Women's Triathlon Festival

Today I competed in my second ever triathlon...Women's Triathlon Festival at the Penrith International Regatta Centre.

I have been down all week and was not in the mood to attend. It wasn't until this morning, after having a pep talk from my hubby, that I decided to suck it up and just fricken do it! I've been training with a friend for the last few months and did't want to pull out and let her down, or myself down for that matter.

It was HOT out at Penrith...and our race didn't start until 11:30am...yep, we were racing during the hottest part of the day.

The thought of swimming in the lake had really been freaking me out...but was a welcome relief from the hot sun. We were swimming against the current and I was a little panicked when I realised I couldn't see past my nose. I'm used to swimming in the clean pool, where I can see the floor. Today all I could see was green...YUK!

My transitions were slow...

Loved the cycling track...didn't love that I was riding in 36 degree heat...with no water to drink. My mouth was so dry by the time I entered the transition area. I had a big swig of Powerade and water, waited for my friend to catch up, then left on the run.

Let's be honest...it wasn't a run...it was a power walk and jog...it was soooooo bloody HOT. I raced today a lot slower than I had hoped, but with the heat...I just wanted to finish alive! I walked most of the first kilometre, interval jogged the second kilometre and sprinted home. I was so relieved to have my finishers medal given to me...I'm beginning to have quite a collection...and I love it!

My goal was to complete the course (250m swim, 10km cycle, 2km run) in an hour...

My official time...59.18mins

Swim = 11.30min
Cycle = 33.29min
Run = 14.18

Transitions really slowed down my times...but I have to be happy with the fact that I actually turned up for the event, swam in a lake for the first time, cycled 10km for the first time...and I did all this in the scorching heat!