First Mixte Triathlon: Icy water, endless run, sweaty moments, good friends, great success.

On Sunday, August 25, Jamie and I were accompanied by Megan (Executive Director at San Diego Coastkeeper) for the Surftown Triathlon in Imperial Beach.

Now I consider myself a pretty athletic person- I’ve been a swimmer my whole life, Jamie and I bike commute almost everywhere and I ran a half marathon not too long ago (which Jamie will tell you I didn’t train for, but “happened to go running” instead.) So you could say I was looking forward to the triathlon. Not only do I always have a good time with Jamie and Megan, but it was a new type of athletic challenge for me. My first-ever sprint triathlon; A 500-yard swim, nine-mile bike, three-mile run. And no, I didn’t train for this, because I mean… who has time for that?

The morning of the race we arrive in Imperial Beach at 5:30 a.m. to a foggy mist full of people meandering around with bikes. It kind of looked like zombie town-if zombies were into being athletic, that is.

Random thoughts aside, the three of us met up in the transition area and set up our stations. I was introduced to the “transition area” as the place where you set up everything you need in a convenient way so when you go from the swim to bike, or the bike to run, everything is laid out ready to go. Makes sense.

After a 20 minute line to use the bathroom, Jamie, Megan, and I wiggled into our wetsuits, grabbed our goggles and neon-pink caps, and headed to the beach. The next thing I know, we are in a swarm of neon pink caps and we have our hands in the middle shouting “Time to Tri!” on the count of three like the biggest nerds there ever were. The buzzer beeps and off we go.

The first plunge into the icy water sent my lungs into a tightened frenzy. Unable to take a full breath, I relied on my mental strength to remind me I would warm up if I kept swimming. Around the first buoy then around the second buoy, picking my head up to make sure I was going straight and in the right direction. Out of the water and up the sandy hill to the transition station, I didn’t see Jamie or Megan around me. As I’m peeling off my wetsuit (this was incredibly difficult to do fast, FYI) I see Jamie and then Megan comes to meet me. Few words were exchanged as we put our dripping feet into socks and sneakers (or clip-ins, if you’re Jamie Hampton) and ran our bikes out of the changing area.

Jamie beat me out of the transition area and was off. I didn’t see her again until the run. Helmet on and head in the game, I pedal off onto the course which was mainly flat. Unfortunately, my large, non-road bike tires were very slow. People passed me during left and right, including Megan. Finally, that ended and I threw my helmet off, hung up my bike, and hit the pavement for the last three miles.

I’m going, to be honest: The first mile felt like it would never end. After zooming around on your bike running just feels so slow. But eventually, I made friends with a girl running next to me – mostly I needed someone to pace with or I wouldn’t push myself and end up strolling across the finish line without breaking a sweat.

As I turned the corner for the last mile of my race, the street was lined with people cheering and music playing. The announcer was talking in a funny voice and I could see the finish line. I booked it across, hoping my finished photo wouldn’t make me look like I was dying as most running photos do. Once across I was greeted with a bottle of cold water and Jamie, who put a medal around my neck. We hugged and as we were sharing our gross sweatiness and how proud we were of each other, Megan rolls through the finish line. More medals, and more borderline icky, sweaty hugs. It was a truly beautiful moment for all.

Jamie got second in her age group, Megan got third and I got fourth in mine. We all had our individual victories to be proud of – Jamie’s biking time was third of all the women in the triathlon, and my swimming time was tied for ninth (Who ties!?).

While the rest of the day amounted to nothing more than a lazy, tired Sunday, the morning was victorious and full of adrenaline. We are already talking about our next one, and maybe even a full triathlon. That one I will definitely train for. I promise, Jamie.

*Update: Since this blog was written, Mia has completed an Olympic triathlon and shared many more sweaty hugs. To be continued.