For some crazy reason I decided to just take the plunge and enter a sprint triathlon. I entered the Bedford sprint at Box End on the 7th July 2013.
The sprint consisted of:
750m swim
20km bike ride
5km run
I went to Box End on the Saturday night to register and get all my goodies. I'm really glad I went the night before because I saw the set up and it made me relax a bit. I also met Jon who was a lot more experienced than me, he promised to help me the next day which I really appreciated.
What a lovely day for an event. The sun was shining (maybe a bit to much, but I don't like to complain when we have such lovely sunny weather)
Jon helping me set up:)
Jon helped me set up which was awesome because I am a total newbie and was pretty clueless.
I did not even think to bring something to put all my gear in so I had a brown tesco bag which I had to use. How classy!!
Most people looked very professional so I was in awe of them.
I did see some amazing bikes when they were all racked up.
John and I ready to go!!
10 minutes before we started we were called over for a briefing about the rules course etc. I was in my wet suit and sweating like crazy and I actually could not wait to get into the lake.
We were helped into the lake and because I was too scared to touch the ground I decided to belly flop in :)
Belly flopping into the water:)
Once in the lake, all I could feel was loads of weed!! When everyone had entered, we got into postion ready to go. Jon had suggested I go at the back to the left so that is where I positioned myself. This was so I didnt get knocked about with the racers at the front. I could not believe I wasn't nervous. (Probably because I was not racing it!!) When the buzzer went off, there were just splashes everywhere and off we all went. I actually found the swim okay. Every so often it felt like someone was going to swim into me but I just moved out the way.
At the end of the swim course, I got out of the water as quick as possible. Ah man did my legs feel funny. As I was running to my bike I was trying to get my wetsuit off but it was not going my way and I seemed to struggle for a bit. Eventually I got it off and started getting all my bits ready for the bike. I was trying to be quick, but the quicker I tried, I just seemed super slow. Eventually I sorted myself out and pushed my bike to the exit area.
Sorting myself out ready for the bike
I nearly had a wobble getting onto my bike but thankfully I was able to actually stay on and off I went. I really enjoyed the bike ride.
When I got back to the transition area could not put my bike into my position because the people in front of me at put there bikes in my area. So I went further down the rail and put my bike on as quick as possible. I got my trainers on and off I went.
Trying to put my trainers on as quick as possible
Mmmmm...... trying to run was funny because my legs felt super wobbly!!! It took me until 2.5km to start feeling normal. I felt like I was running in slow motion. I did not enjoy the uneven grass route but it was a good challenge. We even had quiet a few hills which was hard going. When I could see the finish line I was very happy. I was so hot and all I was thinking about was watching the wimbledon finals at my buddies house drinking pimms and champagne!!:)
Home stretch
As the finish line approached I even managed a bit of a sprint. I was so pleased to finish and I was on such a high. What a great day!!!! Bring on the next one:))
Results
1:25:25
Overall position: 81 of 169
Position female: 18 of 58
Position 30-34: 3 of 10
Swim: 15:24
T1: 2:38
Bike: 40:38
T2: 1:36
Run: 25:08
