First Triathlon Completed!

I feel like I've just won my first triathlon (I came 31st out of 105)

It's a great feeling, I stuck by it had loads of help along the way but now I've completed my first triathlon

So i was fully prepared physically on Saturday night, i had tried to be really good with my food intake and making sure my body was getting everything it needed, i wasn't so prepared with actually getting there, on a second inspection of the race details we would need to be getting up at 3am on Sunday and leaving the house at 4am to get there for final chance registration at 6am-ish, so i was packed and ready Saturday night, let my dad know (who was going to come and see me) that the event was actually 2 hours away (and not the 30 mins i had first thought) that i didn't mind if he couldn't make it, then got an early night

Up early at 3 the next morning, we checked, double checked then went through everything again to make sure there wasn't anything we had forgotten one last time

We got to the venue a little earlier than expected, there didn't seem to be anyone on the roads at 4 in the morning on a Sunday, weird! Dani drove while i got some more sleep (Thanks Dani)

After getting everything i needed into the transition area i realised my first problem, to save time and baggage i wore my running shoes there, but then had to leave them in the transition area meaning i had to walk around bare foot till the race

Then my Dad and his wife Pam showed up, I really didn't expect it and it was a great boost just before the race

I took on board a shake 2 hrs before the race, thermo, quickspark, nrg tablets 30 mins before the race and had prepared a H30 / Niteworks / liftoff energy drink for my water bottle now attached to my bike

First the swim, it was very cold in the lake which was actually a huge positive for me as i overheat while racing so i knew that would be fine, there were legs in front of me, arms scraping my legs behind me, it was a mess of people all swimming together, like salmon upstream, i found the swim really easy, my pace was slowed by the person in front of me who i couldn't get round, but i think with the slower pace i didn't get tired at all

The transition was a flurry of runners looking for their bikes in the 600+ bike rack

Then off on the bike, after a couple of swigs of my H30 / Niteworks / Liftoff energy drink i dropped my water bottle, I panicked, do i go back for it or continue without any more fluid for the rest of the race... I continued, i couldn't bring myself to stop cycling, the cycle was long but on fairly flat roads, i overtook a few people which was another boost for me and about three quarters into the race i was getting tired i hadn't overtaken anyone in a while and was feeling a bit low, so i picked myself up and tried to think of something to do to raise my moral, so what should pop into my head at this very moment? that's right the theme tune to Gladiators "Do you feel the power of the Gladiators?" The song was in my head and then i found myself singing it out loud whilst cycling along, it really did help me, my spirit lifted, i started smiling and went hell for leather, overtaking a few more riders

The second transition was faster, without a wetsuit to get off i was out in under a minute

The run started very SLOW, my calves had started to cramp when i got off my bike (something the H30 / Niteworks drink would have prevented, Grrr) but i lifted my knees up and after a minute they were back to normal and i was on the run, i overtook a few racers here as well, more boosts for me to carry on, i also heard some of the racers encourage others on their way round

round the bend and over the finish line with a total time of:

1:02:09

Distance

I walked part of the distance yesterday that i ran on Monday but this time with my (brothers) GPS watch, it turns out that i'm probably already running the 2.5k required

I've planned to run again tonight, the same distance, to improve my cv and endurance, this time with the GPS watch to track distance and pace, the only problem i can see is that Wednesday is cinema night

I need to start swimming soon so i've looked into our local pool to find out when the lanes swimming is, swimming is my weakest side to the whole triathlon, i never really swam lengths before, i normally just done widths and depths in the pool, I remember saying in school that i couldn't swim to get out of lessons, but even then i never really put much effort in

I asked Dani to look on freecycle for a bike for me and i need to call the lady back today in regards to picking it up if it's right for me

Improvements

So i went for another run last night, still not sure of the distance, this time however i made sure that i warmed up by spending 10 minutes on our cross-trainer and then done my stretches with Dani
This time round i made sure that i regulated my breathing much better and didn't get a stitch, i also took on board an isotonic drink all the way round to help with hydration and i found this helped while going round and when i got back as i found i was quicker to recover

I did get a bit of a pain in the backs of my legs, but after doing my final stretches this seems much better now

After my run i had a half a shake with protein powder to repair

I've now got my brothers GPS watch so that i can track my distance and see how much more i need to do

All I need now is a utility belt

Went to my local Sweatshop and explained that i was going to start training for a triathlon, the lady behind the desk asked me to take off my shoes and socks to see how i ran

Apparently I've got caved in arches and i run with an over-pronation so she suggested i buy one of a selection of three trainers, after trying each of them on i went for the Mizuno Wave Nirvana 7 as they felt the best for my feet, she then mentioned running socks to stop them moving about while i run and also to help clear the sweat away from my feet

see I'm learning stuff already

I got back from the city center to put my shoes straight on and got Dani to rollerblade while i ran along side her, she helped me with my stretches before, warming up and after and it really helped

I found that my legs could go for much longer than my breath and had to heal a stitch fairly early on, but i feel well on my way now