I did it! yes, I actually put all three together and didn’t feel like I was going to die. Here is a breakdown of the distances:
1/2 mile swim
19.23 mile bike
3.4 mile run
What is the Hermosa Beach Tri distances you ask?
1/4 Mile swim
10 mile bike
3 mile run
Yes, that’s right….I did MORE than my actual tri. LOVE IT!
So here is a summary of the day…George and I headed out to Hermosa at 7AM, we got there when we wanted, which was 7:45AM. Now, one thing that has been sort of annoying, is that I like to get places on time. So when they say be there by 8AM, I am there 15 min early. But, what ends up happening…is that people are late and we don’t even get started till 8:30 or 8:45…grrrrrr
Ok, so we got there…I put on my fancy wetsuit and 25 of us headed toward to ocean. (I will have some pictures shortly of this and will be sure to post). Coach Eric ran through some details, we picked a swim buddy so that none of us would disappear and no one would know…and we headed out. The water was at 70 degrees, nice for the Pacific! So I put my paws in and it felt nice, then I started walking in and I couldn’t even feel the water! It was crazy…the wetsuit makes it so warm and cozy. So we all just ran in like little kids with a high tolerance for pain. Once we got out there we all started giggling because we just floated! It was awesome! So after we all got our little kid feelings out of the way we started to swim. We swam the 1/4 mile (which was NOTHING!) and then we swam back because we wanted to get a better feel for how to swim in the ocean. It is completely different and everything I learned in the pool practically goes out the window. The swells of the water just throw you off and you can’t see anything and your mouth gets filled with salt water every time you breath. I was also a bit paranoid about veering off course or hitting someone, so I keep looking up straight ahead of me which can definitely slow you down… So we got out of the water and headed toward our transition area (our cars) and got ready for the bike.
So while I was in the water, George set my bike up so that I didn’t have to (so nice). I peeled the wetsuit off and got on my bike gear. Because George was with me, we didn’t go with the group because of “liability” issues, meh! But I had my Garmin on my bike (yes…I have a holster that holds it on my bike) and directions…so we headed out for our ride. There was one really tough hill and I acted like a girl on it! When I stopped at the top, some guy on a motorcycle that was pulled over asked if he could take some pictures of us….guess he wanted some sort of artistic picture…whatever! After the hill I felt much better through the ride and we made it back to transition to get ready for the run.
The run-not too much to report here…just threw on the running shoes…went 1.7 miles north (George had to pee pee at the half way point) and then 1.7 miles south back to transition. We took a nice steady pace and I really had to control myself from stopping and petting all the doggies on the pathway, so cute! We got back to the car and we were done! And starving! So we changed, and headed over to this little place called Mermaid something or other and had a club sandwich (my fav).
So overall, a great day, felt really good and I am excited for my tri. We also stopped off at a place called Triathlon Lab and I bought a tri specific sport bra. After the swim, my sports bra was soaking wet and stayed that way. The one I got dries quickly and has a lot of support, so I am excited! I get to try it out this weekend, we are going to Zuma to do another mock tri! YAY!
And then Sunday is my glorious day of birth celebration, YAY!
Our "Transition" Area
I look like an Hungarian body builder....
Me & MJ!
Red Crocs are always a nice touch...
Our team
Not so sunny in So.Cal
There is something about these wetsuits that just are NOT attractive
Go TEAM!
