Sunday, July 14th 2013, I completed my FIRST TRIATHLON! I signed up a little over a week prior and told absolutely no one, except for my two friends that I trained with earlier this year prior to my injury and competed with me as well (shout out Brittany & Chris!), woke up that morning at 4am, headed to Lake Ray Roberts north of Dallas and dove in. Literally.
"Surprise Triathlon" is what I'm calling it :-). Basically, after missing my first try at a tri back in May due to an injury and enduring another personal heartache just weeks after (a rather dramatic break up - you don't want to know) I felt a bit jinxed. While I did share with others that I signed for an Olympic Traithlon in late September and had begun training, I feared that the build up and hype of it all, in addition to the nerves of an unknown race day, were a dark cloud hovering over me. So, due to my recent luck, or lackthereof, I thought that if I faced this challenge and completed this goal unbeknownst to anyone else, God might allow me to finish it and move on. And I was right!
Don't judge - remember, nothing about a Triathlon is cute!
It was all I thought it would be and more! It was my first open water swim in over two months and the first in the lake without a wetsuit, which can be a bit of a security blanket as it creates buoyancy. But the water felt much better than I remember it back in April and as soon as my feet touched it I was good to go. Minus the kicks in the head and arm swipes on the back :-). Swimming in a race in open water doesn't resemble alot of swimming in the traditional sense as there are alot of limbs flying around going in exactly the same directly in a very tight space. It's crowded to say the least. Transitions were smooth as can be - thanks to two things a) my set up (Thanks Coach Paul for that valuable lesson!) and the luck of not having the two people next door to me transitioning at the same time. Hooray! The bike was the bike, my least favorite of the three, and since it started pouring down rain during it we were all concerned with slick roads and watching participants on the side of the road deal with popped tires obviously didn't help either so I just prayed I could escape the bike ride without a fall or flat tire. Minus the sopping wet socks and shoes the run was a breeze and it felt like it went by so fast! I felt fantastic crossing the finish line and also felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. It was quite a morning! And I have to say I can't wait to do another!
While I missed sharing the day with friends and family (but thanks ladies for the post-race Taco Joint!) it felt tremendous to complete this goal I have been working so hard toward and do it for myself as I intended in the first place. I completed a Sprint Triathlon (this one in particular was the Disco Triathlon and was a 500 yard open water swim, 17.6 mile bike and 3.1 mile run) and while I am happy to now finally call myself a triathlete in addition to a marathoner (wha wha!) I am still on a journey to complete what I started - an Olylmpic Triathlon. Initially, I set out to re-join, train and fundraise for Team in Training benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society but due to some obstacles (raising $800 more with an exhausted fundraising pipeline, the fact that the race I would do was an odd course set up (heavy on the bike - no thank you!) AND out of town which is tough on myself and my family/friends who want to support me, I decided to change course, yet again but by choice this time, and sign up for the Stonebridge Ranch Olympic Triathlon (1500 meter swim, 24.9 mile bike and 6.2 mile run) which is in McKinney, TX (just north of Dallas) on September 29th, 2013.
So, please continue to pray for my health and sanity as I continue on this journey. I will finish my Olympic Triathlon just under a week before my 33rd birthday. Not a bad way to say goodbye to 32! Wish me luck!
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