Hey! So I did a triathlon this past Sunday. I didn’t drown. I didn’t fall over on the bike turn arounds. And I didn’t have any hip or knee pain on the run. WIN WIN WIN!

Before: Mr. Neon and I got up WAY TOO EARLY. Coffee, waffles with PB, and double check all the gear. We roused the boys right before we left and started the 50ish minute drive to the state park. We made a pit stop halfway at McDonalds so I could have one more nervous bathroom stop and the boys could get breakfast. Poor Mr. Neon had missed out on the last two McDs breakfast runs, and he was jonesing for a Egg McMuffin BAD.

We got there about 45 minutes after transition open. I wasn’t in a hurry since I was just doing the sprint and started 30 minutes after the athletes doing the oly distance. I realized shortly after getting my bike on the rack that I had forgotten our bike pump. I borrowed one and proceeded to break off both of my bike valve stems. I started panicking just a little bit. (Understatement!) Mr. Neon assured me it would be fine. And then we saw our saving grace. One of the local bike shops was setting up a tent. She changed out both of my tubes! Thank goodness for Ruth from Bicycle Pedaler!

Swim: Right before the oly athletes were ready to line up the race director announced that the ten lifeguards hadn’t shown up. I’ve been swimming since I was six years old, so I wasn’t worried. But it must have put a bug in my brain. I could not get my stroke settled. I felt heavy in the water. I dog paddled for a bit, trying to catch my breath. The first buoy seemed SO. FAR. AWAY. Finally I flipped onto my back and just took some deep breaths. After I made the turn at the buoy, everything relaxed and I was able to freestyle all the way to the second buoy. I got tired on the home stretch and ended up doing breast stroke for a good portion, but I made it back to the beach.
15:05 (2:01 pace) – I wanted to be at 2:00, so I’m happy with this time. But I’m ready to make progress on the swim.

T1: I jogged my way up the path, mentally prepping myself for everything I would need to do. Socks, shoes, helmet. I brushed as much of the sand off my feet as I could. I knew if I didn’t take the time, it would rub and chafe. I got everything settled and headed off for the bike.
1:57 – I’m always happy with anything under 2:00 for T1.

Bike: It felt so good to be doing something other than swimming. I FINALLY remembered to get my watch set to bike, so I actually had data running for once. I kept glancing down and seeing 17. Hmmm….I hope I’m not pushing it too hard. I never felt like I was, but my time did slow a bit near the end when the day started to heat up. The worst part of the bike was the three turn arounds. I do not corner well so I really had to slow down, especially on the last tight one. And the last hill was a witch with a capital B. I had to shift into my front little ring and was still barely going 6mph.
47:52 (15.5mph) – I was really hoping for 16mph. But I was on my road bike. Poor Rose is continuing to have issues. I need a new saddle and some other minor adjustments.

T2: I racked my bike, dumped my helmet, and grabbed my race belt and GU chews. Mr. Neon yelled at me to grab my rocket fuel and chug the rest of it and throw the bottle at him. So I did.
0:32 – WOOHOO!

Run: Lead legs. I felt like I was running through quick sand. I finally got them loosened up about a half mile into it. Right before the turn around, my pace slowed to 11+ minute miles. It was getting hot. I grabbed two cups of water at the aid station, drank one, and dumped the other on my head. Everyone I passed just looked tanked. I slowly ate my chews and just kept moving forward. I turned onto the bridge before the finish and heard Mr. Neon, Runner Boy and Tiny Boy yelling my name. I couldn’t help but break into a smile.
31:42 (10:14 pace) – I was hoping for an under 10 pace, but it was much hotter than I was expecting.

Total time: 1:37:08

I definitely have a starting point now. I feel like my bursitis recovery is continuing in a positive direction. I can only get faster from here on out. I’ve been able to add a tiny bit of speed work back in on both the bike and the run and I’m officially back on a training plan!