Mighty Magnolia Triathlon 2013

Well, here it is...another glorious year of Triathlon training! I, however, did not train as I should have. But, I still did excellent :) I finished 7th out of 28 beginner female participants. Last year I was 19th out of 27. Here are some statistics from last year:

2012
Swim: 12:44
Transition 1: 2:11
Bike: 1:05:01
Transition 2: 0:59
Run: 35:51
Total time: 1:56:48

This year my goals were as follows: 

Swim: take off 1 minute
Bike: take off 5 minutes
Run: take off 3 minutes
Total: take off 9 minutes
And/Or: finish in 1:45:00

First I want to say that I am shocked at my bike time. I did not bike but twice in a year! I did, however, start taking the spin class here at Southern and I seriously will attribute my bike time to that class! Here is how I did:

Swim: 12:13
Transition 1: 2:02
Bike: 59:01
Transition 2: 0:45
Run: 33:32
Total time: 1:47:43

I did not meet the swim goal, but did do better; I blew the bike goal out of the water; I did better in the run but did not meet the goal; and, I did over 9 minutes better this year (9:05 to be exact) even though I did not finish in 1:45:00. I will say this though, I did do the swim in 11:38 so it took me 35 seconds to reach transition (your time does not stop until you reach the transition area). Last year I did the swim in 11:41 and it took me 1:03 to get to transition.

Here is how the day went...it was beautiful! The water was 75.7 degrees and nice when I jumped in...even though I landed on a stick right at the start! I guess I put it out of my mind because it didn't even phase me until after my shower at home! 

I felt good the whole swim. I did not seem tired when I got done, but I did feel worked! I couldn't even feel where I had stepped on a stick right when I jumped in the water...until later that is! I wholeheartedly feel that my bike time can be attributed to the spin classes I have taken lately. I remembered things like keep your feet down and level, use both legs, push through the hill, keep some resistance on your bike, etc. I also didn't pay attention to how far I had traveled, but instead I paid attention to how long I had biked. 

Triathlons are a great transition into other events. It is a great cross trainer for your body too! It also melts my hear to see people participating like the guy who only had one leg, or the 75 year old man who finished...he finished!! It should show others that even when life seems tough, you can still accomplish your goals!

Remember to keep pushing and never quit! Here's to a great workout! Until next time...

April