Salem Spring Triathlon

My oldest brother convinced me to sign up for a triathlon, other than the Women of Steel. He had done the Salem Spring Triathlon with our brothers and dad last year and wanted to do it again. This would be my first open water swim. The swim was also nearly 3 times longer than the other triathlon I had done. Open water and 800 meters....What had I gotten myself signed up for? We registered on New Year's Eve, thinking we had 6 months to train. I don't know about Steve, but my training was not what it could have been. This race also requires a wet suit. I had never swam in a wet suit before. Why not try a swim or two in it before the race, is what you might be thinking, right? Well.....that would have been the logical explanation, but I didn't do that. I just borrowed one from my good friend and figured I'd be fine. I knew I was most likely going to be the last one out of the water and I was fine with that realization. What I wasn't aware of was just how freaked out and panicked I would get when I tried to swim in a wet suit. I had heard my dad talk about how he feels constricted when he's in one and can't breathe, but since I had heard that, I figured I'd be fine. I knew (or thought I knew) what to expect and that I could just talk myself out of that fear. I was wrong. I got maybe ten strokes into the swim and totally freaked out. It was open water, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see the bottom of the pond, I couldn't touch. I panicked! I almost had them pull me out, but after treading water for a while and getting my bearings, I flipped over on my back and continued the 800 meter swim with the backstroke. It was slow and I felt really bad for the volunteer in the canoe who kept me on course, but I made it out of the water. I figured if I made it out of the water, I'd be okay. I wasn't nearly as worried about the bike and the run as I was with the swim. Curse the swim!

The photographer at the race had me and Steve pose for a picture so they could put it on facebook. I stole said picture to put on my blog. :) Look how happy we look, pre-race.

 Getting out of the water. If you notice, there's still someone behind me. I wasn't the VERY last person out of the water.

 Getting out on my bike. Look at all those bikes that are already gone...

 And I'm starting the run!

I'm coming in to the finish line!

Steve is coming in for the finish line! We made it! It was a great race. Thanks, Steve for doing it with me. It was nice to have my older brother there with me. And we weren't even the last two people to come in! However, when results were posted, we both had DNF (Did Not Finish) next to our names. We were a little upset because if we were going to quit, it would have been on the swim. But we both made it out of the water, so we were going to finish. My resourceful brother contacted the race director and they caught us on video and we were able to get our finishing times. Apparently the timing mats had gone out for a short time and it wasn't noticed, so when we finished, it didn't register us. But thanks to Steve, we didn't have the dreaded DNF next to our names. :)