Newbie in Utah

Hi Emily! Welcome to BT and triathlon. You can finish Bear Lake just pace moderately and keep going. Good luck!

Originally posted by eshess My name is Emily and I live in Northern Utah. I fell into the tri world very recently, and basically, by accident. You see, I am a teacher who thoroughly enjoys her summers off Each summer, I pick a new hobby or sport to try, and this summer I happened to pick swimming, biking, and running. It was halfway through July that I even realized I had inadvertently picked tri sports, and that I ought to do some kind of race to culminate my summer. Not that I'm looking to "race," per se. I'd just like to FINISH something! So I just barely (as in this very morning!) registered for the HIM in Bear Lake, Utah in September. Yes, a HIM as my first race. Sometimes my thirst for adventure (or just my stupidity?) exceeds my common sense. I've always been into sports, but typically it's been only for fun.... before this summer, I never even bothered to calculate swim distances or running times. Before I became a member, I found myself on this site several times looking up tips and discussions. As a newbie, I've really appreciated the advice that experienced racers have shared... keep it up! I'm looking forward to stalking more discussions and maybe even sharing once I have something intelligent to contribute. I enjoy training alone, but would love to find like-minded people in my area. Thanks for reading! And thanks in advance for all the advice I'll get from you

Emily,

I did a Tri team at the Cache Valley Triathlon in Logan, Utah with my dad and brother last year.  My day lives in Dallas, my brother in St George, and I live in Oklahoma so it was a memorable experience. My dad has two aunts that lived in the Logan Area.  They and my grandmother grew up in Garden City.  I would like to make it back for the Bear Lake Brawl some year because of my connection to that area through my grandmother.  I remember picking Bear Lake Raspberries at my great uncle Lowe's place in Garden City as a kid. I bet it was really neat to participate in that race.  

Oh..and my first Triathlon was a 70.3 race too.  The race line was 10 minutes from my front door so it just made sence to do that as my first race even though it is longer than most people cut their teeth on in Triathlon.  I was used to being top ten at every 5K, 10K and half marathon I ran with up to 800 participants so finishing the 70.3 in the middle of the pack was a humbling experience but I was prepared for the race and did well for a first race.  My second race was IM 70.3 St. George.  I will be sticking with the 70.3 distance.  :-)

I always race better when I train with others, but since I started Triathlon 2 years ago I have done all my training alone simple because I can't find anyone else in my area doing these races to train with.  :-)