I am a Triathlete!!!!

I did it! I finished my first triathlon! I will try to keep my race report relatively short, but I do like to ramble so be prepared!! I slept very well the night before my race, I was in bed by 10:00pm and up at 4:30am. I ate some breakfast and drank some gatorade and was ready to go! We left our house at 5:30am and drove the 30 miles to Benbrook. Got my body marking done and got my transition area set up with my bike. (Note to self, don't bring so much stuff next time!!!). It was quite chilly that morning and I overpacked a little bit. We probably should have left later, we ended up standing around for 1:30 hours. Luckily Curt and Wes (our good friend) were there to keep me from going crazy. We had our pre-race meeting and the swim began.

We started the swim in 10 second intervals based on our race number so I didn't start my swim until 30 minutes after the start time of 7:30. The swim (300 m pool swim) was pretty uneventful, I tried to keep my pace steady and tried to save my legs and just use my arms. I made it out in 7:33, which was right around my target. The only thing that I had a tough time with was passing people, it was very crowded.

T1: WOW, I committed so many rookie mistakes in my first transition. #1: DO NOT TRY TO PUT ON A COTTON LONG SLEEVE SHIRT OVER A WET TOP. I don't know what I was thinking. It takes a REALLLY long time. By the time I got my shirt on, tied my shoes up and got on my bike, a few minutes had passed. T1: 4:06. Definitely room for improvement there.

The bike was a different story. Once I got out of transition, I felt pretty good on the bike. I made sure to drink a lot of water and keep my breathing steady. The bike course was CONSTANT hills, which shocked my legs at first. You see, we just don't have hills to train on around my house. Sure, there are a few inclines but nothing like these hills. I wasn't really ready for that. It was an out and back on 7 miles each way. I kept my pace steady, but got rather lonely out there. It helped to see the first swimmers on their way back on the course, I tried to encourage every one I saw and that made me focus on something else.I tried to keep my mind on my race, tried not to get discouraged and just kept pedaling. At the end of the first 7 miles is a HUGE hill, that was quite a feat. WOW. I made it over and went to the turn around and then had to conquer that hill again. I was so glad when it was over. Bike time: 1:04:25. A little slower than I wanted, but I was ok with the time considering the hills.

After the bike I was pretty exhausted. (NOTE TO SELF: DO MORE BIKE/RUN BRICKS!!!!) Not only physically, but mentally. I was wiped out, doubt was creeping in and I just didn't know if I could make the 5K run I had to do. I was mad at myself for even signing up for this race...it was HARD! That all changed when I got to transition and saw my cheering squad. They really helped me put things back into perspective and helped me remember that I was out there to challenge myself, but to also have fun!

T2: No problem here, 1:33 (I could have spent less time talking to Curt...but it was worth it!)

The run. Oh my. First of all, my legs were jello after the bike/hills. I started off way too fast because I was so ready to be finished. I couldn't seem to get a pace going until after the first mile. I walked through the water stops and that seemed to help. Around mile 2, my left calf cramped so bad. I had to stop every minute or so and really stretch it out. I ran (shuffled) most of the way and just kept telling myself that it was almost over. 3.1 miles in 35:04. Not fast by any means, but I was happy with the time. I still had enough in me to sprint to the finish line. :)

Overall: 1:52:50, 195th out of 325. I am ok with that. There is so much room for improvement, but I am proud of myself for setting the goal of competing in a triathlon and doing it!

The best part of the day was, by far, the amount of love and support that I felt. I had so many people to support me, Curt (husband) Wes, Ryan (twin brother), Lesley (sister in law), Ryan D. (neighbor), Sarah (neighbor), Scott (Curt's best friend), and my in-laws, Carolyn and David. Most of them had to get up just as early as we did and drive an hour just to support me. That meant so much to me. My sweet sister in law, Lesley, even made signs for me and they were yelling like crazy any time I saw them. It was awesome! Over the past few days, I have received more phone calls and emails than I ever thought possible. Every one has been so supportive. I am truly blessed. I am blessed that I have a body that is able to carry me through those miles, and I am blessed that I have friends and family that carried my soul through.

Will I do another one? Of course! I will stick with a few more sprint distances in the early spring but my new goal is an Olympic distance. For now, I am going to rest, focus on school for a bit and get ready for my 10K Mud Run on October 28. Life is great.

Here are some pictures. The bike picture is sort of far off, by the time Curt realized it was me, I was gone...so you can just see the back of me. Oh, and the swim picture, I am at the very bottom in the red top, no swim cap.

Thought for the day:

"God sees with utter clarity who we are. He is undeceived as to our warts and wickedness. But when God looks at us that is not all He sees. He also sees who we are intended to be, who we will one day become.”

Blogger won't let me post pictures, I'll try again later.