Triathlon Revealed :)

Finally, the day has come. I have raced my very first triathlon and am still alive to blog about the event in all it's glory! The story has to begin with the night before because that's when the pregaming began. We figured out that we were going to have to rise n' shine at 0345 hundred hours in order to get out the door, over to Allie's, and down to Culpepper for packet pick up by 0600. I knew there would be no way that I would fall asleep before 10 so my plan was to climb into bed at 10:00pm (yes I'm switching to a 12 hour clock rather than military time. It's easier). Well, bed time got pushed back because we were watching "The Great Debators." It wasn't going to end until about 11:10pm and it was good! So I watched it and climbed into bed. My mind was racing with visions of gold, everything I had to do and couldn't forget in the morning... to make this part short... I fell asleep after 1am and had to get up at 3:45am. Seriously.

I was awakened by the director of morale in our group, Melissa. And quickly realized why she was given the title. I walked out of the bedroom and she squeals "it's time to be a triathlete," while doing a little dance to show me just how excited she was to be awake before 4am. Love that girl. Fast fwd through the drive and we are in Culpepper, VA. Beautiful place to have the race but in my mind not very practical. Who in the world thinks it's a good idea to put a triathlon course amongst millions of hills? A sadistic person, that's who. But I digress, back to the day. Packet pickup was fun cause we got all of our numbers and info that we needed for the race.
(#488... tat tat tatted up for the race)

This was really happening. The lake LOOKED beautiful and the weather was perfect. One more quick trip to the bathroom and I'd be ready to go....

(Amy and I... in the same suit... how does that happen?!)

You could feel the excitement in the air. Normally at 6:15 in the morning I wouldn't so much as move if you threw a rock at me. But that day, I was awake and energized to be there! It's go-time baby! The blue caps (David's group) are off!! Now it's my turn. Time for the pink caps to get in the water and get ready to start. As I start entering the water I'm stepping on slippery rocks and then the rocks ended and all the sudden I was knee deep in disgusting mush up to my knees with little seaweed type branches engulfing me any which way I moved. I was almost too disgusted to move. I started treading water while waiting for the horn just so I wouldn't have to stand in the warm muck.

(The lake of muck...looks pretty, doesn't it?)

Then just as I thought if I sat there any longer thinking about how gross this was I may just get out, the horn blows! Yipppeee! And we're off! The first 100 meters or so felt like I was swiming through seaweed, not to mention the arms and feet getting in the way with every stroke I took!

(finished swimming in the muck lake)

I finished the swim 31st in my group. As I got out of the water I felt pretty good. How could I not? While running to the transition area I saw and heard my awesome friends cheering as hard and loud as they could! I was ready for the bike! I was hoping my four rides (only rides) preparing me for the race would be enough. As I go to put on my tennis shoes I realize that I forgot to untie them and then were double knotted! Stupid me. That made my transition all the slower because I had to get the knots out and then put on my shoes! oh well, I learned for next time! Running up the hill to the mounting piont for the bikes I see Amy up ahead! I finally caught her on one of the downhills but then she pulled about 20 meters ahead for a little on one of the monstorous hills. I caught back up with her again at what I felt like was probably close to the end. I looked at her and asked "how much more do we have?" She replied with the wind rushing past us, "4." I thought to myself, sweet! I can totally do this! I asked her again just to make sure, "so how much have we done?" She looked over and said "6.4 miles." I was shook. What?! We have 10 more miles to go?! My shoulders slumped, my head dropped and I thought to myself, I'm gonna die. My mouth was dry, my chest was burning and it seemed like all the down hills were much shorter than the up hills. How is that possible?! But I kept it moving. I didn't die, and I finished. Right along side of my big sis!


(Amy and I at the end of the bike)

Onto the run. My legs are now jello as I jump off my bike and I about fall over because my mind has not told my legs that we are no longer riding a bike, we are on solid ground running. Come on, keep up with me! I won't spend much time on the run because it was just miserable. At one point in the race a girl ran by me (it seemed as though, everyone passed me) and on the back of her shirt it said "Pain is temporary, Victory is forever." I was thinking, Whatever girl, "Pain is now and victory is out of reach!" My how my mindset has changed in the last 6 years. I had to laugh at myself as I thought of my new slogan. I finally got to the home stretch and my friends were cheering me on! Liss even ran with me for a little (until she caught a cramp).

(before she caught a cramp)

I had a little pep in my step because I had the finish line in site and was locked on! If only I could've ran that fast the whole time... I would've made it under 1:50:00. I crossed the finish line and my friend Samantha, another tri participant who obviously had been finished for quite some time, called my name out. She screamed "Great job! How do you feel?" At that point all I could get out was "thanks." So I walked up the hill (blasted, stupid hill) to her and sat down. She was all scratched up and bleeding with ice on her shoulder, elbow and knee. I asked her what happened but it was apparent that she had crashed. I was sad for her because I knew she was one of the favorites in the race. I assumed she didn't finished but asked her anyways and she said that she did. I was amazed! Then I found out not only did she finish but she came in 3rd place. right. Well that did loads for my self esteem! :) lol. She crashed on her bike, got the wind knocked out of her and still managed to come in 30 minutes faster than I did!!! That is why I'm claiming and standing true to the title of a TRYathlete!!! :)

All that being said. It was an awesome experience and I'm so thankful for my friends (Amy and David too!) joining me in this little adventure!! They were so supportive and fun! I'll definitely do another one but I think I'll stick to the Sprint Triathlons. I'll leave the Olympic distance to the Olympians!

Fantastic Fridays - 59 minute rule

If you are a government worker you don't need an explination as to why that is fantastic. But for those of you non-government types, I'll elaborate. This won't take long. When a commanding general puts a 59 mintue rule into effect it means that the employees can leave 59 minutes early! wooot wooot! Normally we get a 59 minute rule after our Town Hall meetings (once a quarter) but yesterday the meeting lasted way longer than normal so our General extended the 59 minute rule to today! And it is already my early Friday today, so I get to leave 2 hours, minus 1 minute early!! That's pretty friggin' fantastic!!!

When I get home I have to get a light swim and possibly bike for my taper work out before the race. Tapering from what, I'm not sure... I think you have be training at a pretty high level to be able to say you're actually tapering but I'm gonna run with it and just pretend. It makes me feel better.

So wish me luck! :)

Try-Athlete, A New Mindset

This Sunday is the big day. I, along with about 7 other friends, will be racing, more like participating in the Culpepper Sprint Triathlon! This all started back in May when I had to go out to L.A. for work and act as the OIC for the All-Army Triathlon team. I watched those triathletes prepare and compete in the race and felt somewhat nostalgic about my days as a swimmer and olympic hopeful (probably a bit over zealous, but in my mind I was). They were so fit and made working out look like fun to me. So I decided then and there to sign up for a triathlon so I could start getting back into shape and compete.

And now here I am, 5 days out from the big race and I feel like I'll be lucky to finish! So I'm more of a TRYathlete (kudos to Wendy for thinking of that name) than anything. What's the fun in that? If you can't win or don't have a chance of winning something you're competing in, can you really call it competing? I've had to come to grips with the fact that all the years of running and pounding I have put on my body via basketball has caught up with me. I'm training for a triathlon but am not supposed to be running b/c of my knee. I'll let you know how that turns out for me!

Can I be honest for a second? Cardio is not fun for me. I hate the burning in my chest that I get when I'm pushing myself to limit or the fact that my legs feel like lead when running hard. Who enjoys that? I think about the blood, sweat and tears I put into training while growing up and throughout my collegiate career and I can't imagine EVER having a reason to physically work THAT hard again in my life. Which is actually kind of sad. Pushing yourself to your limit is gut-wrenching and rewarding all at the same time. I sometimes wonder how in the world I got myself to work so hard as an athlete (mom and dad probably wish I would've worked that hard in school). But at that time in my life all the pain, discomfort and effort was worth it. I had goals and dreams to motiavate and push me when I was training. So it was worth it... right? right.

Despite the fact that my training level has dropped a few notches, eh hem, and my determination has shown instances of lacking (what? I can't help it if So You Think You Can Dance takes precedence over training), I will still be there this coming Sunday. I may not be one of the elite triathletes, but I will be competing. It's funny how your mindset changes as you get older. I've actually enjoyed this new way of thinking and it's allowed me to enjoy getting back into shape (using that word very liberally) while at the same time providing me with a goal at the end. It's kind of nice being a try-athlete and not having the pressures of winning and living up to expectations that you and others place on you. Maybe one day I'll consider myself a triathlete but for now, I kind of like my status as a TRY-athlete and I'm going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts!! :)

Wish us luck! I'll let you know how it goes! Hopefully with pictures!