Henley Super Sprint Triathlon
We did it! My first Triathlon and what fun it was. to recap, it was a 200-meter swim in a 25-meter pool, a 12.5K cycle around the roads of Henley, and a 3. 2.5K run on the grounds in a field.
Let’s also not forget the original reason for participating in a triathlon,
To learn how to swim.
I started my weekly swimming lessons on the 27th January. I’ve never feared the water and able to spend a lot of time in the water holding my breath, but proper swimming was a long distance away. It’s funny because while writing this, I now can’t remember the details of how I was swimming in January, a bit like I can’t remember what I was like on a bike before I learned to ride it. What I do remember is that I could not do one length of 20-meters without being severely out of breath and needing time to recover before going again. The last time I went to a lesson (May), we were learning the butterfly technique and at that point, doing the front crawl was a break for me to recover. That alone is a good example of the progress.
Anyway, that’s the origin of this mission and now let’s look at how the Triathlon Day worked out. I will give details at the end of Lessons learned and notes for next time.
First, Henley on Thames is a beautiful area and we were extremely lucky with good weather. In fact, it was hot on the day, around 24 degrees. It’s a small event but fun and great as a first-time event. The organisers provided all the information needed via email and were helpful when contacted for any queries, of which I had many. Mainly, ‘what happens if I still can’t properly swim’.