We are the Barking Spiders

Swim, bike, run has a whole new element of fun that was really lacking previously for me. This Saturday, I swam my first open water 1500m swim at the Pinehurst triathlon. My pregnant-belly began the race for our relay team that also consisted of crazy-guy Ed and his 50 lb-fright of a bike, and Lawrence's 1980's alter-ego. So the Biscuit had a water-adventure and the spectators at Pinehurst had a good chuckle.

The swim was a little foggy at first and when I got in the water with my wave, I had to ask which way we were supposed to be going:

But I made it through! After swimming a few extra meters while zig-zagging my way through the course and ping-ponging off and around the other swimmers, I feel my 30 minute swim was a decent showing for my (out-of-shape, never-swam-in-the-open-water-with-800-other-people, did-I-mention-I'm-pregnant) self.

Here's Ed, finishing the bike leg of the race (we were getting a little worried about Ed because he was gone over 1.5 hours - the chain came off 4 times and he had to readjust his bike seat; oh - and it was stuck in the big-gear so the up-hills must have been a real blast):

Ed's first words after finishing the bike, "That was stupid."

And for the crowning glory of our team (he was really the only one of us that laid down a respectable time), here's Lawrence coming down the finishing chute (that other dude doesn't know what hit him):

Here we are, the Barking Spiders, enjoying the victory of completion:

Oh, and Richard won the whole deal (he finished before our biker came back in to give you some perspective). It was a good day for us all! Richard is typically a long-course guy and this was a short-course race, so for him to win was a big deal since he was also out of his element (just like my relay team). He ran his fastest ever 10K and was running 5:57 min/miles - geez; and he tied the course bike record. This is me with the winner:

A big shout-out to Vicky for setting a new PR and to Martin for placing 2nd in his age-group, yay for our friends!!!! And special thanks to Craig and Megan for putting up with us all day and to Craig for taking these great photos during the race.

I really did enjoy my open-water swim, maybe after I'm back to my normal size (I know it's bound to happen!) I'll invest in a wet-suit and make it a habit of relay racing triathlons (since there's no way I'll be doing the whole thing myself!). I wonder if I'll still like open-water-swimming as much without the extra buoyancy provided by the baby-belly?