Marathon Training: Week 7

After the excitement of two races during Week 7 of marathon training, I'm feeling exhausted! Oh, and a bit lazy.

It's tough to maintain my motivation to train for a race that's still several months away. I had a strong first six weeks of training because I needed to be prepared for the half-marathon and triathlon, but now I keep thinking, "Eh, an extra rest day won't matter since I have so much time to make up for it."

That rationalization only works for so long, and December 4 will be here before I know it. Time to get out of this funk and jump back into training with gusto! But first, let's look back on the last week of racing and resting... and racing again.


WEEK 7


Monday: Labor Day Half-Marathon (13.1-mile run)

I met my goal of a sub-two-hour finish — barely! But the "barely" part doesn't matter to me. What matters is that I set a goal, worked my tail off for six weeks and achieved it. It wasn't that easy, but it was that simple.

Side note: I'm done with half-marathons for a while. I'm really happy with my PR, and it's just a tad too far of a race distance for me to find truly enjoyable. I think my favorite distance is 15K (9.3 miles) — the race I did on my 24th birthday was so much fun.


Tuesday: Rest

I took Tuesday off of work, which was officially The Greatest Idea Ever. I kicked off the day with a serious stack of dark-chocolate-chip pancakes, which are my current addiction. I'm not sure why I ever eat anything else for breakfast. Then I soaked up some sun in the hammock with a copy of The Hunger Games.

After that stressful morning, I unwound with an hour-and-a-half deep-tissue massage. I've had a Massage Envy gift card in my wallet for THREE YEARS and I finally decided to use it (thanks, Mom!). Quick, someone put a personal masseuse on the payroll!

As if that weren't enough, I then headed over to Caleb Wojcik's place, where he and his wife fed me delicious tacos and beer while telling me all about their upcoming road trip across the country. Definitely check out Caleb's story about why he recently quit his job to pursue his passions.

It was a solid rest day. : D


Wednesday: Rest

Let's see, what happened to the 9-mile bike ride and 2-mile run I had planned to prepare for the triathlon distances? Ah, yes! Work was a complete nightmare when I returned from my day off, and I spent the whole day (and early evening) catching up. Throw in a little emotional turmoil and you've got a great recipe for a rest day.


Thursday: Pool swim

I met Vicki at the community pool for one last swim before the tri. She hadn't seen me swim for a few weeks and was really impressed by how much I had improved!

A lifeguard was less than impressed and gave me a few helpful pointers:

• Reeeeeach for the wall so that when I pull back, my stroke pushes as much water as possible (thus propelling me forward).
• Lift my legs higher so that my kick isn't buried completely underwater.

I love me some pointers.


Friday: Rest

On Friday evening, I used Caitlin Boyle's excellent essential sprint triathlon packing list to gather all my gear for the tri. I was nervous to pack all my stuff and head to my mom's house in Woodinville because if I forgot something, it would mean a 30-minute drive back to my place! Thanks to the helpful list, I didn't have have that problem.

I stopped by Cottage Lake to pick up my race packet, get body-marked and collect my swag. Just like the actual triathlon, this process was extremely well-organized. Mary Meyer runs a tight ship! She also puts together excellent swag bags. Some of us race just for the swag, you know.


Saturday: Cottage Lake Super Sprint Triathlon (.25-mile swim, 9-mile bike, 1.6-mile run)

I met all of my goals for my first triathlon and had an absolute blast! I didn't panic or get kicked in the face during the swim, I didn't hurt myself or others on the bike, and I kicked the crap out of the run. As an unexpected bonus, I placed third in my age group! OK, so it was out of four people, but still...

There are many more triathlons in my future.


Sunday: Rest

I cleaned the bathroom, which almost counts as strength training when you consider the amount of grime I scrubbed from the shower floor. I put together my triathlon recap, which required vigorous typing and photo-editing. I went grocery shopping, which included some walking and heavy lifting. I watched The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, which exercised my brain.

I'll call it an active rest day, OK?


WEEK 7 TOTALS

Miles run: 14.7
Miles biked: 9
Swims: 2
Strength-training sessions: 0 (or 1, if you include the shower)
Rest days: 4
Races: 2
Carbs: All of them, ever


MARATHON TRAINING TO DATE

Miles run: 113.2
Miles biked: 67.5
Swims: 7
Strength-training sessions: 10 + 1 shower


Spoiler alert for Week 8:

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My First Triathlon: Cottage Lake Super Sprint Tri

I survived the Super Cool tri, and I had an amazingly fun time! If there were extra points awarded for enthusiasm, I would have won the whole darn thing.

My mom lives really close to the race site, so I brought all my gear over and spent Friday night at her house. I had a fitful night of sleep and woke up kind of dreading the race on Saturday. All my nervousness about the swim came flooding in at once!

My stomach reflected that feeling and didn't help me out too much with breakfast. I choked down an apple and a slice of toast with almond butter, but it was a struggle.

I pawed through my bag of gear at least three times before I was assured I had everything, and then we were off! I think we left the house at 7:00 and pulled into our parking spot across the street from the lake at 7:03. Excellent race location.

I had already picked up my race packet and gotten body-marked the previous night, so I just headed straight to the transition area to get set up.

Once I had all my stuff laid out for each transition, I felt much more calm. I put my bike stuff near the front and running stuff near the back, according to the order of the transitions.

Transition 1 gear (swim to bike): Towel for drying my feet, socks, bike shoes, helmet, sunglasses, water bottle full of Nuun, Garmin watch (already turned on so I wouldn't have to wait for it to find satellites). Oh, and the bike.

Transition 2 gear (bike to run): Running shoes, chocolate Clif Shot, race belt with number attached, hat.

I also brought a bucket to sit on while I changed my shoes during each transition.

I grabbed my lovely gold-colored cap (provided in my packet) and goggles and headed down to the water to confront my enemy scope out the course.

The orange buoys marked the triangular swim course. We were to swim counterclockwise from the shore, out to the buoy on the right, over to the buoy on the left and then back to shore. It didn't look so far or scary in real life!

I started to get excited.

You may notice that I wore the tri top that I thought wouldn't work because it annoyingly rode up as I ran. I ended up just safety-pinning the top to my shorts to keep it in place, and it worked perfectly! The bright pink also helped my support crew/cheering squad (my mom, Don and my dad) keep track of me so they could yell the appropriate encouragements in my direction. Very important stuff.

The race began at 8:00 with the start of the elite wave, which consisted of a bunch of crazy people who did this triathlon twice — as in swim-bike-run-swim-bike-run. Let's not talk about how some of them did the whole thing back-to-back almost before I finished it once.

The wave starts moved quickly, and just minutes later, my group — women under 40 — was up! There was no time to be nervous, and I heard a lot of women chatting about how they, too, were going to use my awesome swim strategy: Stay near the back. Don't get kicked in the face.

I'd say 90% of participants wore a wetsuit for the swim, but I said, "No, thank you," to the $200 price of a new suit and the $50 cost of a rental. The lake turned out to be practically as warm as bathwater! Whew.

I began the swim with a little tried-and-true doggy paddle action. Do you see me at the far right, doing absolutely nothing?

I started with the doggy paddle to let the stronger swimmers pull ahead and to get used to being in the open water without freaking out. Once I decided that I could put my face in the water without being kicked, I began swimming freestyle... for about two minutes.

The murky water really threw me off and I began to veer toward the right, away from the buoy that everyone else was swimming toward. I kept having to pull my head up to find where I wanted to go, and I just felt like I was swimming incredibly slowly and inefficiently. I rolled over onto my back and found that I could go much faster that way, so that's what I ended up doing for most of the swim!

I was not nearly the only one who did this, and I was in no way ashamed to give up on freestyle. Survival was my goal!

Even though I struggled with the swim, I honestly had fun the whole time. I never panicked or gave up. I just kept alternating between swimming on my back, doggy paddling and attempting freestyle.

Don (who was also the fab photographer) yelled at me near the end to do some actual swimming, so I busted some moves for the final stretch back to shore. Do I look like I know what I'm doing? (Don't answer that.)

Swim (0.25 mile): 11:02

I was incredibly pleased to emerge from the lake still alive. I had quite a jolly time running to the transition area to get into bike mode. My weakest leg was done, and I was excited to get some work done on the bike and in the run!

The toughest part of T1 was trying to put socks on my wet feet. Even the towel didn't help much, so that struggle slowed me down. Otherwise, I put on my bike shoes, sunglasses, helmet and Garmin, and then took a big swig of Nuun before sticking the water bottle into its holder.

Transition 1: 2:33

The bike leg was fun. Have I mentioned how cycling is so much better than swimming?

I passed a lot of people, which felt really good after my slowww swim. The course was two 4.5-mile loops, and it seemed to fly by as I picked people off one by one.

There was one moderate hill that left my quads aching after each pass, but there was a nice downhill afterward that allowed me to coast and recover.

The course was entirely on streets surrounding the park, which meant I had to watch out for traffic. The cars weren't a danger so much as they were a nuisance when I wanted to pass people but couldn't. I often wound up stuck behind people going at a maddeningly slow pace because I couldn't exactly veer out into the busy street to pass. I'm very happy with my bike time, but I'm even happier knowing that I could have gone much faster if it weren't for the cars!

Bike (9 miles): 32:53 (16.8 mph)

As I rode into the bike dismount area, I passed a few ambulances — apparently someone had gotten confused about where he was supposed to go for the dismount and changed his direction suddenly, crashing into someone else and causing a pretty bad accident. Yikes!

By the time I got there, volunteers had jumped in to make it very clear where we were supposed to go, so I dismounted and ran to the transition area without incident.

And the following photo is the best one from the whole event, thanks to this dude's bold fashion choice.

My bucket really came in handy for changing my shoes, although it doesn't exactly make for a flattering photo...

I exchanged my helmet for a hat, changed into my running shoes, put on my race belt, grabbed the Clif Shot and took another big swig of Nuun. Oh, and I switched my Garmin setting from cycling to running, which took me some precious time to figure out in my hurry.

Transition 2: 1:47

Now for the thing that I really know how to do!

My legs felt a bit heavy, but other than that, I was thrilled with how the race was going and felt so excited to finally be doing my strongest leg.

I was also really happy whenever I spotted my family, as you can see here. HEY, GUYS!!!

As with the bike ride, I passed a lot of people on the run. Since it was only a 1.6-mile stretch, I was surprised that there weren't more people busting it out on the last leg. I was starting to feel tired, but my legs were on auto-pilot and couldn't have slowed down even if I wanted them to.

I have to say here that during this entire race — but especially during this leg — the volunteers who directed us along the course were excellent. There was enthusiastic cheering, clapping, dancing, etc. going on for all the participants, and I busted out more than a few fist pumps and cheers in appreciation. Yay for awesome volunteers!

I ate about one-third of my Clif Shot for a little boost during the run, and it helped power me through to a strong finish.

Run (1.6 miles): 12:13 (7:38 pace <---- word!)

Why yes, I did fist-pump across the finish line! Check out the little girl to the right — her face!

Official time: 1:00:30

I had such a blast with this race, and on top of that, I actually placed third in my age group!

OK, so it turns out that there were only four people in my age group anyway. But I'm not going to let that put a damper on the accomplishment, and here's why:

You'll see that I was the slowest of the four girls in the swim (by far), but I was the fastest on the bike and in the run! So yes, I'll proudly take third place out of four people, complete with domination of two out of three events.

Of 200 overall participants, I came in 71st place. It's funny to see how my placement in each of the three legs shows how I go from weakest to strongest across the sports:

Swim rank: 140

Bike rank: 75

Run rank: 21

I know my swimming will only improve as I practice, and I look forward to the challenge! 

I really, really loved doing this triathlon — it was the perfect first tri because it was short, well-organized and low-pressure. Mary Meyer Life Fitness did a fantastic job of running the event, and especially succeeded with making it fun and inclusive of anyone who wanted to "get out there and tri" (as the t-shirt says).

My focus now shifts back to marathon training, but I've officially been bitten by the tri bug! I feel like my post-marathon goals will revolve around completing longer tris and flirting with the idea of those races that have "Iron" in the name.

I recently came across this very applicable statement:

“Triathlon is addictive. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’ll just do one to get it off the bucket list, because it will just change from one triathlon to one 70.3 to one Ironman to 10 Ironmen and so on. Triathlon is athletic heroin and if you wanna be inducted into the club, you gotta be ready to pay up for the high.”

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I'm Gonna Tri

Swim. Bike. Run. All the cool kids are doing it.

My first triathlon is tomorrow, September 10!

Don't be fooled by the name of this race — I'll only be tri-ing once. The first triathlon in this series took place in June, and participants had the option of registering for both races to see if they could beat their June time in September. Cool, huh?

Super Sprint refers to the distance of the race, and it also directly translates to "Super Cool." Here's the breakdown:

• 0.25-mi swim
• 9-mi bike
• 1.6-mi run

In other words, this is one of the shortest triathlons I could possibly do! Other triathlon distances include:

Sprint

• 0.5-mi swim
• 12.4-mi bike
• 3.1-mi run

Olympic

• 0.93-mi swim
• 24.8-mi bike
• 6.2-mi run

Half Iron (70.3 miles total)

• 1.2-mi swim
• 56-mi bike
• 13.1-mi run

Full Iron (140.6 miles total)

• 2.4-mi swim
• 112-mi bike
• 26.2-mi run

So now you know that when you see a bumper sticker that says 70.3 or 140.6, it means that person is a badass. (If someone could custom-make me a 10.85 sticker for this tri, that'd be fab...)

I'm not taking this tri too seriously since it's my first, but I'm very competitive (with myself) and want to do the best I can do. Here are my little goals for each leg of the race:

• Don't panic
• Don't get kicked in the face
• Remember to breathe
• Stay near the back and to the outside so I don't get run over by faster swimmers
• DON'T PANIC

I am such a newbie swimmer that my only real goal is to survive this leg. I've done six swims to prepare for this tri, including one swim in this lake in the same area where we'll be swimming, so I know what to expect. While I'm not quite swimming like a fish yet, at least I won't sink like a stone. 

I think I'll have the most trouble with endurance. Last night, I completed two laps in the pool (100 yards) for the first time without stopping to rest for a significant amount of time in between. If I've done my math right (highly questionable), I'll have to swim the equivalent of 8.8 laps. So, yeah. What's up, backstroke?

• Don't fall getting on or off the bike
• Don't fall, period
• Don't get hit by a car
• Don't hit or get hit by anyone else

I'm pretty confident on my bike, but I know there's a big difference between going for a leisurely ride on my local trail and competing in a frenzied, multi-sport race. I saw plenty of people fall at the Seafair Triathlon as they mounted and dismounted their bikes! I'll try to transition slowly and steadily, ignoring the chaos around me and just doing my own thing.

The route runs along some major streets, but hopefully it'll be adequately blocked off from cars. I don't think the mean streets of Woodinville will be very busy at 8 a.m. on a Saturday, anyway.

Lastly, I'm a super-defensive driver, so I'll adopt that strategy on the bike and try to stay the heck away from other riders.

• Kick the crap out of it and finish strong!

Yup. I hope to run the last leg at a sub-8:30 pace and finish the race in one piece.

I know I'll have an absolute blast no matter what happens during this race, and I'll probably sign up for some crazy triathlon immediately afterward. 

I'm already thrilled with how far I've come just in the past few months. I went from not even owning a road bike or knowing how to swim properly at all — and being afraid to attempt these new-to-me sports — to being confident that I can complete a whole Super Cool triathlon without drowning or crashing.

And because I have evidence that I once claimed, "I can never do a triathlon," I'm even more proud. Remember what Ben Davis wrote about how we perceive our own abilities?

"I think that a lot of times we confuse 'can't' with 'don't care enough to try.'"

Tomorrow, I'm gonna try tri.

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Watch for my race recap on Monday, and until then, you can check my Tumblr or follow me on The Twitter for updates on how I did!

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It's Never Too Late to Start Doing

The Internet is a magical thing. We can use it to connect with people we already know, but we can also use it to form bonds with people we've never met.

Sometimes, we can actually meet those people and become real-life friends. That's not weird at all, right?

OK, so "weird" is relative.

I've mentioned Ben Davis a few times here before — I posted his 120-pound weight loss video, wrote about his visit to Seattle in March and recently mentioned his inspiring take on what the word "can't" really means.

He's also demonstrated sub-par Catch Phrase skills at my house, but let's not hold that against him.

Anyway, Aaron and I met up with Ben and his girlfriend Brooke while we were in Vancouver. Ben just moved there from Arkansas, and they invited us out for poutine and drinks on a lovely Canadian evening.

Well, hello, delicious treat of all that is good in the world.

Ben just completed an Iron-distance triathlon right after finishing a two-month tour of the country, during which he, along with his Pa, held unofficial, non-competitive 5K runs for anyone who wanted to "Do Life."

It's been a busy summer.

But the next year will be even busier. Ben and Pa plan to run 52 marathons and 52 5Ks in 52 weeks — that's two events per week for the entire year.

They'll run the marathons at a manageable pace so that anyone who wants to join in can, and the 5Ks will be non-competitive and casual. It's not about racing, or even about running — it's about getting out to do something that you might not normally do because you'll be surrounded by supportive people who believe you can do it.

Regardless of their pace, even if Ben and Pa don't do any running on top of that, they'll still cover more than 1,500 miles in 2012. That's quite a feat for someone who, not long ago, weighed 360 pounds and had only a world ranking in Mario Kart to be proud of — that was Ben. Not to mention for someone who was once deep in the throes of addiction and would-be drug smuggling — that was Pa.

On top of the runs and meet-ups and countless folks they'll inspire to get moving, Ben and Pa are determined to do some good by raising money for one charity or cause each week. Nominations for these beneficiaries are open at Ben Does Life.

It's amazing how people can overcome some of the darkest, most depressing life circumstances and not only find health and happiness, but also go on to inspire countless others to do the same.

What I like most, I think, about Ben's "Do Life" movement is that it's an unmistakable call to action — a reminder that you can't just sit around and wait for someone or something else to come along and improve your life.

I remember waiting for something exciting to happen to my life when I felt like this in early 2010:

"I was always tired. I didn't see my friends very much. I had no hobbies. I didn't exercise. I didn't really watch what I ate. None of these individual elements was particularly alarming to me, but the combination left me in a sort of quiet desperation. For lack of a better way to describe the feeling, I was just kinda bummed about life."

I bet that description is alarming to anyone who's read a few posts on this blog, and that's because I'm not that person anymore. What changed? Well, I stopped waiting and started doing.

I identified the things that I thought would make me happy in life and I did them. I went skydiving. I started running races. I took up photography. I got rid of soul-crushing debt.

Doing is simple. Delaying, whining, making excuses — that's the hard part. Trust me, I know! That stuff requires creativity and a deep commitment to staying rooted in place.

It's never too late to take the first step and start doing. Whether you're in your twenties, like Ben, or in your fifties, like Pa, the only thing that's required is the will to start. Forward motion, once begun, becomes effortless, enjoyable, scenic. And what you want to do in life is only impossible if you never believe in yourself enough to try.

I'll just go ahead and throw out the fact that I want to become an Ironman. There, I said it! And I said it because I believe I can do it.

OK, so I can't become an Ironman tomorrow — I don't currently have the endurance or skills to complete a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run in succession — but I'm going to do something about all that and make it happen.

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

I dedicated this blog to answering Mary Oliver's question because, like Ben's mission, it demands action. Ben has committed the entire next year to action, and I've just committed in writing to doing one of the most demanding endurance events out there. (Eek!)

So, tell me, even if it scares you — especially if it scares you: Big or small, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

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Training for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas MARATHON!

This time last year, I would've laughed if you told me I'd run a marathon.

Actually, I would've also laughed if you told me I'd run a half-marathon, and I've already done that. In fact, here's a video I made about my Rock 'n' Roll Seattle experience:


My First Half Marathon: Rock 'n' Roll Seattle from Devon Mills on Vimeo.

(Here's a tidbit I forgot to include in the video: Thanks to help of family, friends, co-workers and blog-readers, I raised $2,200 for the American Cancer Society while training for the half-marathon! Woo-hoo!!!)

To be specific, this time last year, I hadn't even run my first 5K — that wasn't until September 26. I was strictly a treadmill runner, going one to three miles per workout with walking breaks. I was terrified for my first race.

After crossing the finish line, I was inspired.

I've crossed 10 finish lines total, and the one I'm working toward now will be the most difficult by far. The Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon on December 4 will be my first trip to Vegas, my longest run ever and an accomplishment I never thought I'd achieve (or even want to achieve) in my life.

Why put myself through hell for 26.2 miles? For a medal? For a bumper sticker on my car?

Nah. I'm going to do it because I once thought I couldn't. Because I think it's pretty badass. And, most of all, because once I conquer the distance, there will be one less thing in this world that I'm afraid of.

But first I have to respect the distance and put in the months of hard work it'll take to run it to the best of my ability. Here's where this plan comes in (click to make it larger):

This is my 19-week marathon training plan. Today marks the beginning of Week 2!

I love having a plan when it comes to tackling big goals, and this is exactly what I need to stay on top of my training. Life will inevitably creep in between the pretty lines of this Excel spreadsheet and interfere with the plan, so I'm going to be flexible and open to switching things around. But at least I can make sure I don't get too off track by checking in with this plan each day. I'm thrilled to have completed Week 1 and look forward to feeling so much stronger and more fit as the weeks pass by.

(My college roommate who remembers watching me lie in bed eating canned frosting while watching Oprah just went, "Huh?")

I based this training plan on Hal Higdon's Novice 1 plan. I switched the weekday runs around so I won't be running three days in a row (my legs can't take it), and I added two days of strength training as well. Since I've focused only on running up to this point, I have strong leg muscles but a weak upper body. I need overall strength to be the best runner I can be, so I'm hitting the free weights at my gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I specified cross-training on Sundays to either be biking or yoga, but I might have to change that to biking or swimming... since I might sign up for a triathlon that's in September!

My excuses for not doing a triathlon so far have been that I don't really know how to swim (the correct techniques and all), and I don't have a road bike. Well...

...I'm quickly running out of excuses! This is my lovely new bike, which I bought this weekend to replace my seriously outgrown pre-teen mountain bike. I'm all grown up now!

Remember: If you don't want to do something, you'll find any excuse not to do it. If you want to do something, you won't let any excuse get in your way.

I'll still need to work on the swimming, though... check out the caption I gave this photo back in March!!

You'll also notice that I'm running another half-marathon on September 5! The race is the Labor Day Half, formerly known as the Super Jock 'n' Jill Half, and it starts and ends at the Redhook Brewery in my hometown, Woodinville. How could I pass up a race on my home turf that could give me the opportunity to run a sub two-hour half?

I'll be busy for the next several months — running, biking, swimming and freaking out about the idea of running 26.2 miles. But if I learned anything from my half-marathon, it's that no matter how nervous I feel in the days leading up to a race (uhhh, did you watch that video?), once I reach the start line, I'll feel happy, excited and incredibly lucky to be able to do what I'm about to do.

I'll look forward to that moment every single day until December 4.

Viva Las Vegas.

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Aaron's First Tri: Seafair Sprint Triathlon

We were up at 4 a.m. on Sunday, July 24, to get ready for Aaron's first triathlon — the Seafair Sprint Triathlon at Seward Park.

Aaron signed up for it five days before race day and didn't train at all. Of course, he had the bike training under his belt (remember that 204-mile bike ride he did two weeks ago?), but he hadn't done any swimming since our trip to Hawaii in February, and he certainly didn't prepare for the transitions between each sport.

Oh, and don't forget he still has that broken hand!

I knew he could do the race, and probably do freakishly well with practically no training; it was just a matter of how much it would hurt to do it...

We got to Seward Park just after 5 a.m. It was going to be a gorgeous Seattle day!

Aaron racked his bike and set up all his gear for the two transitions — from swim to bike and from bike to run.

Then, all we could do was wait! There were both Olympic- and sprint-distance races, and all the Olympic participants started first around 6:30. Wave after wave of athletes began to attack the swim course while Aaron waited, cold and anxious.

He had a sweatshirt and sweatpants, but he insisted on getting acclimated to the cold since he didn't have a wetsuit to wear for the swim. I'd say 95% or more of the athletes wore a wetsuit, but Aaron rolled just a tri top and tri shorts for his first race!

He finally got in the water around 7:30, and he says it was the coldest he's ever been — even colder than the polar-bear dive we did in January!

Can you spot him?

At 7:45, his wave was off! I was dying of nervousness for him the whole time. The swim course was a half-mile, but it looked really, really far to me.

Aaron says the swim was really tough, and he thought he was going to drown. Seriously! He was exhausted and resorted to floating on his back, as well as trying every stroke imaginable to get through the water.

The first thing he said when he got out of the water was, "I guess I should have swam at least once before this!"

Swim time (0.5 mile): 20:40

(I think he finished way faster than I would if I attempted this right now! I'd still be in that water right now...)

He then ran over to the transition area to get ready for the bike ride.

Transition 1: 2:30

Swim cap and goggles off; socks, bike shoes, sunglasses and helmet on. Plus, he ate some Shot Bloks for fuel.

And then he was off for the 12-mile ride down Lake Washington Boulevard, across I-90 and back.

About halfway through the ride, Aaron realized his back brake was jammed on, making the ride more difficult than it should have been! He fixed it and was able to whiz through the second half of the ride much faster.

Bike (12 miles): 37:44

The bike-dismount area had a really sharp corner that caused many athletes to stumble and/or crash into one another as they scrambled to get into the transition area, but Aaron did just fine with it!

It was time to get ready for the last leg — the 5K run.

Transition 2: 2:09

Helmet and bike shoes off; running shoes, fuel belt and race number on. Plus, more Shot Bloks.

There's Aaron's stepdad, Mark, cheering him on!

The sun was fully out and it was starting to get warm at this point, so I worried that he'd get really hot on top of being exhausted from the swim and bike. But I also knew that he's strong with 5Ks, and I knew he'd do well!

I was so anxious waiting for him at the finish line. I had a great time clapping and cheering for all the other athletes as I waited. I'm so amazed at all the effort it takes to do a triathlon!!

Finally, there he was!

I went nuts as he ran strong across the finish line.

Run (3.1 miles): 24:33

Overall finish time: 1:27:38

What an accomplishment!!!

What does one do right after finishing his first triathlon? Go straight for the food, of course.

He looks like he's giving someone a suspicious side-eye, but he's really in the middle of chewing the whole bagel that he shoved into his mouth.

Greta and Mark are so proud of their triathlete!!

And this girl is, too.

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