Today I marked another notch in my triathlon belt...my first Sprint distance. Going in to it I was comfortable that I would be able to finish as I am becoming more aware of what I can do but what was not so certain was how much I would be able to run after biking 20k.

So, to back up and start from the begining. It was a pool race (still not comfortable venturing in to open water yet) and I was in heat 6. My daughter was swimming in heat 5 and so I have to admit to being a little side-tracked during the pre-race briefing as I wanted to watch her and cheer her on. Fortunately I was returning to the scene of my very first triathlon event last fall so I knew the course. Briefing over I was back poolside yelling and whistling at my daughter as she did her first sprint distance too. I had enough time to yell a few words to her as she went through the transition and then I was called to start.

Out of the 8 people in my heat I finished last but at 19 minutes I was one minute under what I had predicted so that was good. The swim to bike transition is physically not a challenge; however, I really need to work on getting my gear on quicker.

Once on the bike I felt pretty good. It was a four-lap circuit with a little bit of rolling hills but nothing too challenging for most. I stuck to the new rules I was given by Leanne and it seemed to do me well. I predicted that I would take about an hour and 15 minutes and I was an hour and 2 minutes so I was pleased with that. I did my last two laps slowly catching up to my daughter and when she turned off the course to head back to transition I was close enough to wish her well on the run. I had a bottle of sports water on my bike but I do need to learn how to pedal and drink without practically coming to a complete stop.

Back to transition and now my pain began! After having worked hard for close to an hour and a half my body was getting tired. I met my daugher just as she was coming in to finish her race. She looked awesome and suggested that I pace myself (I guess I looked as tired as I felt). I soon realized that running 5k was not on th cards for me today and so I took the advise from someone at my club...and I walked! It was a very sunny 24 degrees and I briskly walked almost all of the route. At first I was annoyed at myself and then one of the other competitors passed me and as she did she encouraged me by saying that I was doing good and to keep moving forward.

It dawned on me that this time last year I couldn't have swam 2 lengths without stopping, I hadn't been on a bike in 20 years and a stroll in the park was considered exercise! Now I had just worked my butt off for an hour and a half straight and I wasn't out of breath, my legs just ached. I happily walked right up until the last 200 meters which I ran. My husband, my daughter, and my grandaughter ran the last few steps with me.......what a thrill. I finished. At 2 hours and 6 minutes I was the last of 66 competitors but ahead of the 2 hours and 15 minutes I had predicted. Last place feels fantastic and I now have a benchmark to work from as I am already planning my next sprint distance race. My next goal.......same distance in under 2 hours~

Last night I ventured out with the club for my first offical bike training session. The session was labeled for beginners and intermediate and as a complete rookie I figured I was in the right place. Of the 15 or so people who showed up I was the onl...

So I managed to knock over 10 1/2 minutes off my time from the same distance last September. The weather was aweful but that didn't seem to matter much. I was thrilled with my swim time and very pleased with my run time. My bike time was not as good ...

I just received the email confirming my start time and it is early. Race starts at 7:30 and I have to be there an hour before that to check in, get body marking etc. It takes 45 minutes to get from my house to the Navy base so it looks like it will b...

Five days to go and feeling pretty good. I haven't done as much running as I would have liked but at the shorter distance that I have entered for my first tri of the season I only have to run 3k and like one of my club mates said "you can always walk...