My first Tri...sort of

I belong to a local running club and we provide all sorts of volunteer support for local events.  You may not know this (and don't tell Bill because he might have a cow), but I'm considering a Sprint Tri as my goal for next year. Crazy since I don't have easy access to a pool, but I hear it's okay if you doggie paddle as long as you don't drown.

I figured one of the best ways to see if it was a reasonable goal was to witness one for myself, and it just so happened that there was a women's sprint tri this past Sunday - and - they needed volunteers. How could I say no to that!

I had children's ministry at church at 9:15 so I couldn't stay for the whole event, but they were able to use some help from 5:30 - 8:30....yes, that would be AM. cough!

I talked Hank into tagging along thinking it might be fun or exciting. Truth be told, it was neither, but he survived.

It wasn't the most organized event but everything seemed to have come off without any big problems. There was no volunteer meeting so I had NO idea about any details other than my little piece.  I was helping with body marking, race number on the arms, age on the back of the right calf. 

I felt really stupid when participants asked me basic questions like - where is transition, how do we know when it's time for us to swim, and is this chip timed? Excellent question and I have no clue! I did find all this out only because I could imagine a first timer would be slightly freaked out if the volunteers had no idea what was going on.

Things that surprised me:
~ not all triathletes are super buff with 0% body fat

~not all triathletes are in their 20's with 'hardcore' tatooed on their foreheads

~women of all shapes, sizes and ages were represented. Very cool!

~so many women were embarrassed to admit their age. Really? Each year is a gift, and if I was 60 and doing a tri, I'd wear a poster on my front declaring it!

~it was a pool swim and seemed almost leisurely. Slower swimmers started first and I had to leave before the faster women began so they may have been a little more exciting, but the swimmers I saw looked like the folks you see at the pool just doing laps.

~it wasn't as scary or intense as I thought it would be. It looked like a bunch of women having a great time which I thought was very cool!

Me and my monkey

 Is it time to go yet?

You mean I can hang out by the pool? Ok we can stay a little longer

Hank took a bunch of pictures of the swimmers

The race was chip timed afterall. The women were chipped in 'chip alley' while waiting for their turn to swim.

Checking out transition. I think I'd need to attach a homing beacon to my stuff because I'm so forgetful

Hank was supposed to go to a cross country meet after church but I was FRIED and EXHAUSTED. I hadn't slept a decent night's sleep since the previous Monday so I was done for.

We had child dedications at church so the service ran long and we had tons of guests - which meant we had extra kids in children's ministry who were new which added to the regular chaos. I got home around 1 and crashed on the couch. 

Bill woke me at 3:30 because I needed to be at a friend's Pampered Chef party at 4. Totally fun and I loved seeing my friends. Got home from that around 7 and still had to prepare for school for the week. Can you say, "Calgon, take me away!"  All in all it was a great weekend!

Oh, is a tri going to be my 2011 goal?? I think so!  I just need to find someplace to swim. I would definitely prefer an women only event, but a friend of mine told me the Hagerstown Tri is a nice one - and the bike ride and run are nice and flat. So a tentative YES at this point! And definitely don't tell Bill because he already thinks I'm crazy.