I DID IT!!!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!!

This morning at 7:33am I started the swim portion of my very first triathlon. I stepped into the murky green water and happily waited for my turn to start. In fact I was not nervous at all. As you all know that is so not me. I know God was giving me His peace as I stood in the water waiting for the official to blow the starting horn (thanks to all those who prayed for me this morning!!). I took off with the sound of the horn and focused on technique and trying to go in the proper direction. Going in the proper direction was the hardest part of the swim. I was so afraid I would swim off course. With a large number of people swimming in a small area it is hard to see anything. But I was actually able to finish the swim without going off course (WooHoo!).

It was very sad to see people faltering in the water. Several men were moaning and clinging to the life boats. I just prayed for their safety and remembered that God was swimming right there next to me. He was my companion in the midst of waves and fatigue.

After the swim I ran to the transition area and put on my race number and grabbed my helmet, sunglasses and my bike. You are not allowed to ride your bike until you exit the transition area. So I took off running with my beloved bike and as soon as I could, I got on and took off for my 27 mile ride. I have forgotten to relay to you all an important piece of information; it was raining…a lot. At first it seemed that this might dampen the fun of the day. But really it would have been so much harder if it was sunny and hot. Plus, the wind was so powerful I was going 22-24 miles per hour on flat roads! That was AWESOME! (Of course that was on the way back, the way out was into the wind, which was a little bit harder). So I praised God for the rain and the wind.

After the bike ride I ran my bike to my spot in the transition area, took off my helmet and set out on the 5K run. I have known all along that I would most likely be run/walking the 5K. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much energy I had. I felt GREAT. I wasn’t tired and I even had a volunteer comment on the smile on my face (I was having a blast!). But my knee was not feeling so great. My ITB was acting up horribly (ITB=ilotibial band, a tendon that runs across the front of your knee, when it hurts the tendon is scraping across the knee bones, ya it REALLY hurts).

Basically when I am running and my ITB starts to cause problems it feels like I am literally breaking my leg. It is extremely painful. So I regardless of how much energy I had my knee made me run/walk the 5K. I would run until it was painful and then walk until the pain went away.

However, at the end I had a runner encourage me in a not so nice manner. I believe she yelled “Come on!!”. So you all know me and you know what I did next. No amount of pain was going to stop me. I took off and sprinted past her (she did pass me like 8 seconds before the finish line, but boy was she surprised!). I finished at about 10:00 a.m.

I am officially a triathlete! WOOHOO!!!!! I can’t wait until next year!!!

I need to add one more important piece of information. I was not alone at the triathlon. My wonderful husband was there cheering me on and taking pictures. He was a very welcome site throughout the entire event. Here are some pictures he took…

This is me before the swim.

This is a picture of the swim start. All those people are preparing to swim to the same location, it is chaos!

Me in the transition area getting ready for the bike portion.

I am on the right, coming in from the bike ride.

Sprinting to the finish line :)

Spending time with Aaron after the race :)

Me and my bike after the race...

Our after triathlon healthy lunch..Steak & Shake !!