My Second Triathlon

I mentioned in my first triathlon post that I think I have been bitten by the triathlon bug. Yes, I am planning to do five triathlons this year and two Half Ironmans next year. I love having a new challenge. Here are the pictures from my second triathlon on July 11. It was three weeks after my first one. This one was a bit different. Both the swim (half a mile) and the bike (16 miles) were longer on this one. The run (3.1 miles) was about the same, but no headphones were allowed. This was an adjustment for me because I love running with my music. This triathlon actually recorded your time; the first one I did was just a Tri for Fun. I was curious to see how I would compare to others in my age group. It was held at Rancho Seco, south of Sacramento to the east of Galt. We actually stayed in a hotel in Lodi the night before. My whole family was able to come, except Courtney who was at EFY. I got to the race early so I would have plenty of time to set up in the transition area. I was excited and nervous. I remember perspiring a lot because I was so anxious. At this triathlon, they gave us matching swim caps to indicate what wave we were to begin with. Here I am with all the 30-39 year old women. Lloyd and the kids arrived right before I began the swim. I was getting worried that something had happened to them so I was glad when they showed up. I am smiling for them here. The swim waves begin every five minutes. While my group was waiting to begin, a girl from the previous wave had to be rescued from the water. We all got a little nervous when we saw her being rescued, but we tried to think positively about our own swims. The swim was half a mile or 800 yards, which is twice as long as the swim on my first tri. I knew I could do it, but I also didn't want to be the last yellow cap out of the water. Thankfully, the water was very warm and clean. As I began the swim, I got a little panicky because they were a lot of weeds in the water and I felt like they might trap me. I felt kind of like Harry Potter when he's underwater with all the weeds in the Goblet of fire. Once I got away from the weeds, I focused on getting to the first buoy. It seemed like it took forever. I kept swimming and swimming and the buoy still seemed so far away. It really is different swimming in open water. I did wear a waterproof watch so I could know how long the swim took. I felt like I had been out there for about 12-15 minutes, but when I looked at my watch it had only been 7 minutes. I had to float on my back a couple times to get my bearings, but I did freestyle during the rest of the swim. Although this swim was longer than my first tri, it was so much better because they were a lot less people in the water. We could spread out and not hit each other the whole time! Here I am getting out of the water. The swim took me 16 minutes.
Lloyd got this picture of me when I was transitioning from the swim to the bike. No one but the participants are suppose to be in the transition area, but he didn't care. I loved sitting on my laundry detergent bucket as I put my shoes on. Lloyd didn't get any pictures of me on the bike because he was too busy watching the kids. The 16-mile bike ride took me just over an hour. Hardly anyone else had a mountain bike; they all had road bikes. I wasn't fast on my mountain bike, but I did okay. Unfortunately, my chain did come off again. I was able to quickly get it back on - only two bikers passed me in the time it took me to put it back on. The bike ride had rolling hills. The hills were a bit challenging, but not bad. This is what my kids did while I was on the bike. My transition to the run was very fast, after all, I couldn't put my headphones on. I did okay on the run. It wasn't my fastest run - maybe because I had no music or maybe because I was a bit tired from the swim and bike. The run was on dirt and had some rolling hills. When you do triathlons, they write your age on the back of your leg. As I was running, I would note the age of the other participants. I made an effort to try to pass up any women in my age group. I know I passed up at least three on the run.

Here I am sprinting to the finish line. My finish time was 1:49:21

(I started the swim 20 minutes after the clock). Here I am after the race. Yes, I loved it. No, I didn't win anything. I actually come in 20th out of the 35 women in my age group. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't in the top half. I was proud though especially since I did it on a mountain bike. I am excited to improve at doing triathlons. And when I get my road bike, watch out!

I was so grateful that my family could be there to cheer me on! I am looking forward to my next one on August 15. Yes, I may be addicted to these.