Among those talented women were Dana and myself. She and I signed up for this event about a month and a half before the Triathlon was taking place. Dana and I rode 25-miles every Saturday, and trained (individually) at the gym. My training consisted of swimming a mile and a half then riding (spin class) and or running (four miles) daily.
The day before the triathlon, Dana, and I went to Denver to pick up our race packets and attend the expo event, we planned to stay the night in Denver because it is about an hour and half drive there and we had to be up at the transition areas at 5 a.m. At the expo event, they passed out your tank top (which you could race in) and provided free stuff. It was a good time, but short lived because of the enormous amount of women (do not do well in crowds full of women!).
Race day was finally here! We woke up at 3:30 a.m. because we forgot to purchase balloons to mark our bikes in the transition area. It all worked out well because the transition area did not open until 5 a.m. and we got there at 4:30 a.m. Once the transition area was open, we went in and set up our area with all our gear. By the time we were done, it was about 6 a.m. and both of us waited for our hubby’s to get there.
Once Mike and Brayden showed up I was soooooo happy. Mind you, this was the FIRST time I had ever been away from Brayden overnight! I was relieved to see the men I love there to support me and at that point, was ready to start the race!
Waves are how Triathlons separate the women. There were over 20 waves (divided by age group) in this specific triathlon. I was in wave 20. My start time was 8:16 a.m. and the race started at 7 a.m. so I had a little time to spare. About 7:30 a.m. I went to stand in line to get ready to go! I was somewhat nervous just because the transition area was an additional quarter mile long and there were people everywhere.
Now I am standing in the water ready to go……. Ready……Set……..HORN! As I start swimming there were women everywhere, which made it virtually impossible to swim! Finally, I fought through it (kicked a girl in the face) and finished. I then ran to my bike (barefoot…quarter of a mile) and began to transition to the bike. Once I had everything situated, I ran another quarter of a mile to start the bike. The only down fall is that you are unable to ride your bike in the transition area.
Once the bike was over, I dismounted and went to hang my bike back in my area. Then I began the 3.2-mile run. This part was not too bad. This was the only portion of the race that was not super crowded. In conclusion, I passed the finish line to find my two boys waiting for me!
When all's said and done this was a great learning experience and a good time. I think the next triathlon will be limited to 1,000 women or less, however, I look forward to the next event and will continue to train!
Thank you for the support!!
3 comments:
Wow Sarah, what an experience! Even though there were thousands of women participating with you, there are still a HUGE number of women who will never accomplish what you did! (Me being one of them! LOL!)Great Job! & keep training!
Awesome girl! You're 'da best!!
So proud of you sister!!! I wish I was a blogger back when I did my first tri...it's going to be such an awesome memory for you and as you progress and times get better you can look back at all you've accomplished!!! What were your times???
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