when was the last time you did something for the first time?

ARGH! I somehow lost my original post.....here's the short version, only a week and a half late!


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I think I've finally realized why triathlon is so appealing to me -- it's new and different and challenging and fun! maybe I've just gotten bored with road racing. maybe I've hit my potential (sadly, not where I'd like it to be). or maybe triathlete bodies are sexy. all I know is that I really enjoy triathlon! it's fun. the people are nice. and when I'm challenging myself in new ways -- learning new things -- I feel like I'm continuing to grow as an individual. yeah, new is good!

last weekend the dutchboy and I raced in SLO at Scott Tinley's Adventures. we made a fun weekend of it and even took Julie on her first camping trip (yes, she had her own tent).

Saturday morning we spectated the road triathlons -- and watched Courtenay and her boyfriend win their respective races. since I'd never raced a tri, and I was nervous about the swim, I wanted to watch the races and maybe learn a little something.

we had planned to race the hillclimb on Saturday but a mechanical issue discovered during our course pre-ride prevented this and we spent a good part of the afternoon at Art's Cyclery in SLO. they fixed the dutchboy's bike and I was relieved to learn that the "problem" had nothing to do with the work I'd done on his bike earlier in the week.

Sunday morning we woke up and I was scared and didn't want to race. the dutchboy twisted my arm (and then held my hand at the start of the swim).

I survived the swim. it wasn't pretty. I did every stroke you can imagine (and probably invented a few, too). it was my first mass-start open water swim ever. I wasn't last and I didn't drown.

the bike was good but I was disappointed in my time. I was able to pass lots of riders, but my time was slower than it should have been. I'm not sure what happened there -- too much time off the mtn bike lately, I guess. interesting to note that the men were all very gracious as I passed them, giving me the line when I asked for it. on the second lap, however, the young boys (8-12 years old) were just starting their race and they didn't want to give up the line even though they didn't have the gears to ride the steep singletrack, so they would run with their bikes -- so tough. I saw the dutchboy during the out & back section on lap one and then again as I was finishing my bike leg and he was starting his run. that was totally cool!

the run leg shocked me -- I apparently ran just over 8-minute miles. I don't know how I did it, especially since I haven't run since February. I had to walk a bit of the really big (14%) hill but was able to run everything else, even though it was a pretty hilly course. just as I started walking, I saw the dutchboy approaching from the opposite direction on his bike. he had finished his race and came out to encourage me. after a bit, he rode back to the finish to cheer me on and take photos. a mile from the end I was passed by a girl in my age group. as I neared the finish I completely forgot about the extra little uphill loop (ouch). but I was able to push it to the finish.

as I crossed the line, the announcer announced my name and stated that it was my very first triathlon and something about Velo Girls. apparently the dutchboy had told her all about me and asked her to say that -- how thoughtful was that?

I finished in 3rd place! no way. and the dutchboy got 6th with a smokin' bike split -- one of the fastest of the day!

on the podium, the announcer called me Lorri Lay Down. apparently my middle name was truncated to Le (from Lee) and she read "Lown" as "Down." I cracked up (as did everyone else).

I've got some big goals for next season, including a half ironman in August. I've started my run training and will be racing the Salmon Duathlon in November and am looking for some other du's or running races. I'll start masters swimming in December. fun and new, new and fun. yeah!

how fun to do something new and different!