Mini-Tri

In a mere 25 days, I'll be participating in my very first TRIATHLON!  I'm excited, anxious & totally nervous!  However, last night, I got to participate in a mini-triathlon!  

The awesome ladies from Luna Chix Minneapolis set up the mini-triathlon for anyone to participate in & it was nothing less than amazing {um the event, not the actual mini-tri).  They are amazing ladies & were so helpful, positive & inspiring!  

The "race" included: a 400 yard swim, an 8 mile bike & a 2 mile run.  It was the perfect way to figure out transitions, pace, clothing, etc. all while having fun!  

Here's a breakdown of the race:

The 400 yard swim was the easiest for me.  I've been swimming most of my life, both for fun & competition.  Water doesn't freak me out {unless of course something creepy touches me} & I knew that I could handle the 400 yards.  It was good to swim with 30 or so other girls & was a taste of what I can expect during the actual triathlon.  They weren't focused on times, but it probably took me about 6 or so minutes to finish the swim portion.  Not half bad.

Transitioning from the swim to the bike went much more smoothly than I had anticipated.  I figured I'd be one hot mess going from the water to the bike.  It really didn't take me long to get my shoes on, put on my helmet, get some water & hop on my bike.  Before I knew it, I was off for the 8 mile ride.

The bike ride was, well, tough.  I'm not a good biker & it doesn't help that I have the worst mountain bike on the planet.  I was ahead of most people after the swim & I think almost everyone passed me on the bike ride.  Yep, I'm slow.  But, I wasn't doing this to win, I just wanted to get a feel for the whole "triathlon" experience.  We biked the whole 8 miles on a nice trail with minimal hills {though, I may or may not have been swearing rather loudly as I biked UP each hill}.  The ride was just over half of what the actual triathlon will be.  I pray that I can make it another 7.5 miles for the actual race :)

Again, transition from the bike to the run wasn't bad.  I merely had to take off my helmet & put my bike back on the rack.  I also grabbed another sip of water & headed off for the 2 mile run.  

This was my first official "brick" workout and it was tough.  My legs felt like cement bricks.  I truly felt like my legs were stuck to the ground...was I actually moving?  At the mile marker, I was starting to loosen up & felt alright.  I took the run very slowly, but I ran it & finished strong.  Adding another 1.2 miles on race day shouldn't be too bad (crossing fingers) & I'm hoping the adrenaline from the race & the cheering spectators will help get me through the 3+ miles.  

All in all, it was a really great experience & I felt pretty good afterward.  I figured I would be super sore this morning, but I'm actually feeling pretty good.  I'm hoping to do that course a few more times before race day.  I think doing this mini-tri really helped with some of my fears & anxiety's; and I hope that this experience will help me to focus on my race come race day!  

I have a lot of training still to do, but I'm definitely feeling more confident.  

Happy day :)