First, thanks for all the support in my "I can't do this" thread last night! What a case of nerves!
Today's sprint was awesome! 750m swim, 14.25m bike, 5k. It was an all-women's event. There were about 2000 women there, roughly half of whom were doing their first tri. The weather was perfect - overcast and a little chilly for the swim, but that just made the water feel warm, and 60ish and sunny for the bike/run. It was incredibly well organized and smoothly run. It was a SheROX event for ovarian cancer.
The swim was good. I was a little worried because when I did my practice swim in the wetsuit, my arms felt very heavy. But I didn't notice that at all today. I had to go more slowly than usual because there were a lot of bodies in a small space (serpentine swim), and that probably helped. Time 13:49.
The bike was fine. I might have been able to go faster, but my legs certainly felt it and I did pretty well IMHO. It was basically like a training ride, only this time instead of picturing myself in a race, I was actually in one! Time 53:13.
The run, well, I definitely need more training. I did a fair amount of walking in the first half. One goal I had was not to walk, but it's ok. I didn't walk the second half and finished with a sprint. Kind of a sprint. Time 34:29.
Transitions were slow. I wasn't rushing any. Overall time 1:50:23, rank 87/149 in my division, 828/1468 overall. They did say it was about 2000 athletes, so I'm not sure where the other 600 went. Anyway, I'm happy.
Thank you to everyone on this forum! You have been a huge support through my initial training! My next race is 7/30 and it will be a true OWS in Lake Michigan. I'm bitten by the bug!!!