Day 237: My First Triathlon Completed!

G’day,

What a day…I participated in (and actually completed) my first ever triathlon! Even though I’d effectively done seven months worth of training to get to the start line it was still the “great unknown” up until the moment I dove in the water.

As I mentioned yesterday I felt “underdone” as I wasn’t able to train much the last couple of weeks. But deep down there was also a certain amount of fear surrounding the swim. I can swim 300m in the pool (taking a short breather every 100m) but the open water aspect of a triathlon really ups the difficulty level.

Once I started swimming though I did feel a little calmer, it was no longer a mystery…I was actually doing it! After I rounded the first buoy (around 75m) I settled into a groove and just knew I’d make the full distance (and not have to put my hand up for a rescue!).

The thing I’ll have to work on for future triathlons is my “open water radar.” Every time I put my head down and swim normally I’d veer off course. In the end I reckon I covered probably 450m for the 300m swim!

After the swim I found the bike and the run relatively easy. Maybe because I left plenty in the tank in order to finish and not conk out. Or perhaps I had built up the swim so much in my mind that I was relieved to be biking and running!

In the end I crossed the line in just over 56 minutes. I definitely did not set any records but I was ecstatic to finish. Even though I did not set out to do a triathlon seven months ago today was in many ways the culmination of all that mental and physical work.

In fact, I am already looking forward to competing in my next triathlon six weeks from now!

Until tomorrow,

AJ

P.S. Below are a few pics from the day!