No Drowning and a Year Older

I did my first lake swim in a triathlon and DID NOT DROWN!! Yay!!! So, I really think this whole team thing rocks! I did my swim, got my biker off and then got to chill for an hour! I was able to get dressed and go get coffee and wander around in plenty of time to come back and watch our runner take off! Ok, so maybe that is not how I always want to do triathlons, but it was pretty cool because once I got through the swim, I just got to relax. I think it was good just because I was so nervous about the swim so that is the only thing I had to concentrate on.

This was a small race (about 150) and so it was a mass swim start. A guy warned me that at the first buoy, it would be mass chaos but it would clear out after that so just to work my way through it. I did just that and even hung back a little at the start because I had no desire to get kicked trying to fight my way through. This was also my first wetsuit swim and I am going to have to work on that a lot more because I really felt uncomfortable having the collar around my neck while I tried to swim. I am not sure if it was the wetsuit or I was just panicking but I could not get my head down in the water and just swim and breathe like I needed to. I ended up forgetting everything I ever learned in my swimming lessons and had my head out of the water 90% of the time. I am a little frustrated about that, but there was never a time when I really thought I would not be able to make it. It was slow (15 minutes for 500 yards), but I did it and even better, I know I can swim better and much faster next time.
The coolest part of the whole thing? Actually getting to see the fast people come in and out of transition! I have never gotten to just watch before so that was way cool watching different people come in and out of transition. I think I learned a lot that way and am in serious awe at how freaking fast some people are. Our team finished 3rd out of 3, but I think we did awesome and had a blast! I would not mind doing another team triathlon, but I think next time I want to do the bike. The course has some wicked hills, but I think I would be stronger on the bike than in the swim!
After the tri, I got kidnapped and taken to Santa Fe, NM to celebrate my birthday. It was a total surprise and a very fun way to spend a birthday...wine and food...it does not get a lot better than that. A good way to start the last year of my 20's! Or, as I refer to it, the first of many 29th Birthdays!