I finished my first "triathlon." It was a 200M swim, 5mile bike, 1mile run super sprint. No Ironman, to be sure, but it fealt great to do. I finished in 7th for the super sprint group at 45:29. The bike average was 17mph.

I usually get about 19mph average on my 20 mile commute, but this course had a lot of rolling hills (think freeway overpass every 200 yards) and turns that I pussed out on. I can do a flat mile run in 6:25, but I cramped up after the bike (and took off running with my helmet on) and ran the mile in about 10 min. I took 12 mins on the swim, which was in an open water reseviour. I haven't done more than a dog paddle my entire life, and I spent about 5 sessions in a 24hrfitness pool to prepare.

I loved the experience, and though it was a short tri, I am extreemly proud of myself. If you are thinking about doing a tri, but the sprint is still a bit daunting, the super sprint is fantastic!

Now I take a week off, and then get ready for some fall/winter 5-10k runs. I will keep at the pool, and by spring, I hope to take on a full sprint/ half olympic.

Congratulations on finishing your first tri! My gym does a small triathlon like yours every February, and I always participate. It was what originally got me hooked on doing tris.

good job. two things you should work on:
1. Bricks-these help you not cramp up from the bike onto the run (if you don't know what a brick is, it's a normal bike, followed by a short 2-4 mile run.
2. Swimming-Work on freestyle, 200m should not take more than 3-4 minutes.

Thanks, I will work on the bricks. I had tried a few of these while training, but I think I was always keeping the run too short.

As for the swim, the open water nearly doubled the time that I was able to swim the 200m in a pool. I need to work on my freestyle and body roll, and I have a few people who were swimmers in college who have offered to help me.