I did it! I finished my first triathlon, the Charlottesville Sprint in my hometown-away-from-hometown (Charlottesville, VA, home to UVA).

Crossing the finish line!

I signed up for this race a few months ago, when I was starting my recovery from my pelvic stress fracture, as a way to encourage myself to recover smart with cross training and low running mileage. I hadn’t biked or swum in a long time, and I wasn’t sure I’d like them as much as running, but I knew it would be a great – and fun – goal. What I didn’t know was that I’d LOVE the training so much! The varied workouts added a lot to my exercise regime, and it was fun to do multiple workouts in the same day.

I felt like I’d trained well for the .3 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and 5k run, but as the date approached I got nervous – really nervous! I’ve never been that uneasy for a race before. I am really glad I went to the Tri2BeMore racing clinic a week before the big day. Going through a mock triathlon was such a great way to learn the ropes before race day.

My dad and I drove down to Charlottesville on Saturday afternoon, and spent the day chilling with my awesome roommate Rose, who is in Charlottesville for the summer working (I miss her!) and cleaning the apartment so that moving out completely in July won’t be a big deal. We had a lunch of champions. My favorite restaurant, Revolutionary Soup, was closed, so we had frozen yogurt from the BEST frozen yogurt place there is, Archs! Any place you can get gooey brownie mixed into your froyo is fine by me.

We headed to Ragged Mountain Running Shop (my favorite!) to pick up the packets. My Charlottesville Trail Running Club and CVille Tri Club friend Eric M was there helping out, and warned me that the biking portion would be *very* hilly. Another volunteer tried to convince me otherwise, but somehow having someone with an Eagleman 70.3 shirt on tell you that the hills “aren’t that bad” isn’t comforting.

After packet pickup was Mellow Mushroom for a delicious veggie pizza before movies and bed.

We woke up at 5:30 on the morning of the race, wolfed down some Bodos Bagels (mine with almond butter!) and headed to Walnut Creek Park, where I did my half marathon last November on the trails.

Walnut Creek

Once we arrived, it was time to set up the transition area, get body marked, pick up the timing chip, and was ready to roll!

Ready!

Before I knew it, it was 7:30 and the 20-29 men were getting in for the first wave. After watching them head out, it was 20-29 women and time for me to get in with the other bright pink caps! The water was around 80 degrees, and was pretty comfortable. Then we were off!

And we're off!

The swim went by in a flash.I swam straight and didn’t get hit – my two biggest worries! I was out of the water in 11:34, and off to transition.

You'd think my third arm would come in handy, but it really just gets in the way.

My transitions were a little slow, but I didn’t forget anything, so I’m glad that I took things nice and easy. It made things a lot more stressful for a first timer like me.

I tried mounting the bike way too early, and then tried to mount again way too early… and then dropped my bike. Direct quote from me during T1 as I mounted my bike at the proper mounting line: “Transition FAIL!” At least my dad laughed. Thank him for all the pictures by the way! Great job Dad!

Off on the bike!!

The course was extremely hilly – about 1000 feet of climbing over 16 miles. Check out the garmin data here.

Ouch! Hills

WOW was the scenery gorgeous. I can’t wait to get some more rides in this area under my belt next semester. My dad and I drove the course afterward so I could better appreciate the beautiful mountains and farms! I pushed my way through the relentless hills, and didn’t have to walk up any hills. Go me! My time for the bike was 1:05:34.

Despite being a runner for longer than a biker or a swimmer, I was most worried about the run – the trails are hilly and I was beat from the bike. The heat wasn’t helping. I walked a lot on the trails, but still managed a 35 minute 5k even with the walking. This is what I’d most like to improve next year! More brick workouts are in order.

Finally I could see the finish line, and passed it with a huge smile on my face. What a fun way to spend a morning! I finished with an official time of 1:58:00, which is faster than I was projecting for myself. Even though I’d like to improve my run time, I’m extremely happy with 1) finishing and 2) having fun and 3) finishing in under 2 hours!

Although my next race is a half marathon (more on that soon!) I will be continuing to do swim and biking workouts 2x each a week. They’re a great supplement to running and I have definitely seen great results in my strength and overall fitness. And most importantly, they’re fun!

Cliffnotes version: LOVED IT! Can’t wait to do it again.