I will forewarn you that I lack the skills of Baggsy and this won't be nearly as thrilling a read as his was about his first duathlon (
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=115168) but nevertheless, I wanted to post since it was my first triathlon...
The Narrative:
It was the Carlsbad Triathlon, a 1K swim in the Pacific, 25K bike and 5K run along the coast. It was a gorgeous day! Water temps 66 (no wetsuit, hooray!) and air temps probably somewhere in the upper sixties with mostly sun. The swim was pretty choppy, even past the break, and required a lot of head up swimming to sight the buoys over the waves. I didn't feel that great. (I didn't warm up swimming at all, maybe that had something to do with it?). T1 was smooth and easy. The bike was fine. My undercarriage hurt (from my accident/surgery). T2 was fine, too. The first part of the run felt bizarre, but then I settled in. The bike and run courses were all rolling flats (or whatever you call stuff that's partly flat with small short ascents and descents all along.) I don't wear a HRM, but I could tell I was near max for most of the run. It was amusing throughout to look at peoples' ages on their legs. I liked knowing who I was passing or being passed by. It all went by very fast, and without too much suffering. I had fun. I hate Gu. *GAG*
The Stats: [edited]
The official splits aren't posted yet, and I really can't rely on my watch because I screwed up too badly on pushing my buttons!
Official time: 1:41.20
10th out of 39 in the 30-34
44th out of 233 women total
350th out of 835 total (excluding pros)
The Summary:
My goals were to stay under 25 in the swim, under 1hr on the bike and under 25 on the run, and also to place in the top 1/3 in my age group. I met/exceeded those for the most part, so I was happy. I had a good time, too! I'm gonna be sore tomorrow... I think if I were better conditioned (that stupid injury sidelined me for 6 weeks in May/June) I wouldn't feel so drained right now, and maybe I wouldn't be so sore tomorrow?! In any case, it was a fun day - I'm sure I'll do another.
Many thanks to all of you for the fabulous advice about all things - transitions, apparel, nutrition, hydration - you name it! I thought of you all while I was out there!
Cheers