My First Triathlon

I think that when you finish a race this happy:

it should be considered a success.

I did my first triathlon yesterday. A Sprint (750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run). In 1:29. The whole time, even when my legs were screaming on the bike and even when it felt like my calves were going to explode on the run, all I could think was “This is so much better than a half-marathon!”

Probably because of the perfect conditions and a great route (that I was familiar with), and really sound organization, and crazy friendly participants, and doing it with my husband (his first, too), and the best cheering section I could have hoped for, and even practically falling face first in the sand when I got out of the water, and not to mention actually wearing a wet suit in public (how’s that for a run-on sentence?), it was such a great experience.

But also? It was just… fun. I mean, you long-distance runners know what I mean when I talk about the pain, right? And that mental fight you come up against? It just didn’t happen yesterday. I even scored a PB on the 5k run!

Let’s just say, this has me seriously reconsidering that 2011 marathon I was thinking about.

(Pre-race with my husband and our two girls.)