Last Saturday I finished my first tri and I am hooked

Last Saturday I finished my first tri and I am hooked. It was the 2nd Annual Black Canyon Sprint Tri (500m swim/24k bike/5k run). I got to the site about an hour before the first heat to set up in the transition area (Thanks Michael, I used the layout you described in your article and it work like a charm). It was great talking to the other competitors before the start to see where they were from and what they think about triathlon. At 8:30, the first heat of the race started in the pool. It was 20 lengths in a 25meter pool, 12 people per heat, two per lane. I was in heat 5 and the anticipation prior to the start was great. They called us up to our assigned lanes and “GO” we were off. The guy who was also in my lane started off pretty fast but I resisted the urge to try to catch him. “Swim your own race” I concentrated on being ‘long and fluid’ in the water and by the second lap I had passed the guy in my lane and finished second in my heat. T1 went smooth and seemed like a blur. On the bike, I started in a higher gear to allow my legs to warm up. For the most part I was alone on the bike section only being passed a couple of times. The course was relatively flat except for one very large hill at about mile 5. (With races in Colorado, A triple in front might be a good idea) After recovering a little it was just a great ride though the farm country. T2 went smooth as well and then it was off on the run. My calves were a little tight so I tried short a short choppy stride at first and it seemed to help. I was able to preview the bike leg prior to the race but I did not get a chance to look at the run course before hand so I was unaware of what lie ahead. It was an out and back course though a city park by the river and was really quite nice until I noticed people heading up a long series of switch backs on a very large hill. Undaunted I started up, encouraged the smiles of the people heading down the hill. I had to walk a ways to rest and before I knew it I was heading back down the hill to the finish. It is funny how the emotions build when you can see that you are about to reach a goal that you have set for yourself. As I rounded the corner I saw my number one fan, my wife Judy, shouting words of encouragement and videoing the event for posterity. I passed through the finish 2:00:29 after I began this challenge to myself and it was everything I expected and more. There were time of doubt, overwhelming amount of joy and just plain old fun. All of the people involved from my follow competitors to the volunteers for the event were wonderful and always encouraging and made it very fulfilling.
I am hooked and can’t wait for the next one in the spring.