We Tri'd It

Slow and Steady was my theme today.
O.K maybe not so slow compared to my practice times but definitely steady.

This was the 1st ever UDH Triathlon Event and it was a huge success!
Thank you Maryanne for organizing this along with the Recreation Dept. and all the volunteers.

WE HAD A BLAST!

The question on all our minds was just how long it would take us to do the 500 meters swim, 20K bike, and 5K run. Most of us ladies had never competed in anything like this before but all decided to give it a go fitting in a run here and a swim there often lugging kids along with us.

Chris was going to compete in the Tri. himself but when we couldn't find a babysitter he had to back out. Then a team who really wanted to compete lost their cyclist due to a leg injury so Chris stepped in at the last minute and our regular babysitter just happened to call and say she was available.

Before a Tri. was ever scheduled for UDH. I got in the pool and did the 500M swim in a lousy 20 minutes. I'm just not a strong swimmer nor did I ever swim for a team so my technique is questionable. After a bit of practice and a few pointers from a former swim coach I had it down to 15 minutes and was happy with this but knew I'd be the last one out of the pool.....and I was.

But after a few Sports Beans and a bit of adrenaline my swim plus transition to bike totaled to 14:33.

To my surprise by my third lap I had caught up to two of the ladies ahead of me....making up some serious time. It's been a windy week with dusty yucky days. It finally cleared of dust today but there was still a nasty head wind for half the coursemaking my bike plus transition time 49:31. I transitioned really fast this time and got out ahead of two ladies and caught this one on the course.

We ran the last kilometer and a half together both huffing and puffing and at the corner I said let's SPRINT IN, not that I had much left in me but the crowed loved it. We would have tied if I just kept my big mouth shut instead she crossed just before me making my total time 1:38.04.

I came in 5th out of 7 and was thrilled with my time! My goal was under 2 hours and was hoping for 1:45 so with the minimal training and a few Sports Beans and the adrenaline to just keep going, in my eyes, I had an extremely successful event. This had been something I've wanted to TRI for a long time but didn't know if the opportunity would every arise or at a time (not pregnant/nursing) when I could.

Not only was it fun to compete with so many friends but so many kids as well. There was a Super Sprint that kids as young as Zach competed in. Maybe next time we can get the boys involved or maybe do a family Jenkins team.....that would be AWESOME!

As for Chris, he and his team....

placed 1st in their division. That little girl is quite the fish and the boy has some quick feet making this trio a triple threat.