Other races for the year

I signed up for a sprint in May it is the same sprint I did 5 years ago, which was my first and only triathlon I’ve ever done.  As a result of a certain amount of arm twisting DH has agreed to do the sprint with me.  It will be his first triathlon.  He typically avoids exercise and I don’t think he likes running, biking or swimming so needless to say I am very proud of him for giving it a try.  I suggested he read the book that got me ready for my triathlon 5 years ago, Eric X’s book Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week.  The sprint we doing is a 250 yard pool swim, 10 mile bike ride and 3.5 mile run.  When I think back to the race 5 years ago I totally screwed it up. You had to jump in the water and swim 25 yards then swim under the lap lane, and then go up and down the lanes always swimming under the lap lane when you reach the far end of the pool.  Somehow even after standing in line for over an hour watching people swim I failed to notice what was going on and didn’t swim under the lap lane for one of my laps and ended up going the wrong way.  I added an extra lap and added about 1 minute to my swim.  The race was good I remember thinking, “wow that didn’t take long” for all the training I put in the actual race went by really quick.  Even though I did a triathlon I certainly didn’t feel comfortable saying “I am a triathlete” I’ve done a bunch of road races and I would never tell someone “I’m a runner”, I think after I do the HIM I’ll feel more legitimate when I list “triathlon” on my resume under my interests.

In terms of other races, I found a local Olympic distance triathlon.  The hope is that I will get a chance to do my first open water race start and another chance to practice my transitions in preparation for the big race. I’m also thinking about doing a half-marathon in June.