Completed my first triathlon!!!

So Sunday marked my first triathlon and having completed it, I am now a triathlete.  Absolutely amazing!

At 5am the water temp in the Potomac was 81 and too hot to wear my safety net, aka wetsuit.  I was really counting on the extra speed, bouyancy, and just the comfort of having it, but oh well.

The race began about 30 minutes late, which shouldn't have been that big of a deal, but towards the end of the race I sure could've used 30 minutes worth of less sun. 

The swim seemed never ending and I found it to be confusing that the return markers had the Olympic distances on them instead of the Sprint ones. 

Finally getting out of the water and into transition, albeit one of my slowest, and I'm off on the bike around the monuments of DC.  Did I take any in?  Of course not.  I was too busy concentrating on keeping my bike in straight line while trying to navigate streets I didn't know well, riding in my drops, and keeping an eye out for all the Team Lipstick ladies around me.  Did I mention that Team Lipstick NYC had 11 ladies in this race and that it was Team Lipstick DC's first race too?

The bike course was so fun for me and now that I know it, I think I could've relaxed a little more on it than I was.

Ok here's where I'll admit that I walked my bike into transition and proceeded to walk out to the run.  I think that transition was almost 4 mins long.  Oh well...it was HOT!!!

The run killed me.  Absolutely destroyed me.  I was so hot and uncomfortable and couldn't wait until it was over.  I had one of my slowest miles ever and walked a decent portion of this course.

I'm glad this one is over, that I have a finisher's medal to prove that I did it.

This is it - RACE WEEKEND #1!!!!

So the weekend has finally arrived.  When I selected the innagural race of the DC Tri it seemed like eons away.  I had not only weeks, but months to prepare, to train.  Now in less than 48 hours the race will be behind me.  I will have completed my first triathlon.  I will be a triathlete! 

It's amazing how the weeks of getting up at 5am and training during the week and the long rides on the weekend to Piermont or wherever, and the long runs up by Riverbank State Park all lead up to actually doing a race. 

Although the anticipation of doing my first race is leaving me with butterflies in my tummy, I'm really excited to have my first race pictures up on FB like the rest of Team Lipstick. 

While I'm jumping in the Potomac, tooling around on my Dolce, and running past numerous national monuments, what will you be doing this weekend?

Trial Triathlete

I got caught up with the triathlon bug about 9 months ago when I took a beginner cycling class with Laura Cozik, CEO and founder of Team Lipstick, NYC's largest and mot successful all-female triathlon team.

Laura is currently the Athletic Director of CNN's Fit National Triathlon Challenge.  Yesterday they were on CNN and were filed on a ride with Lance Armstrong.

Now, 9 months later, I'm training almost daily, one rest day a week, and gearing up for my first triathlon ever, the DC Tri.  I'm training for the sprint length, the shortest triathlon, and mentally prepping myself for an open water swim in the Potomac River.  Articles like Race Rehearsal Tips for the Triathlon Swim Leg have become part of my daily reads that keep my brain engaged while I physically put myself through the ringer.  Things like What's Your Workout?  Kim Nelson inspire me to keep going despite the drastic change in lifestyle.  When your body wakes up on its own at 5am, you know you're there.

Who's jumping into the Hudson with me for the NYC Tri?