Why TRI???

FOR THE CHALLENGE...

SWIM.......................... BIKE........................ RUN........................

Saturday I completed my first Triathlon - Hooray for me!!! Finally at age 34 [yep, even had the body markings on my leg to prove it] I can cross it off my bucket list of 'things I want to do'. Despite the Freezing cold temperature [35 degrees] and wind, I loved it and am looking forward to another TRI. The atmosphere is incredible! People from all walks of life, ages and ability show up for the challenge. Yet even more impressive than all the athletes are those who show up to support and cheer. Thanks Babe! Kent has been my number one cheerleader, especially MWF at 5:30 in the morning when I roll out of bed to go swimming he always says "I'm proud of you!" All in all I was happy with my time. Truthfully, I didn't know what to expect with it being my first. Including transitions my total time was 1hr 43 minutes. When I 1st started training my goal was just to cross the finish line and I would be THRILLED! Of course as my training continued and it got closer to the big day, I did set some ideal/goal times for each event. I wanted to do the 1/2 mile swim in less than 15minutes - I did it in 13min. I was the 3rd women out of the water, 1st in my age group, 18th overall with 149 participants. Even though the water was freezing cold and choppy, I was thankful they didn't cancel the swim. It's my only strong leg. All the people I passed in the lake quickly passed me on the bike. (I have lots of room for improvement) Ideally, I would of liked to bike the 12 miles at 42 minutes, more realistic at 45 but fighting the wind and being so cold and wet from the swim I finished at 49 minutes. A 61 year old lady even passed me on the bike, as she did she said "Good job, keep going". Isn't that how life should be? If everyone just offered words of encouragement and we graciously accepted, not being resentful or jealous of someone doing better than us. All I can say is that lady was an inspiration to me... I totally want to be just like her and that active when I'm in my 60's. My 5k was 32minutes, not being a runner it's about what I expected considering I was exhausted by that point. It felt so good to cross the finish line and have Kent there cheering me on. This has been a fun journey we've traveled together. It's so nice sharing this common interest and goal to talk about and work towards. I love the evenings we get to sneak off on a bike ride and unwind.

Kind of crazy that my Tri has come and gone. June 12th was like my DUE DATE. It's been 9 months of training, since I officially decided to go for it. Back in August of 09 I did the Bear Lake Brawl Relay [swimming portion] and was hooked. I loved the synergy in the air at the venue and wanted to take part in a full Tri myself. I've always loved swimming, but the other two events were a challenge for me. In the late Fall, I remember attempting to jog over to the school to pick Maggie up, I couldn't even run the entire distance (1 mile) without stopping. Determined not to be discouraged I decided to take baby steps. In January I started with just running around the block without stopping, then two times, slowly but surely my endurance and distance increased. Just recently, I finally feel like I can regulate my breathing. By no means am I a sprinter, for me slow and steady finishes the race:) Biking, was a whole new adventure for me. This Spring I got on a road bike for the 1st time in my life and thought it was pretty cool until I attempted riding clipped in [ bike shoes attached to pedals]. Talk about discouragement, I had the hardest time figuring out how to clip out. Needless to say, I crashed a few times in my attempt to stop but not being clipped out. I felt like a loaded pistol out on the road. For many people the transition from sneakers to bike shoes is flawless, but not for me. I spent a lot of time riding around my culdesac practicing clipping in and out. My friend gave me some encouraging words, he said "There are two types of bikers, those who have fallen and those who will". So I just kept going. So relieved when I finally felt like I was back in control again. The best thing about a Triathlon is each of the events are so individualized. The challenge is in my own self improvement and times. The day before my big race, I was a little nervous. It's honestly been a long time since I've felt butterflies in my stomach. Not sure if I liked that part of it, but it was fun having the challenge and a goal to work towards.

Thanks for all the encouraging words and phone calls. My good friend Melissa, totally surprised me by showing up to the race. I saw her seconds before I started my swim. Bless her heart she even brought me flowers, and jokingly said " I wouldn't miss this, it's your baby, you've been at it for 9 months". My sister Jenn, was so cute to text Kent and see how I was doing throughout the race. My favorite was finding this sweet letter from McKenna. She typed it up on the computer the morning she left for the cabin with my mom.
"DEAR MOM I KNOW YOU WILL BE GREAT ON YOUR TRIATHLON GO GET’EM TIGER- ROAR!!!. KNOCK THEM OUT OF THE PARK! LOVE YA MCKENNA"

Lisa is my Tri Mentor. She rocks!!! Her, Rachel and I are going to do the Olympic [1mile swim, 24m bike, 10k run] Relay up at Bear Lake in August. Looking forward to it, however my next big goal and focus is Girls Camp and youth conference, and sneaking in the Base TRI this Saturday - what can I say I've been bitten by the bug.