And you're going and you're going, and the road's real straight!

My 1st TRI is done! Woo-hooo! I clocked 1:42:46.

Swim:

Was definitely the most challenging part - not physically, but mentally. I was anxious looking at the murky water. During the warm-ups, I could barely get myself past the first buoy before swimming quickly back. Just the thought of not knowing the depth and not being able to hang onto to something (even though I knew I could easily swim the distance) made me feel nervous. I kept looking to Arv for comfort. He had his usual chilled out cheerful smile. (Coach Liz told me, "He's such a good husband! Does what he's told, carries the bag around..lol") After the gun shot, I spent about 100m just calming myself down and regularizing my breathing. It was just a freakin mind-game, and I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't overcome it faster. Inspite of the mental drama, I did it in a decent time (I think). Well now I know how it feels to swim into the unknown, I'll get better at it the next time.

Transition:

Fairly smooth, and drama-free. I had mentally rehearsed it in my mind, and got through it decently.

Bike:

Hitherto I had never done 12 miles, so I'm quite proud of myself. My goal was to stay on the bike and ride safely (both of which I did). We were told there would only "gently sloping hills" but it felt like there were SO many of them! I learnt how to use the propulsion from the downhill to move farther on the uphill with less pedalling. No bike issues. I saw one or two whose bike chains came off or fell off to the side. Scarlett was awesome! She stayed steady inspite of the strong winds. Coach Liz would be proud of me. I came up with my own mantra to get through the mean hills "and you're going and you're going, (x 6) and the road's real straight!" :)

Transition:

Was very disoriented, and felt somewhat dizzy. Not an easy transition this one. Had to figure out where my bike rack was..

Run:

My sit bones hurt a LOT. It was the longest and most painful 2 miles I'd done. Fairly boring. I kept telling myself I was minutes from being a triathlete!

FINISH LINE!

As I crossed the finish line, Coach Liz yelled to me, "Good job, triathlete!" Arv had a big smile on his face, and concern in his eyes as I slapped an ice-cold towel over my face and panted profusely. It's done, honey. The first TRI is done.