoping the Gatorade gives me energy and motivation for the run!

And I'm off on the run!!

Mel, Julia, and I after the race!!

My wonderful hubby was the photographer and cheerleader extraordinaire!!!

As previously mentioned, I had so much fun!! Seriously, everybody should do it!!! I wasn't sure if I would still do the Fort Collins triathlon, but now I definitely want to do it!!

This triathlon was not a sanctioned event and was pretty low key. It was really the perfect one for me to do first, I think. I was not worried about my transition times at all - I kind of took my sweet time in between each event.

Ok, so here are some things I am really proud of myself for:
~ I did it!! I actually did it!! Wahoo!!!
~ I swam my 500 yards in under 9 minutes!! When I had been training the fastest I did it was 10:30.
~ The run. I did do a mixture of running and walking, but I ended up running more than I thought I would!! I was especially proud of myself for the ending: I ran over a half a mile to the end, and even sprinted the last 15 yards or so!!

Here are a couple things I will work on for the Fort Collins triathlon next month:
~ I will keep working on my running. I would love to be able to run the whole thing!!
~ I will work on adding flip turns to my swim. Not sure if I can get the lung capacity for that in a month, but I'll try!!

Overall, I had a great experience and am so glad I did it!!

4 days!!

So the triathlon at FE Warren is this coming Saturday, which means I have 4 days to finish preparing!!

My past few swim workouts have been really good. Two different days I did 3 sets of 500 yards in under 12 minutes each!!! Then today I did 2 sets of 500 yards in about 10:30 each!!! Wahoo!! Today I even got brave and added 3 sets of 100 with flipturns!! I did it, but I hated it. What a difference those few extra seconds under water makes.

Last week I went to spin class once, swam twice, and ran twice. Yesterday J and I were in Colorado Springs and we hiked halfway up the Manitou Incline with my parents. I just got done swimming. Tomorrow my plan is to go to spin class then run... a brick workout!! On Thursday I think I will swim again, then take a break Friday, then race on Saturday!!

Are there any triathletes who read this??? What suggestions do you have for me this week?? And what about food??

12.... days!!!

So I'm probably going to participate in a triathlon in 12 days. This is not the one in Fort Collins; it is in Cheyenne on the Air Force base.

My friend M has been trying to convince me to do it for awhile. Then today at spin class my instructor mentioned that she is doing it. I was chatting with her about it for a few minutes and another lady said, "Well if you guys are going to do it, then I will too!!" So at least there will be 3 people I know participating (M plus the 2 from spin class).

Another upside: the run is a little bit shorter... 2.5 miles instead of 3.1. I am so down with that.

M competed in the official sprint triathlon that was held in Cheyenne last month and he says I should see about renting a road bike for the race - he was amazed at his difference in speed with the road bike vs. the mountain bike.

I have found a place that will rent me a road bike for $25/ day so I think I will try it out either this week or next then again for the triathlon.

I have been pretty good about spinning and running, but haven't done any swimming since returning from the cruise. I need to get on that. And apparently I need to do a couple "brick" workouts!!

12 days!!! Eeeek!!!