I was in the women 35 & under wave, which was third, so we waited for the first two waves to get in the water before wading down into the murky lake. We were doing a water start, which means you are actually treading water out in the lake, then start swimming when the starting gun sounds, instead of a land start. I struggled into my suit and put on my cap, which is color coded according to your swim wave. Though the lake temperature was about 65 degrees (not horribly cold), almost everyone was wearing a wetsuit. Finally it was time to get on my brand-new DC tri club race top and bottom, chomp on some last-minute energy bars, get marked (i.e., volunteers write your number with permanent marker on your arms and legs) and walk down to the lake. I had to make my best guess about how to set out my gear, since I really didn't know what would work best for me. I saw other triathletes meticulously setting out each of their gear items in a specific configuration for maximum time efficiency- some people even leave their cycling shoes clipped into their bikes in order to transition even faster. I had watched some youtube videos about transitioning (curtesy of Jewel) but I hadn't actually practiced them. Once Jewel, Cat, Pinata (my DC tri training buddies) and I got our packets and had our stuff together, we headed over to set up our transition areas. Though I am a somewhat experienced running and swimming racer, I had never done this kind of race, and many of these guys were obviously veterans.
As we pulled into the parking area I saw dozens of Cervelos, Felts and other beautiful tri bikes, and I started getting pretty nervous. When we arrived, I was astounded by how many hard-core-looking triathletes were there (at what I had considered to be a little po-dunk race at the very beginning of tri season). My dad was there to see me race, so he drove while I dozed, but I was really not that tired- my adrenalin was already starting to kick in. Jewel was nice enough to put my bike on her rack (since my Mini Cooper doesn't have one) and we caravaned down together. Our race-day wake-up call was 5 am to make sure we had time to drive two hours down to Bumpass, set up our transition areas, and be ready for the 10 am start. Over the past few months I have been very focused in my training with this goal in mind, and I have really started to feel like I have become sucked into the triathlon world, but I still couldn't techincally call myself a "triathlete"- so you can imagine my nervous anticipation as the event finally arrived. A couple of weeks ago, I completed my first Olympic triathlon: the "Rumpus in Bumpass." In fact, it was basically my first triathlon in general (not counting a little sprint I did when I was in middle school).
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