Short story: I went, I competed, I finished, I managed not to kill myself or anyone else. Does that officially make me a triathlete?

Long story: Visited the course 3 days ahead of time. Water was like a mirror, cool, but definitely promising to warm up over the span of three 90+ degree days. First 10 miles of the bike course was rolling to hilly, followed by a 7-mile ascent up an unusually steep bluff, and a balance of the elevation on the remaining 8 miles. Run course was lakeside, some rollers, some shade, but no breeze? Strange.

Race morning was hot and sticky, 80+ by 8:00am. Discovered that getting marked before applying coppertone spray was a moronic move - my markings turned into black sharpie blobs. Listened to the soothing sound of overinflated (and overheated) tubes bursting in the rapidly rising sun. Drew an amazingly low bib number and snagged a sweet spot two steps from the bike in/out. Felt good, felt fueled, felt ready to sweat.

Swim: By some strange force of nature, the once placid lake was abnormally choppy and managed to drop 2 degrees over the three balmy days. So much for my theory. Went in the first wave - probably 70-80 strong, out of a rather small cove. The washing machine cleared out pretty quickly, but the choppy water took its toll immediately (as the water movement was head-on). Couldn't get into a groove without sucking that refreshing lake water. Went through the typical can't breathe, can't sight panic that everyone claims to have experienced. After 5 minutes of hopelessly flailing about, I contemplated DNF, but then I realized that I was much further from shore than I thought - good motivator. Righted myself and managed to find a few grooves. The choppy water did a great job of derailing my breathing, and my sighting consisted of stopping, looking, and redirecting. Spent most of the swim dreaming about the comfort of my bike. Exited onto an array of sharp rocks, cinder blocks, and skin-piercing zebra mussels. Escaped that minefield, expecting no less than 35 minutes. Surprised to see my watch reading 0:30 and some change on my way into T1.

Bike: Took my time in T1, but managed 2 minutes. Hopped on the bike and proceeded along the lake. Legs felt great, cadence felt great, road surface was apalling, but the ride felt smooth. Passed at least a dozen riders on the ascent to the first turnaround - I'd like to thank my love of hill repeats. The 7-mile ascent was hot, and taking its toll, but I managed to keep it relaxed and under control. Riding the course ahead of time saved my a$$. Passed another 6 or 7 riders in turn. From the top of the bluff, it was some good downhill speed. Didn't make any real progress, but moved along at a good 25-35 mph for much of 6 miles. Joined up with the sprint course around 23 miles and spent the majority of my energy navigating around the expanding rider pool. Cruised back into T2 with a fair showing of 1:17:45. Nothing spectacular, but better than I expected.

Run: In and out of T2 in a minute. Not yet 10:00am, and it was easily 90+. Spectators were wilting, and racers looked a little fatigued, but everyone did a good job of staying hydrated. As well as the bike felt out of the gate, the run felt the opposite. I spent the first mile negotiating that foot shuffle, trying to get one foot in front of the other. Focused on form but had a severe case of cotton mouth. Stopped at the second aid station and forced myself to walk through two cups of H2O - first time I've ever walked in an organized run. Started moving forward and got that same sensation I had during the swim - the one where I was dreaming of the comfort of my bike. We had such a good time together, but now I had to rely on my stupid feet. Chugged through the rest of the run, making two more water "stops". Didn't expect much in the way of results, and that's exactly what I got. 50:30 .... worst 10k ever. I haven't run 8:00+ splits since I was nursing dual groin pulls in high school soccer. While I was disgusted with my run splits, I still managed to beat out 80% of the field on the run.

Posted a 2:42:10 in my first outing. Not great, but personally impressive considering that I contemplated quitting over 2 1/2 hours before then. 70th overall and somewhere in the middle to slow half of my age group. The real reward came when I escaped the sweltering heat and plopped down into the 60-degree lake. Aside from my fumbling during the swim, and my less-than-stellar run, I had an absolute blast. The event was extremely well organized, and the course was quite picturesque (think lakeside wine country). Loved the comeraderie of everyone on the course, and enjoyed riding alongside other racers, rather than riding alone (did I neglect to mention that this was the first organized swim and bike ride I've ever done?). I'm not going to compare it to the elation of completing 140.6, but it felt good finishing respectably, knowing that no one could undo what I had done. Moreover, I could see where my training had payed off and where I need to focus my efforts for my upcoming races/training. I think I may be hooked.