Mission Accomplished

So we made it to the finish line.

Race morning I woke up heavily doubting my participation in another event like the Iron Girl. 4:30 comes a bit too early for my liking. After I shook the sleep off I forced down some breakfast, taking the advice from the Iron Girl site I started the day off with half a banana and half a bagel with peanut butter. So off I went to Oneida shores to set up my transition. I shakily organized everything I thought I'd need and had my number written all over me with permanent black marker and nervously looked around for Angela. Elyssa being the newbie pro that she is, was all set up and ready to go before I even pulled in. Angela on the other hand rolled in with 10 minutes left til transition closed :o) Luckily I found her and ran her to where she needed to go, plus we got a little warm up on the jog over. Finally everyone was set up and ready to go. From shore the swim looked a bit longer than I remember from the 2 practices, but I attributed it to race day jitters. As we lined up to get organized for the swim we all got good luck wishes and pats on the back. And then it was game time.



I felt sort of sick as we plunged into the water and even when it was clear that I could swim I remained walking to try and calm myself down... it didn't work. I was panicking worse than the first time. Lucky for me I could walk almost the whole thing. I just felt like a jack ass. However at some point I did try to swim, and must have most of the way back in, but believe me I did not swim anywhere near 600m. As I dragged myself out of the water I could hardly breathe but I realized I was generally expected to run to transition and get on a bike. It might have been at that point I had mentally written off ever doing something this crazy again. But low and behold I made it back to my bike and clumsily tried to pull my heaving self back together. I did take my time getting prepped, I was afraid I'd forget something. As soon as I was on the bike I sighed a small sigh of relief... at least for the time being I was still alive.

Once out on the bike course I decided it was better to just conserve energy and not push myself too hard. I was only averaging about 17 mph and I knew I could go faster but I couldn't find that fire I had a few weeks earlier. I did push past a few people now and then but I wasn't going as fast as I knew I was capable of. The bike seemed to go by sort of fast. I ate a whole package of shot bloks and guzzled down as much water as I could swallow. I was waiting to turn on the speed til I knew we didn't have too much further to go but as the end came in sight I realized I waited too long. Back in transition I dismounted my bike and traded my helmet in for a hair band and took off with my sport beans. Once I made it past all of the spectators I knew I could walk without feeling like a jerk. I made it to the mile marker and had just caught up with Angela when I finally gave in. It was sort of a disaster after that as far as "running" goes. I had a hard time running for any length of time after that. I needed way more water than they could provide at the two hydrating stations. When the finish line came into view and I knew there could only be 3/4 of a mile left I decided to run for real and took off. The last half mile was actually not too bad, I think because there were people cheering and yelling out my name and really getting into it. I can't tell you how much all the cheering and moral support meant to me during the race, it certainly kept me in a happy, positive place when physically I was starting to fade. I sprinted across the finish line as they called out my name and someone put a finisher medal around my neck, someone else handed me a much appreciated water bottle and a cold wet sponge. I wanted to hug everyone in sight I was so happy to be done.

I found Elyssa and shortly after Angela, and then friends and family descended, congratulating and hugging and high fiving us. We were in our glory, just glad to be done.

















I met my goal of coming in under two hours at 1:52:25.

Angela and I were staggered by 5 minutes so we didn't ride our bikes together but our times were only 5 seconds apart. I thought that fitting since we were biking buddies all summer. I just wish I could have caught up to her and rode with her too. My bike time was 1:05:25 Angela was 5 seconds later.

I "ran" a 10:13 mile which is disappointing looking back, but I really didn't expect much in the run.

All in all we all did very well for our first Triathlon. Elyssa came in 246 overall and 6th in her age group finishing at 1:46:36. I finished 371 and 23rd in my age group, and Angela finished 515 and 70th in her age group (one of the fastest, largest groups) with a time of 2:00:35. Most importantly we all finished. 900 girls started out Saturday morning and only 730 finished. I give credit to all those who attempted and all those who succeeded, it was no easy task.



Kristy's rockin sign she made for me! :o)

I have to thank Elyssa for getting me into this endeavor and Angela for being my constant work out buddy and everyone who listened to me obsess over triathlons and training and drowning and scary fish and pain in the ass pool schedules and general legit pains everywhere for the last 7 months or so. It's been a crazy summer and crossing that finish line was pretty awesome. I only wish we didn't have to wait a whole year to do it again. It's been weird since finishing, I don't know what to do with myself. Despite being incredibly sore I really want to jump back into training so that next year I really can swim the whole 600m and run farther than a 5k if I want to. The next goal is an upcoming bike race for Angela and I. Elyssa will most likely be training for another half marathon. But there's no doubt in my mind that all three of us (plus everyone we've since convinced to jump on the Tri train) will be signing up for next years race!

Listening to: My Life Would Suck Without You/ Kelly Clarkson