2016 Epic Try-a-Tri Recap

Do you know how many times I heard "what are you thinking doing a mini tri after running a half marathon?"  LOL.  What doesn't kill us makes us stronger!  I do believe there might have been people there that did a run on Friday and Saturday as well...now they are crazy!  LOL

I was concerned that if I had ITB pain during my half that I wouldn't be able to participate in the try-a-try...but at $35, it was a steal of a deal!!!  The sprint, and other 2 try-a-tris that I've done have all been in the pool so the open water start was going to be new to me and great experience to have under my belt.

Saturday night after my half, I laid out the essentials for my transitions, and got all tattoo'd up!

My tri-suit was underneath the wetsuit.  The kitty is my mascot.  LOL

These were inside the race kit...and so cool

This may become a real one...I really like the design

I was up bright and early Sunday morning as transition opened at 7am and I wanted to get there and set up before a huge wave of folks arrived.

You must put your helmet on before touching your bike or you
will be disqualified.  This counts for before and after the race as well.

One of the best parts of doing a triathlon of any size, is the inking...it's silly I know...but it makes me feel just a little badass.

Sorry for the upside down picture

A pre-race shot with my gear on.

Around 7:45, a few of us made our way down to the lake beach where we would be starting.  At this point, I stepped in the lake and it was far too warm to be wearing the wetsuit.

Once the swim route was explained, I quickly decided that I didn't need the wet suit to help me float and took it off.  The course was about 25m out, 50m across, and 25m back to shore where we would do it all over again.

You can see the little buoy on the left that was
the first one we swam to.

The official start was very casual.  We split into 2 groups of about 18 people...many doing their very first tri!  YAY!!!  The breeze was chilly so we were anxious to get started!

Might as well have some fun while waiting.

Soon we heard the "On your mark....go".  Even with 18 people, I do NOT like an open water start.  People are kicking and pushing to get ahead and it makes me panic.  Then...your heart rate is going a mile a minute which causes your breathing to be off.  Let's just say, I was so glad it was only 200m!!

The pictures that are taken and you don't realize it...this is me, making
sure that my nose is clear before running up to transition.

We had to run up a slight incline and into transition.  Helmet on, socks and sneakers on (so much fun with wet feet), sunglasses on, de-rack the bike and walk it to the mount line where you are officially allowed to get on and start pedaling.  4.8km on the bike....which was 4 loops of the bike course.  I want to tell you, it was a wee bit chilly coming out of the water and climbing onto the bike.  Brrrrrr.

I was doing rough calculations as I jumped on the bike and I think I was 6th or 7th out of the water.  After 4.8km, you rode to the mount/dismount line where you had to get off your bike and walk to transition.  Again, you are not allowed to remove your helmet until your bike is fully put back on the transition rack.  Now you remove helmet, and head out on the run with lead feet.  In my head, I did listen to Ian's suggestion and dropped my bike into an easier gear near the finish and rested the legs a bit.

Out on the run, I was able to pass one of the folks that were ahead of me, putting me 5th or 6th I think.  This event was untimed and purely for the experience....but you know me...I wanted to see how hard I could go.  2.2km was a great distance for beginners and I cheered others on as I saw them passing!!  Once again, my friend Chris welcomed me across the finish line (he did for my half too).  In this event, they actually held the Subaru banner up for each runner which was AWESOME sauce!!!

Seriously LOVE this shot!

Again, the after race reception was great with oranges, watermelon, granola bars, water, etc for all participants.

The Try-a-Tri was actually right before the key event which was the kids triathlon.  This event drew over 450 kids to the area, aging from 5-16....how great is that???

The only sad part of the day was that I went back down to the beach to grab my wet suit and it was gone.  I'm really hoping that one of the lifeguards thought it was theirs and put it in the clubhouse.  Oh...and I chaffed under my right arm ( you can see it in the finishing shot).  I didn't think I had to use vaseline for such a short run distance....but apparently I was wrong...vaseline always!!

And the ink stays on even once you're showered and dressed!
Still badass.  LOL

I really hope they continue to do this event each year.  It is a great opportunity to expose people to the world of triathlon and to get the whole family involved in the activity.  Way to go EPIC for this inaugural event!!!  I'll be back!  I just need to include one more picture....this is Stacey...she is the race directors partner in crime...and an Ironman Triathlete.  She did the Try-a-Tri just to help encourage people....she actually swam in her tutu as well!!!