BYU Triathlon

Today I ran the first ever BYU Triathlon. It was a shorty- a 200yard swim, a 6.2 mile bike, and a 1.8 mile run. I've done other triathlons before, but it had been a long, long time. Because it was so short, I didn't actually train. Ever. I do ride my bike around a lot, and I try to run a couple of days per week, so I wasn't too out of shape.
Check in was from 8:30-9:00am. After checking in a getting my number written on my calves and arms, I set up my bike, shoes, and other stuff in the transition area just outside the pool (on campus). After some stretching, a few warm up laps, and a pre-race meeting, it was time to start. Instead of starting us all at the same time or in heats, one person was allowed to start every 10 seconds. All 154 of us lined up on the pool deck according to our own assessment of our swimming abilities (we had filled out a survey before hand, and were assigned a number). I was assigned to start fourth. After a round of loud cheers, the first swimmer started. Forty seconds later, I pushed off the wall and was off. I had set the goal not to get passed on the swim, and I didn't. Two minutes and thirty seconds later, I climbed out of the pool and ran out the door to the transition area. I couldn't get a road bike for the race, so I was on my mountain bike. So even though I passed two guys in the transition area, they quickly caught up to me on their road bikes.
My goal on the bike was to not push myself too hard. That way, I could still feel okay on the run. It was really tempting to try to hold pace with some of the faster guys on the bike, but I was able to remind myself to run my own race and not to worry about anybody else. When it came time to leave the bikes behind, this self restrain paid off. I quickly caught up to several of the guys who had passed me before.
I finished with a total time of 43 minutes and 15 seconds. I met my only two goals-to run my own race without worrying about anybody else, and to enjoy myself.