Yesterday I did the Encinitas Sprint Triathlon at Moonlight Beach. It was my first non-youth triathlon with longer swim, bike, and run distances. It was also my first ocean swim. I was pretty nervous about the swim since I’d never really swam straight out into the ocean before. The water temperature was super cold, too. It was 60 degrees! Brrrrrrrrrrr..

I wasn’t planning on wearing a wetsuit because I don’t like having to take it off during transition, but at the last minute, I decided to wear one and I’m glad I did. I did a full body plunge into the water before the race and it took my breath away. I spent about 15 minutes jumping around in it until I started to get used to the temperature. Man was it COLD!!!

It was a 375m swim or a quarter-mile. Once the horn sounded I just went for it. Whenever I am in a big race or facing a really hard track practice, I always think of the Nike slogan: Just Do It. It will eventually be over and the sooner I finish, the sooner it will be done. Those three words always get me through whatever craziness I have to do.

So I bolted for the water, got in as far as I could before I had to actually swim, then started diving into the waves. It was choppy and there were a lot of people around me, but I just kept going. I am the weakest at swimming so I was really happy and relieved to have it behind me when I finally came back to shore.

Next was the bike. It was 10k or a little over 6 miles. My legs felt like they were red hot. It was a different kind of burn than I get from running.Halfway through the bike, I looked up and saw my friend’s dad riding alongside me. It was weird seeing someone I knew. He took some video of me with his phone, which you can see on the video of the race (below). Pretty cool!

My favorite part was the run. The triathlon runs are very different for me than my road races or track events. I think because you’ve already done a swim and bike, your body is in a different kind of state. When I run, it feels like I’m going at a “warm-up” pace even though I’m not. Also, unlike in track events, when I pass someone, I’ve noticed they don’t give much of a fight like I see in track. Anyway, I had a ton of fun at this race. I will definitely do it again!