"Try-A-Tri"

I can now say that I have done a triathlon. A very short one but none the less..... Who knew they had mini triathlons for newcomers like me? The whole event was great from the weather to the swim conditions to the crowds. I didn't have any real expectations( I said my goal was not to finish last, which I didn't) except to get a feel for this type of race. There were 227 competitors who were supposedly new to the sport. I finished 23'rd of 33 in the male age 40 to 49 category.
I got to the course more than an hour early and got set up and picked up my race kit. The registration area was not well marked and I had to go back to get my timing chip and body paint.

I was using a wetsuit for the first time and had rented it from a local shop which was at the race. I called the week before to confirm and was told no problem, it would be waiting for me at the race......wrong! They didn't have my booking but they did have a new wetsuit in my size which they rented to me.
I went back to the transition area and put it on along with my timing chip. I don't know if there are different styles but this one was an ankle strap with velcro. I went to the water about 15 minutes before our race and tried out the suit. It was excellent! The water wasn't really that cold but the extra buoyancy was perfect.
Now the race is about to start and the adrenaline really is starting to kick in. I definitely start out too fast and have to back way off on the swim. I knew the swim was going to be my weakest event and it was. I was fairly fast on the bike and made up quite a few positions. The run was not so good. I was fairly slow and probably lost some positions there. I really need to lose about 15 pounds. All things considered though, I only trained for a month before and really did not run alot because I was too heavy so my time was all right. I am going to race again in August and this time I will be in better shape.
Back to training.