The triathlon that I had trained so hard for is now a thing of the past, but my memories of the training and the actual event are still so fresh ... maybe since I haven't really stopped working out (although I haven't gotten to the pool the way I would like and look forward to biking again tomorrow morning)!! The entire process from the training to the actual event were so great! Tori must have known when she asked if I wanted to do a triathlon that this was exactly what I needed right now. I really only had 6 weeks to train and certainly wish I had had more time but I WILL have time to continue training for my next race (yes, I will ABSOLUTELY do another race this year - if not 2)! I'm looking at a race in September, Thanksgiving Day, and possibly a holiday one in December. Can you say addicted?! Not really by the competition of it all but rather the idea that I pushed myself so far outside my comfort zone and tried something that I never even imagined I would do. I went from despising running (and sucking major wind by 1 mile) to being so proud that I could run for 40 minutes without stopping. Now I look forward to the days I run *GASP* Yes, I said it out loud!! I loved the quiet time I would have with just me and my iPod as I rode my bike in the early mornings while it was still cool outside (relatively speaking). Tori and I had a great time at the pool working on our swimming and enjoying ourselves and marveling at what we were training for. The camaraderie and support from all of the others who were training and competing was truly inspiring. Everyone was willing to share what they were doing, tips they had learned, etc. The whole experience was completely empowering and something I will never forget.
The morning of the 19th was much cooler than I expected. In fact I didn't look forward to having to get out of the pool for fear I would freeze to death! I got to the rec. center around 5:45 A.M. for a 7:00 A.M start. I had been up most of the night with Kendyl who was throwing up - good times the night before the race. Steve was actually getting up with her but I wasn't getting much sleep. I was able to borrow a road bike at the last minute so had to get my pedals onto that bike and get a feel for it before using it in the race. Kinda scary to switch out on race day but that bike helped me shave some major time off of my bike portion and I am now having to save my pennies for a nice road bike (preferably a tri bike) ... my mountain bike from college just won't cut it!! There was plenty of time to stand around and talk to friends about how nervous we were. I got checked in and had my number - 31 - written on both arms and legs. Sure made reality set in!! There were 49 people who were racing which was such a great number ... especially considering I knew 80% of them! Made it a very comfortable situation since so many of us were 1st timers :) They started the swim at 7:00, sending one swimmer every 15 seconds. After the first 25 people they took a 2 minute break before starting the next group. The actual race itself is kind of a blur considering how long and hard I had trained for it, but it was exhilarating and fun - I tried to enjoy every minute of it! Those were my main goals in the race ... to finish (and run the entire thing) and have fun. I succeeded in both! The run was very hard for me that day (considering I came down with stomach flu that afternoon I was just very thankful to have finished) because I hadn't practiced transitioning from the bike to the run as much as I needed to, but I ran and didn't stop which is what I wanted to accomplish. Here is a glimpse of what my race day looked like:
Steve went out and bought posterboard the night before and helped the girls make signs to hold up along the race route. He also made one for Cougar ;) It was so fun to see them cheering me on from the sidelines!! I can't count the number of times they told me how awesome I did and how proud of me they were that day. It meant the world to me. They finally understood what I had been spending so much time getting ready for! Here is what my cheering section looked like (including a pic of me and Tori at the finish line):
Now, I didn't expect to be "competitive" in this race - and I wasn't - but I was happy with my time. Really, I was happy to have finished!! I finished the race in 55 minutes 54 seconds coming in 19th out of 49. I now have more training and races to look forward to and I'm excited to continue on. This race was a "mini" sprint triathlon so my next race will be longer ... I look forward to the challenge :)
