I DID IT! Part Two

A week later, I'm still reveling in the experience of completing my very first triathlon. It was truly a day filled with excitement, pride, accomplishment, and a great deal of pain.

Pre-Race
I woke up Saturday morning at 4:15am feeling very ready. I had gotten all of my gear situated the night before, and I was confident that the day would go well. I showered to wake myself up a bit. It gave me time to really focus and keep myself calm. I ate a small breakfast of half a bagel with peanut butter and a banana. It was brutal trying to eat! That's when I realized that I did indeed have the nerves kicking in.

By 5:10am I was packed up in the truck and ready to go. I arrived at the race site promptly at 5:30am, as our Team in Training staff advised. I walked right up to the check in and body marking, got my transition site all set up, and made it back to the tent in plenty of time to take our group photo at 6:30am.



At first I was a little surprised and irritated that we were told to arrive so early. But after our group photo, I looked over to the check in area and saw that hundreds of people were lined up for miles, just waiting to be marked. I was a little less irritated then...

After the group photo I met up with my family to calm down a bit, get them a good spot in the shade from which to watch me, and get a few "before" pics from mom.





Shortly before the pros started at 8:00am, the officials made an announcement that due to the excessive heat - it turned out to be 98 degrees, and over 105 degrees heat index that day - they would shorten the course. The bike would be 22 miles (instead of 25) and the run would be 3.1 miles (instead of 6.2). 10% of me was disappointed that I wouldn't complete the entire Olympic distance, but 90% of me THANKED GOD!

I tried my best to stay calm and keep the nerves out, but it was inevitable that they'd come. And as soon as I walked over to the beach to see the warm up and start area, the nerves hit full force.









I warmed up with Rachel, a girl from TNT who happened to be right in front of my in the swim line up, and that helped me get my barring for the water that day. The water temp was a balmy 82 degrees, which is about 10 degrees warmer than I was used to for lake water. I warmed up for 10 minutes or so, then made my way back up to get a PowerAde. In the process, Rachel and I both managed to be late for our swim start! We didn't get docked any points or time, but we had to start with all of the men swimmers!



I quickly ran up to the start line, waited my 3 second turn, and ran into the lake.

Swim
I thought that swim would be my hardest of the three sports. In the end, I would realize that although it didn't go swimmingly (pun intended), it wasn't the worst by far. I started out with a good strong stroke. I was feeling strong in the water, and I was confident in my moves. I was singing the handy song that Erin made up for me, and my pace was slow but steady as I practiced. I made the decision to make short goals for the swim. I continued to think to myself, Just make it to the next buoy. When I made it to that buoy, I focused on the next one. It broke up the swim into smaller, more manageable chunks.

After only about a 1/4 mile, though, I was panting and needed a break. Plus, my goggles were giving me trouble. Water was seeping through, making the freestyle an impossible stroke. I rested for a minute on a life guard’s raft, fixed my goggles, and I was off again.

I rounded the first yellow triangle and was feeling tired but ok. I had done a combination of the breast stroke and the freestyle for the majority of the first leg of the swim. By the second leg, though, the back stroke was my best friend. I continued with my strong and consistent pace, but I could breathe easier. Every 10 strokes or so I would flip, sight, and turn back over. I did that for the entire second leg of the swim, which was by far the longest leg.

I rounded the second triangle and was really hurting for breath. I could see the beach - it was so close now! I continued to focus only on my closest buoy, but it was hard not to try to pull out all the stops and just swim to the beach as fast as possible. I did the breast stroke for the majority of this leg, and 50 minutes after entering the water, I finally made it back to shore.

Transition One
I ran up the beach and into the transition area. I luckily had a great transition spot, and I quickly found my bike. I put on my socks and shoes, helmet and glasses, and I began to run to the Bike Out zone. (You can not ride within the transition area. You must walk or run your bike to the Bike Out zone. You are disqualified for riding within the transition fences.) I got to Bike Out, but had to go to the bathroom so badly! I threw down my bike, found a Port-A-John, and raced to it. It slowed down my transition time, but it was much needed. I ran back to my bike, out the Bike Out zone, and hopped on. I was off.

Bike
My family was stationed at the very beginning/end of the bike, so I saw them cheering loudly for me as I entered the bike stage. It was great to see familiar and friendly faces cheering me on right from the start.






The bike started out strong for me. My legs were feeling great, and I was really confident that I'd have a good ride.

At about 3 miles in, however, I knew that something was wrong with my bike. Really, really wrong. I noticed a hard dragging from the front tire, and it was extremely difficult to pedal. I looked down to the front wheel and noticed that my brake was definitely not positioned correctly. It wasn't until after the bike that I realized that my front brakes were rubbing on the wheel the entire ride.

I didn't know what the exact problem was while on the ride, so I didn't take the time to stop and fix the problem. As it turns out, I wouldn't have been able to fix the bike on my own anyways, so it was ok that I didn't stop. But it sure did hurt my time - and my leg strength.

By mile 5 I was already tired. I kept pedaling along, but was being passed by hundreds of people. Literally, hundreds of people. I was constantly telling myself that I was doing this only for me and only to complete the race. I am really proud to say that not once did I consider giving up. It was hard and HOT and grueling, but I kept going and kept telling myself that I would make it to that finish line.

At about mile 10, I was rounding the corner near the Ford Plant, and I saw Carol and Lucy (Mark's sister and mom) standing on the sidelines. Due to the heat and my focus on the race, I couldn't even scream their names to get their attention. I put my hand in the air in hopes that they'd see me, and they did! They shouted my name and cheered me on, and Carol even snapped some pics of me passing by. It was fantastic to have support mid-race!

Between mile 1 and mile 15, I witnessed two people pass out on their bikes. Just pass out and fall right over. At mile 2, I saw an ambulance with two police officers and a person on a stretcher. MILE 2! I knew that I really was doing something crazy and a little remarkable, but I also knew to listen to my body more than ever before.

By mile 15 I was regretting that I didn't do the short course, but I trekked on and continued with my long course route. By this time, not many people were still out on the bikes, and I was actually enjoying the fact that I could ride alone. I was tired and hot, and I really felt my body slow down. I wanted to be able to be alone and try my best to focus.

At about mile 17, the first savior of the day showed himself to me. By this time, my body heat was unbearable. I was really dragging and hot and wondering how I was going to make it through to the end. My water supply was low, and the water station wasn't for a few more miles. And then, I rounded a corner. On the side of the street, sitting in his front lawn, was a man with a hose. He saw me coming from a bit away, and by the time I got to him, he was standing in the street ready to shower me with wonderfully cold water. I passed by very slowly, allowing the water to drench me from head to toe. I told him he'd just saved my life! He smiled and told me to have a good rest of the race. The thing is, I wasn't kidding! That water helped cool my body temperature down enough to give me a huge boost of energy. After that, I pedaled harder and faster, and I got to the water station to refuel in no time!

At mile 20, I saw another man fall over and pass out on the bike ride. The race officials ran over to him with buckets of water and ice to cool his temperature down. It was so scary to see these people just pass out. I only had a couple of miles to go, I told myself, and I knew that I could do it.

I saw the sign for mile 21, and I knew that I was almost done. I had steep hills and long climbs and straight stretches of road behind me, and I was almost on to the third leg of my race. As I neared the turn toward the Bike In zone, I heard my name being called. My sister had left the family pack and was up on the hill, cheering me into the final mile of the race. It was so great to see her face! At that point I was so tired, and the sound of my name was a perfect refresher. I pedaled down toward the Bike In zone and saw the rest of my family, with huge signs and smiles on their faces.





I pedaled into the transition area with a smile on my face and a new excitement in my stomach.

Transition Two
As I ran to my transition rack, I saw that many of the other people in my group had already started the run. I put my bike up on the rack, threw my helmet down onto the ground, and grabbed my purple TNT shirt. As I ran from my transition to the Run Out, I felt the sense of wanting to quit for the first time in the race. So many people had already finished! They were packing up their bags and heading out of the race area, while I still had the run to go! But, 30 seconds after that initial feeling, I reminded myself of my goal and kept going. I got to the Run Out zone and was ready to finish this thing.

Run
As I started the run, my legs felt very heavy. I had practiced bricks during training, but I guess nothing can truly prepare you for the actual race day.

I knew that my family would be near the beginning of the race, and I looked for them for support to get me through this last leg. As I ran the first hundred yards, I saw my family standing on the sidelines. They weren't shouting or cheering for me. They all had a very blank look on their faces. I didn't understand until I was right in front of them that they didn't know it was me! I had changed from my bike helmet to a white hat, and I had put on a purple shirt. I finally found the words to say "Hey family! This is me!" And they all sprung into action, cheering and waving signs and laughing at the situation. I had a good laugh myself, and it felt good to relieve some tension.






After I passed my family, I reevaluated my initial run strategy. I was originally going to run 20 minutes, walk 2, then run again. When the race course was shortened, I decided to try to run the whole thing. But when my bike issue arose, and my legs tired out more quickly due to it, I decided to just do my best with the running and take breaks when I needed.

I probably ran half and walked half of the run portion. I walked through all three water stations, pouring two cups onto myself and drinking one cup. Then I would run for a bit until my legs went wobbly - which happened more than a few times - and I would walk again.

About half way around the lake, my second savior of the day came. The fire department was set up on the street and they were spraying the runners with water from the hoses. It was glorious! My skin scorched at the first touch of the water, but I gave myself a good 30 seconds to just stand in the down-pouring mist and enjoy it before heading back into the runner's mindset.

At a 1/2 mile left to go, I knew that I had to run the rest of the race the best that I could. Afterall, I wanted to cross the finish line running! I took a last bit of water, focused in, and sped up toward the blue tunnel.

Finish Line
As I started into the blue finish tunnel, I knew that my journey was over. People were lined up on either side of me, cheering loudly and screaming my name and encouraging me on to the end. Balloons were floating overhead, and I could see the finish arch just ahead of me. I decided to take my time through this tunnel. When would I again feel the experience of crossing my first finish line? I looked at the people when I ran down the blue carpet. I smiled at them, I thanked them for their cheers, and I enjoyed the fact that they were cheering for ME! It was an amazing feeling.

I ran up to the finish tape, and I jumped over the line. I was done! I truly did it! I had finished my triathlon!!!







Post-Race
As soon as the race was over, I grabbed an ice-cold bottle of water and some delicious berry gelato to get my body temperature down and to start the refueling process. The excitement whirled around me as athletes joined their family, friends, and team mates to revel in the accomplishment. As I turned out of the finish area, my family came rushing towards me with hugs and kisses and words of congrats. I must admit, I was so tired that I couldn't feel or say much!

It's amazing to me that it's all over now. It was so hard, and it was so hot outside. It was tiring, and it was painful. And it was long.

But, I'm so glad that I did this. I'm so glad that I made the journey through training and fundraising. I'm so glad that I made it not only to the race day, but to the race finish line. It was truly an amazing experience, and I must admit that I'm proud of myself. I'm proud that when I didn't want to train, I made myself do it. I'm proud that when I was tired during the race, I kept on going. I'm proud that I crossed that finish line, and I did it with a smile on my face.

I'm proud that now I can officially call myself a triathlete.