Monday, June 25, 2012

I'm A Triathlete!

I did it!  Woo Hoo!!! And no one can ever take that away from me. I am a triathlete.

Sunday morning I arrived at the tri so nervous.  When I parked in a strip mall parking lot at 5:30, I was surrounded by people that were the real deal.  Apparently, the elite waves arrive at the start time and people like me can arrive a little later.:) We're talking thousand dollar bikes, racing wheels, and muscles galore.  To say I was intimidated was an understatement. 

But then I got in line a nice fella was behind me and I could tell he was in my same boat.  Ahhh, a newbie that was a little unsure- and my nerves settled down.  I later met up with my friend Carolyn- who I met on meetup.com (Yes, I joined a random Leesburg/Ashburn triathlete meetup group- Ha!) and she was my rock throughout the morning. We were the perfect pair, she was even a bathroom go-er like me and was willing to visit the stalls 100 times before the race.  Yep, I definitely had the nervous shits- but I didn't tell her that.

So we lined up for the start and I got in line by the sweetest lady.  She broke the ice with, "What do they call the last person to cross the finish line?"  "A triathlete."  Loved that.  I mean L-O-V-E-D!  She also recommended a book to me called Slow, Fat, Triathlete... Lovely, I could tell she had high hopes for me. Ha!  I didn't take offense though- she was super cool and took all my fears away.

Before I knew it the lady was counting down... 5-4-3-2-1... and I was off!

I was so nervous about the swim- At the beginning of training swimming one 25 was hard... but the swim turned out a cinch.  Next up was the bike and that went great... and then came the run.  Don't ya know... The run was just like life.  I can do three miles- no problem- so the run never crossed my mind as being a problem.  But a run when it's suddenly become hot, you are drained, and your legs feel like jello is an entire different story.  My legs were drained and my 5k time ended up being about 3  solid minutes slower than normal.  But I didnt' quit... I kept going and before I knew it, I had crossed the finish line!

1:26... and 32nd out of over 100 women! Not to mention #4 in my age group- I missed a prize by a minute... Ugh!

And now, a day later, I have so many emotions.  First, I LOVED the race.  And I'm already planning on training for one in August.  For the first time in years, I felt that long  lost competitiveness come out. But then I sobered up when I saw the pictures my hubby took.  P.S.- He got major brownie points- He showed up with both kids in tow with posters the kids had made and decorated. Hmmm.... after about ten races where I talk about the random kids cheering for their Mommys, he finally took a hint.:)

Back to the pictures.  I was a cow.  Like disgustingly fat- and you won't find them posted on this blog any time soon.  Can you imagine how much better I would be if I dropped 30 pounds?!?  And so, my goal is to finally lose my weight.  I looked at the pictures and felt like a turtle.  My body is in a shell.  A shell of fat and I don't even recognize myself. 

So get ready for more blogging in the near future.  I'm on a mission.:)

1 comment:

  1. WHooo, hoooo! Congratulations and sounds like you are hooked. :) Go get em' in the next one.

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