After months of training, the big weekend is finally here. It’s my first triathlon! I am as ready as I’ll get, which I try to remind myself when I start getting nervous. I have read tons of articles, watched videos, picked the brains of all the triathletes that I know, jogged many miles, biked many, many miles, and spent a lot of time swimming. Currently, I am rocking a very hot work-out-tank-and-bike-shorts tan line. Training while traveling isn’t easy–getting distracted is a constant problem, plane delays cut into free time, and of course, packing extra stuff can get tricky. Although I expected to at best tolerate most of the training, I have actually really enjoyed the majority of it. Granted, running when it’s 95 degrees is not awesome, but that was only a few times. Swimming has been super fun, even the open water swim practice.

And most importantly for me, I am riding my bike regularly again. I am not the fastest (at all. in any way shape or form), and certain things still make me pretty nervous. But the Home Warrior and I have made a regular thing of riding our bikes by the lake once or twice a week. There have been some close calls that tested my meager skills, like when I took a turn to sharply and crashed into the wall. And then last night we were trying to pass a family, and the little boy ran in front of my husband. Then, he ran right in front of me. Like, I had to slam on my breaks to avoid hitting him, even though I was going pretty slowly. Scary! But this past weekend at the lake we rode our bikes around for an hour, just for fun. I enjoyed it, and look forward to doing it again.

So regardless of what happens on Sunday, I consider this triathlon to be a success. My friends and family have been incredibly supportive, training with me, swimming in open water with me (which is freaky, btw! very different from pools), and a good group of them will be out there on Sunday morning cheering me on. Yes, I am nervous, but I am also very excited! (And of course, I love my sporty triathlon top that I got from Athleta.) So, wish me luck! If any of you get up early on Sunday, send good thoughts my way. Thanks for the tips many of you have given me. I look forward to writing on Monday as Road Warriorette, the triathlete!