Three for the price of one

I have wanted to do a triathlon for a long time. I just thought when I actually did it, I would train for it, practice the transitions and anticipate it for months.

Well I finally did one, but I decided to do it the day beforehand. Since it was sprint distance, I figured I could rely on my regular swimming and biking work outs to get through it.

It all started when I volunteered to be part of a relay team with Paul, a friend from church. His team's biker had dropped out, so I stepped in.

Then Paul's pregnant wife, Jenn, who is also a good friend, had her baby early. It was probably for the best, considering last time I talked to Paul he said, "Yeah, I just got up to running two miles without stopping." That was right before he told me the other guy can only swim three laps without stopping.

After Paul cancelled, my biking buddy Steve called and told me he was considering doing it. And of course he talked me into it too.

So it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, considering the last minuete nature of the decision. I did learn a few things for next time (and I think there will be a next time):

1. During the swim, don't panic, even when there are hundreds of legs and arms swinging in the water around you. Just roll with it. So what if you get kicked in the face. Or swallow a gallon of water. Or lose your goggles. (All things that happened to me).

2. Get a road bike. I felt pretty good on the bike, but it didn't really matter how good I felt, because I had a handicap since I was riding on a mountain bike. I could pass people on the up and down hills, but I tended to get passed on the flats and transitions.

3. Hydrate. Luckily I only had a quarter mile left when I started feeling cold chills.

Despite all that, I placed first in my age group. I got the blue medal and everything. I will be honest though — there was a friend of mine in my age group who left me in the dust (along with most men). It's just that because she got best female overall, she didn't get to get first place in her age group too. Thanks Ryan, for kicking butt.

Right now, I would kill for something chocolate.

Lesson learned: See above.