First Race

If you are interested in triathlons and have never done one, you can be in shape, even if you've been a couch potato for many years, in less than six months. Of course, I'm not talking about an Ironman or even half Ironman, but start with a sprint distance or an easy Olympic distance.

So I started with the Salem Springs Sprint triathlon in Salem, Utah (about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City). Terrific triathlon to start with! The night before the race, they had a "beginner's" meeting, where Dave Probst (I think that's who it was), a local triathlon coach, gave an hours worth of great stuff for free. The biggest advantage I could offer anyone that he shared with us from the meeting is to not let your first open-water swim be the race itself. Luckily, I had experienced my first open-water swim in Utah Lake two nights previous to the race. He is so right. An open-water swim is sooo much different than swimming laps at a pool. It's scary and hard. You seem to move much slower, and at times I was wondering if I was moving at all. But you do get used to it, and quicker than you'd think.

Salem Springs is a mountain-water runoff stream, so the temprature hovers around 63 degrees. Wetsuits are mandatory. I bought a $240 wetsuit from the Orem Swim, Bike, Run shop, a great purchase since I plan on competing in triathlons for years to come. My husband is well versed in the biking world, having worked at a bike shop during his undergrad years, so he hooked me up with a sweet Lemond road bike for just over $700. So there was a lot of money to fork out for this, but well worth it if it keeps me motivated to stick with it for years to come.

The swim had a slight current. The bike course was flat and fast, and the run followed much the same path as the swim. My goal was to come in under 1 hour 30 minutes. I finished in 1 hour 29 minutes. I was estatic! I had a smile on my face from start to finish. I just had a great time, which probably sounds weird to those who don't like to run or compete in events, but I seriously loved it.