Triathlons

Last year I got it stuck in my head that I wanted to enter the world of triathlons. This was before I could do the swimming and before I owned a bike. I'm not exactly sure why I decided I could do it or wanted to do it.  Husband didn't think I could do the swimming part of it, as we have a pool that I never swim in (it's for relaxing..how did he not know that?).   He made a deal with me that if I could prove the swimming part I could get a bike.  Well..I've proven I can do the swimming and now I'm waiting on a bike. 

Since I don't have a bike yet I knew the only way to compete in one would be to do an indoor triathlon.  When I found out I was pregnant I figured it would be even longer before I could do a triathlon.  However, I was given the ok to add swimming back to my routine and due to feeling pretty good most days I was able to remain active.

Run portion at the 3rd triathlon I completed

Husband was ok with me competing in a couple of sprint triathlons during this time as he knew it kept me motivated to be healthy and it helped my depression.   You already know about the first sprint triathlon I did, I blogged about it  in this post.    I recently completed two more, three days apart.  One was an event my work held. It wasn't open to people outside of the University, instead it was just a way to try and get people active.  The other one was held at my gym and was open to gym members and non-members.

The first sprint triathlon I competed in was at 26 weeks pregnant.  I came in 91 out of 108 total.  I was 11 out of 15 in my age group. 

The second sprint triathlon I competed in was the one at my work and I was 30 weeks pregnant.  I came in 10 out of 15 in the novice division.  

The third sprint triathlon I competed in was at my gym, also while I was 30 weeks pregnant.  I came in 55 out of 63.

While normally I wouldn't be happy with my placement for any of these events I'm actually really happy with my performance for all.  I have to watch my heart rate so I can't put as much effort into each leg of the race as I would normally be able to do.   So to not finish last or even second to last and knowing I could have gone faster is huge.   The swimming and the bike portions are the hardest for me.  Once I hit the run portion though, my legs ease up and I've felt awesome and ready to go.  

I'm actually somewhat glad I attempted my first triathlons while pregnant.  Knowing I couldn't actually race them meant that I went into each race just focusing on finishing and not on hitting a certain time/mileage or placement.  Sure I went in to each knowing I didn't want to be last but also not dwelling on it since there was  nothing I could do about it.  I was nervous, this is a new sport for me, but not as nervous as I would be otherwise.  

I've fallen in love with triathlons.  It gives me something to work towards, something that is different from just going out for a running and building up mileage and speed. Running is still my love and what I prefer to do. Triathlons just add another dimension and help me get in cross-training and feel like a more powerful athlete overall.  I love the challenge.   I hope to get a bike later this year.  If so that means I can start to do some outdoor triathlons next year.  I do want to compete in all three of these same triathlons next year when I'm not pregnant and don't have to watch my HR.  It will be fun to compare my results.