Lessons I Learned in my 3rd Sprint Triathlon

1. NEVER sacrifice comfort for fashion! They sell specific triathlon clothing for a reason, and ignoring that and wearing what is “cutest” can (and in my case did) cause severe pain. I decided my favorite bike jersey looked better with my shorts and running skirt than my tri tops. My arms were extremely chaffed on the run by the end of the first mile.

2. The wetsuit I bought (see previous post) and had never swam in, turned out to be PERFECT. A black sports bra is perfect for camouflaging the “runneth over” parts.

3. If you are swimming backstroke, remember to check OFTEN to see if you are off course, or at least hope you can hear the people telling you that you are headed in the WAY wrong direction (like backwards and out to sea) (this wasn’t me, but I did try to get the girl’s attention).

4. Biking may be a great way to have dropped 53 pounds, but apparently you still have to do plenty of training in the swim and run if you want some real change. The only advantage was there was 53 pounds less of me that I had to drag around the reservoir.

5. Dropping 53 pounds will help you go from placing next to last out of everyone last year, to placing 198 out of 222. :-) On the bike leg I placed 156 out of 222.

6. It sounds ridiculous (and people look at you funny) if you blame chaffing on your ARM for your slow as snails run time.

7. Orange goggles are practically USELESS when you are swimming in to the sun. Time to buy some goggles that double as sunglasses.

8. The flock of geese that is swimming though the course -- aren’t scared of you, and probably won’t get out of your way.

9. The volunteer lady that is stationed about ½ mile in to the run course will try to lie to you and tell you, “you are almost there” to keep you motivated. I let her know on the way back (when I was only ½ mile from the finish) that NOW I was almost there.

10. It is still fun to do!