Ran my first tri last sunday

I just ran my first tri last sunday. I originally had signed up for a duathlon because I don't have a wetsuit yet and from what I read here, most people said I probably would want one. I showed up to the race and was watching as the other racers showed up and it looked like all of them were there for the tri. I didn't want to be the only person running a duathlon (no fun without competition for me) so I talked to the organizers and they switched me to the tri about 10 minutes before the race started.

Luckily I had a towel and goggles in my car so I could train at the pool during my luncbreak so I grabbed them and headed to the transition area. I'm glad I had been reading other people's experiences here so I had a decent idea of how to set it up. I then ran to the water and barely got in before they started. It was a 250m swim, and even though I'd really only spent 1 day in the pool, I knew I was in decent enough shape to try it. I felt like I got tossed in a washing machine. My goggles broke right as the race started so I could only see splashing and the adrenaline rush had me going faster than I should've been. I got winded right after the turnaround point and had to side stroke a bit to catch my breath before I made it out of the water towards the middle-back of the pack, total time of around 6:45.

I was a little dizzy from breathing on both sides but I got ready for the bike portion as fast as I could. Once I got going, I was having a blast. I like ot think I'm in pretty good cardio shape so I was on a mission to make up the time I felt I had lost in the swim. I passed a few people and got towards the front pack of riders. The rest of the ride was the most fun portion of the race for me, trying to pass the people around me and as soon as I would, they would be trying to pass me. I kept a personal best pace for the 13 miles of 20.2mph and finished in roughly 38 minutes.

Once I got off the bike and started running, my legs were completely numb for the first mile. At this point, the pack was all spread out so I was just making sure I kept a good pace and didn't lose position. My run came in at 21:46 around 7:15 a mile.

My total time was 1:06:30 and I finished 5th out of roughly 50 racers. It was the most fun I've had in a really long time and I can't wait to do my next tri.

Thanks for the advice and information I got from reading everyone's posts on here.