Wow is all I can say! I am hooked all the way!

First a little background.
I am 32. I have done decent amount of running in my life but never anything on the endurance level of a triathalon. Prior to 13 weeks ago I had never swam a lap in a pool and the last time I rode a bike more than a few miles was on my Predator Nighthawk on the way to my elementary school girlfriend's house.

My cousin (27) and I decided to do a triathalon as a summer goal and started on a 12 week training plan I pieced together online.

The training has been a blast! The swimming has taken place at my local YMCA and I've gone from barely being able to slap the water for 4 laps to being able to blast out 60 with half decent form.

The biking has been a real learning experience. I have clearly realized that biking is comprised of two distinctly different sports. Biking and biking up hills. Over the past few weeks I have competed in a duathalon and 5 different foot races ranging from 3 miles to 10k.

Coming into the weekend of my "A" race in Wilkes-Barre I believe I am in the best shape of my life and I really felt prepared for the event. If you are committed you truly can get yourself ready for an Olympic Distance triathlon in 12 weeks. Well on to the race.

The morning was perfect. The forecast called for a high of 79 and it was just the right kind of overcast for the tri. Having gotten my bike racked the night before I arrived at the finish line (W-B Penn State Campus) at 6 am to catch the shuttle to Harvey's Lake where the swim takes place and the bike gets started.

The swim went off in 5 waves based on age groups and I was happy to see that everyone walked across a mat to read your race chips as you headed to the beach to start the swim. I walked in a little behind the crowd and sought out a little piece of water to find my groove. The biggest thing I learned about the swim is that fitness level was not a problem but finding a rhythm amongst the people, waves and overall chaos was the biggest challenge. I finished the swim in 35:42. I was please but felt that I could have been a few minutes faster if I hadn't bumped into so many people. Also, sighting was a challenge and I found myself off course about 5 times which hurt my time. Alas, I made it back to the beach feeling strong and jogged over to my bike.

And my first transition I made my first big mistake. I sat down to put my socks and shoes on and upon standing up I heard a voice shout "Hey those are my shoes and socks!". I looked down to see he was right. He had the same color sneakers as me and I had accidently put his on. Ouch! By the time I sorted it all out 3 minutes had gone by. I was, however, on my bike and starting the 25 mile trek feeling pretty damn good.

The bike was awesome. By far the most fun for me on race day (other than finishing). I rode smooth and made it through the 3 very tough hill sections of the Wilkes Barre Tri bike course. I tried to ride smart and push it but keep something for the run. I finished with a time of 1:25.36. Not bad for me considering the difficulty of the course. I hopped of the bike and ran it into the rack feeling tired but not dying which was my goal.

During the run things got interesting. Anyone who has done the W-B Tri knows that run is very tough. Miles 1 and 2 are downhill grade and you get to loosen up from the bike. 3,4 and 5 are nasty up hills and you really have to will yourself through that section. Miles 5-7 of the 11k run (damn extra 1k) are medium difficulty but with the end in sight at least you can be positive. The run was tough. I struggled but I also loved being out there so I tried to take it all in. I mean you train your ass off for these moments and even if they are painful you don't want to take them for granted.

I found my cousin (my training partner) at mile 3 and we ran the rest of the run together. I finished with a time of 1:07 for the 11k. The finish line was a little bittersweet for me. I loved being done but I also know that I will never do my first tri again. We all know there is nothing quite like your first time. My final time was just over 3:13 - 2 minutes under my personal goal of 3:15.

Anyway, the Wilkes-Barre Tri is an awesome race. Some professional named Yoder won it with a time of 1:57 (I have no comprehension of how a human can achieve this type of time!) I couldn't have asked for better weather or a better run event.

I looked to this board a lot over the past 12 weeks for answers and motivation. What an awesome resource this is!

I am a triathalete now. I just wanted to share the story.