My first triathlon!

I woke up at 5:00 am on 10-10-10, the day of my first triathlon. It was the Golden State Triathlon and was doing the Super Sprint. I rode my bike to the event and it was pretty cold. Once the sun came up it got better. I was standing on the beach ready to swim across the American river when my friend Jessica came up and told me to get in to the water. I asked why and she said the cold would take my breath away if I didn't. It made sense, so I did it.
They announced 10 minutes to start. Then 5 minutes. Then they said there would be a 10 second count-down. Then I heard it. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 GO! And I went. Into the water. For fifty feet it was too shallow to swim in. I tried, then got up and ran some more. Then finally, I was swimming. One third of the way across the river I was tired. Half way across the river I wondered what the hell I was thinking. Two thirds of the way across the river I was on the verge of panic and I called to one of the safeties in a kayak: "STAY CLOSE!" I was seriously worried that I wouldn't be able to make it across the river. By the time I made land on the other side I was tired. I heard one other person was behind me, so at least I wasn't last. I was wearing water shoes so I could run to the staging area to get on my bike. Sadly I didn't have the strength to run. I crawled up the steps on the opposite bank of the river and walked as fast as I could to the staging area.
By the time I got to my bike, I had recovered enough breath to stop gasping. My transition went pretty well. I dried off, donned my helmet and put my running shoes on. My friend Dee had told me to put powder in my socks and that was good advice. I had installed cage pedals on my bike so I wouldn't have to change shoes twice. Then I was on the bike and passing everyone...and I mean EVERYONE! I passed at least 40 people in the next 5 miles. Nobody passed me on the bike! I was breathing hard, but I was OK. Less than 15 minutes later I was back in the staging area, dropping my helmet and running.
I ran as fast as I could which wasn't very fast, but it was fast enough to pass 15 people over the next mile. Only three people passed me in that mile.
37:56 after that countdown I crossed the finish line. I placed 3rd in my age group and my time was better than I expected. Thanks to all my friends for your encouragement!
I'm not going to run another triathlon without training for it though. My cycling endurance has carried my running, but I haven't been swimming in months.