My first triathlon

This morning, I participated in my first triathlon! I did it as a relay because I found out about it only a few weeks beforehand and did not have adequate time to prepare. However, we did the long course over the short course, and I was stuck with the swimming leg because noone else wanted to do it. I've never swum in open water before, so I was terrified. I tried to get acquainted with distance swimming in the sea before the day of the race, but the two opportunities I had the water was too rough for us to swim or I slept in.

So, race day ended up being my first experience swimming competitively and swimming competitively in open water. I was half hoping the water would be too rough-- in which case they would turn the swimming leg into a 5k run, which I knew I can handle. But, in the end, as in the case of pretty much every other athletic even I've participated competitively in, I was so happy I did it. It took me about 200m to get used to swimming in the sea-- the choppy waves and ultra salty and cloudy water were pretty significant departures from lap swimming in a clear, chlorinated pool-- but after I was comfortable, I set a good rhythm and it was super fun.

After my 750m swim, I handed off the electronic tag to our team's biker, who completed a 20k bike ride, and then Hellen finished up with a 5k run. It was an all women's triathlon, starting out of the Herzliya marina about 1.5 miles from my house. There was a wonderful atmosphere at the race, with women of all ages and abilities and super encouraging cheerers all along the way. I'm super excited to train next year and complete the full triathlon on my own.

At the end of the race, a student of mine informed me that my team was listed as winning 2nd place!! It was obviously a mistake: the score sheet timed my swim at only 2 minutes.

Picture of my tri team to come soon.