My first tri

It was a stampede.

Or at least that's what if felt like, when the two or three dozen people I'd passed during the bike portion of my first sprint triathlon -- The 2007 Tiburon Triathlon to support the Tiburon fire district -- booked it past me during the last leg of the race.

There was nothing I could do to fend them off, this pack of Heat 5 triathletes, with their exceptionally vented triathlon clothes and their ridiculously efficient strides.

But I had promised myself I'd do a full-fledged triathlon before I turned 30. And as of today, I have 173 days left. The Tiburon Tri was a warm-up to making good on that promise.

There's really only one problem.

I'm what some might call a "burst athlete," a fast sprinter with exceptional heart rate recovery. I've earned this identity through a lifetime of team sports -- soccer, volleyball and rugby. And as hard as I played those sports, I have never found anything as challenging as overcoming my endurance running slowness.

It is painful how slow I am. And I was reminded of that during the Stampede. It was hard to swallow.

After it passed, I focused on the girl in the pink yoga outfit about 30 yards ahead of me and told myself that if I let her beat me, it'd be hard to forgive myself. But I wondered if she was thinking what I was thinking? Am I really this slow?

Coach Neil Fraser, of TriMoreFitness in San Francisco says, "What if I am the slowest?" is the most common question beginner triathletes ask.

Doubt and fear of failure are all common feelings, he says.

I wanted to tell him that I eat doubt and fear of failure for breakfast.

But, Coach Neil persuades:

The excitement and thrill you will feel at the start of your first triathlon are right up there with graduating college, falling in love for the first time or getting married.

"When was the last time you felt this nervous about anything?" he says.

That's often one of the best signs that what you're about to do, is going to be awesome.

And he was right. It was thrilling. Look how thrilled I was even before it started!

It was thrilling to be part a group of thrashing swimmers all trying to make a tight turn around the buoy in the middle of the Bay -- To reach out and touch someone else's feet in the murky cold water and to know I was close enough to pass. It was thrilling to pick off people on the bike and race down the windy Tiburon road faster than I knew my bike could go, to put distance between myself and the people I passed.


And after the stampede, it was thrilling to turn that corner and see the finish line and all the people clapping and cheering.

I finished the race in 1:11:19, good enough for 190th out of 320. I did well in the swim, shockingly since I've never competed in swimming before, completing the half mile in 12 minutes and 45 seconds. I'm confident I can take minutes off of that with a little more experience swimming in a pack. I finished the bike in under 39 minutes. And as I've only ridden a road bike a handful of times, I'm pretty sure I can get better at that.
As for my run time.. well... At just under 10-minute miles, we'll mark that as an area that "Needs Improvement."

By the next time you read me, I already hope to be faster... Or at least, I'm gunna tri.

Get it?