My First Triathlon

Last weekend, I completed my first triathlon. It was the couples triathlon in Austin. You could compete with a friend, family member, spouse, or really anyone else you want to. You complete the triathlon as an individual, but they add up your time and your partner's time at the end to place you.

I partnered up with my friend Abby, who is a seasoned triathlete. This was a good move; she definitely knew what she was doing. I don't know how I would have made it through without her!

Abby and me before the madness began. Notice I am smiling here.

The swim...open water in Decker Lake. It was an 800 meter (1/2 mile) swim. It was very hard to see where you were going, so you had to try to stay within the pack of swimmers or you might end up veering off course. This was my favorite part by far (and also the quickest part for me).

The bike. Oh my goodness...I almost died on this portion. It was 11.2 miles with almost constant hills. That's all I'll say about this part.


The run. It was a 5K (3.1 miles), so I thought it would be easy. Nope. After the bike, my legs were dead. There were a few hills on this part too, and I just didn't have the energy I needed to keep up any semblance of speed. At this point, the goal changed from getting a good time to mere survival, bonus points if I survived without throwing up.


The blessed finish line. End time was around 1 hour 48 minutes.


Hoping I don't collapse...


Trying to be enthusiastic without collapsing... VERY happy to be done!



All in all, it was a really hard event for me, but I know a lot of that has to do with the fact that I didn't train on the road for the bike portion, and I used a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Although the mountain bike I used was a great one (thanks, Abby), I'm told that a road bike really makes it easier on the hills.

Call me crazy (I probably am), but I am definitely up for another triathlon. I would just be sure to train really hard on the bike part beforehand. I think that would make all the difference.