On Saturday, June 5th, 2016, I participated in the 30th Annual Naples Fitness Challenge Triathlon. It was my first triathlon of the year and the second year in a row that I have participated in this race. This sprint tri consists of a 5K run, 15K bike and 1/4 mile swim. Race packet pickup was held the day before the event, but if you emailed the race director a limited amount of people were allowed morning of packet pick up. I emailed to request that since the drive to Naples is an hour and twenty minutes long. The race started at 7:30 AM so I left my house a 5:15AM so I could get there around 6:30AM, which would give me an hour to get my packet pick up, set up my transition area and use the restroom before starting time. It was a very early morning but I was excited for my first tri of the year. I arrived in plenty of time, parked my car down the street from the starting line (the race directions that had been emailed out had warned about limited parking), and rode my bike into the transition area. I was able to get my packet quickly and a volunteer helped me with my race tattoos - one for each arm with my bib number and one for the right calf too with my age group. I got over to the transition area and set up with plenty of time to get over to the starting line. Here is my transition area:

The race started promptly at 7:30AM and because this was a reverse triathlon, the run was first. I started out strong and steady. I had run a 5K the day before (and gotten a PR) so my legs were a little tight. I took it a little easy and didn't overdo it. I kept a pace of approximately 8:30 per mile, which I was happy with and finished the 5K in 25:38. Up next was the bike portion. Bike is my least favorite. I constantly feel like everyone is passing me because I am so slow! This was the first race I had done where I wore my bike shoes. I usually just bike with my running shoes because I still get nervous when wearing my biking shoes in a large group, simply because I can't stop as quickly as I would like to. But this time i decided to go for it and wear by bike shoes and I felt really good on the bike! I wasn't super fast but felt better than I have before. I even passed a few people. I have a bike computer now so I was able to watch my pace and makes sure that I didn't fall below 16 mph. I finished the bike in 33:49. I still need to get faster on the bike but I was happy with this time.

Finally, I made it to the swim portion. It seemed like a long run from dropping off my bike to entering the water. I had to run through the transition area (my spot was all the way at the end), across the street, then all the way down the beach. By the time I hit the water I was really looking forward to cooling down. I normally enjoy the swim portion but I felt a little discombobulated this time. My goggles kept getting water in them and I had to stop at least three times to clear them out. One of my favorite parts of this race is that the finish line is just barely out of the water. I swam as far as I could, until the water got too shallow to go any farther, and then stood up, took a few stops and crossed the finish line to collect my finisher's medal!

The post race party was great! There was live music and plenty of food! The food ranged from bagels, fruit and granola bars to scrambled eggs, sausage and pancakes. (The scrambled eggs were a little runny, but for serving such a large group what can you really expect?) I snacked on some of the food and then made my way back to the transition area to gather my stuff and head home. I managed to get home right before the rain came in!