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Magda Besser: Bearathlon Recap

Hey guys, I talked to Ben and we decided I should give a little run down of my race!

It was no fun waking up at 4:30 but I was able to do it and make it to Berkeley by 6. When I got there I had no idea what I was doing so I just stuck by the team and followed them like a five year old. I didn't have a trainer and was so nervous about the race that I forgot to warm up. And then it began...

I went into this race with no expectations, and this is how it went...

Swim: I wasn't worried about not finishing before the cut off so I just went at a nice pace and kept by a girl from Cal so I could use her as a lap counter. I ended up getting out a minute early and wasn't overly tired because I didn't push very hard. I ran over to the transition area and everything I practiced the day before in the parking lot went of the window. I put my helmet on and then realized I wanted to put my shoes on..it was all bad. I had one shoe on, a helmet, then i put my glasses on, then the other shoe..bad bad

Bike: I finally got going and as I started to head through campus there was a small hill and I was praying that this was the one everyone talked about and that they just exaggerated. No no..the mountain finally came and it was brutal..I wanted to hop off my bike so bad but I didn't know how much more was left and I didn't want to risk having to walk up the whole thing. Then I heard people yelling in the distance and realized it was all of my fellow aggie supporters at the top of the hill which was great. Once I beat the hill I had to worry about my arms hurting from braking so much..I gave up and just booked it down the hill

Run: This transition was fun because most of the team was done and crowded around my area so they just kept shouting things at me which was exciting. I was all frazzled in this transition as the first and so I set of at an alarmingly slow pace, but I couldn't feel my toes from the bike so I was ok with it. I pushed myself by keeping pace with two Cal girls in front of me and finally crossed the finish line to the whole team waiting there. It was really exciting!!

All and all it was hard but I enjoyed it, and having the team support really meant alot

What I learned:

1. Your entire transition area has to be COMPLETELY set up before the first wave goes off because they close the transition area. I forgot my cap and goggles because I thought i could go back. And my shoes were not where I wanted them.
2. Double check that all your stuff is out of your bag and ready to go. I left my hat in my bag instead of on my towel so I couldn't grab it for the run
3. Practice making your transition area really small. I practiced having all the room in the world and I probably had a foot of space at best. I had to line up my shoes in a weird way and it threw me all off. If other triathlons are like Berkeley then the space is very tight.
4. Don't take your first triathlon too seriously... it's more exciting if you can just do it and learn from it.

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