First of all, I would like to thank the Race Director, Organizers and Volunteers. This inaugural race was incredibly well organized and so much fun!

This morning I ran my first reverse order triathlon. We ran, biked and swam in that order. It was also my first women’s only triathlon.

The alarm went off this morning at 4am. The race was about 45 minutes from home so it was a pretty easy drive to get out there.

We arrived on site at 6am and met and my friends Genna and Erika to set up transition.

Genna

Erika

Me

I was so disoriented setting up transition. Along with being a reverse order triathlon there was also two separate transitions areas, another first for me. During the course talk yesterday we were instructed to carry our goggles and cap with us on the bike.

I set my area pretty close to normal except laid out a cap and goggles in place of running shoes and sunglasses.

The start was a few minute walk from transition so we made our way over. It was a three wave run start 5 minutes apart. All three of us ended up in the third wave which was nice.

As soon as the Race Director counted down to our start I could feel it was going to be a good run. It’s been since before my ultra that I’ve run a sub 30-minute 5k. I wasn’t really sure if today would be the day I’d get my time back under 30 minutes but I was hopeful.

The run course was awesome. We had shade pretty much the entire run and it was pretty low traffic. There were amazing volunteers at every turn guiding us every step of the way.

The miles were not marked along the course and I opt’d to leave the Garmin at home so I wasn’t entirely sure where I was in distance or speed. I knew it had to be faster than my pace has been lately, but again, I just wasn’t sure.

When I turned the corner into transition I looked at my watch in disbelief. Not only had I broke the 30-minute mark but I had demolished my previous 5k PR.

I ran the 5k in 25:36. Almost 2 minutes faster than my previous PR.

Once in transition I was determined to keep the momentum going. I threw on my bike shoes and helmet, put my goggles an cap in my tri suit as fast as I could and was on my way. I was pretty spent from the run but it was mind over matter at that point.

The bike course was a bit wonky. There was a water main break on the back three miles of the course and it was shortened to 7.25 miles. There were also areas of side walk, two tunnels and cobble stone round-abouts that we had to slow for.

Aside from the diversions, there was a long stretch of road where, as the Race Director said, “the race took place”.

This was my first race with my new bike. I was pretty excited to get it out and see exactly what I could do. I was initially concerned that I would have a hard time getting used to aero or that I’d gotten the wrong fit. I can say now that, while it took some time to get used to, this bike rocks. It felt great to race on it.

Transition 2 was about half a mile from Transition 1. We hadn’t set anything up there so we just racked our bikes any where, dropped our helmets and shoes and ran to the pool (yes, it was a pool swim, another first for me). This was probably the most disorienting part of the whole race. I’m so used to slipping on my running shoes and leaving. Everything else normally stays with me.

As I was running to the pool I realized I still had my race belt and sunglasses on. I was literally dropping items along the way.

The swim was a 225 meter zigzag from one side to the other, ducking under the lane lines. It was refreshing to get to swim at the end but very exhausting as well. I felt winded a lot faster than I normally do on the swim.

Erika and I pretty much paced each other the whole race. She snuck by me on the swim and edged me out at the finish. We also both set new 5k PRs today. Way to go Erika!

Genna finished her first triathlon today. Rumor has it, she’s got the tri-bug

My official results:

• Div. Place: 5
• Overall Place: 51
• 5k Run: 25:36 <— 8:15 pace!
• T1: 1:34
• Bike: 26:41
• T2: 33 seconds <–Awesome
• Swim: 5:16

There was a finisher celebration set up in Westchase with food, music and raffles. I got to catch up with everyone and chat about the race. It seemed everyone had the same happy attitude. It was just a really fun race.

This is a perfect race for beginners and a great one to do with friends. I hope this becomes an annual race because I’d love to run it again.

I also have to give a huge thank you to the Boyfriend who served as our personal race day photog. Didn’t he do a great job?