It's OFFICIAL...I am a TRIATHLETE! This past Sunday I competed in my first triathlon...and I didn't die,
lol :). Although, there are definitely times I felt like I was going to. I have so much more respect for Triathletes after competing in this event because man it is hard. But, I must say, I'm kinda hooked. It's hard for me to explain the feeling of running across the finish line but it was
exhilarating and amazing to know I completed something like this 4 months after having Pierce. Last year I volunteered for this event and it's a wonderful event that raises money for local area cancer patients. My good friend Kimberly puts this event on...to say she is amazing is an understatement. She pretty much raised $75K on her own. Wow, I can't even believe that one woman can raise that kind of money in this economy by HERSELF! I'm so proud of her and so happy to call her a friend. Now back to the triathlon. I did train some...definitely not enough. I made the most effort of training in the swim portion. Going into that part I felt the most confident even though everyone told me that was the hardest part. I could easily get through 400M in the pool but open water with 150 women surrounding you is COMPLETELY different. I literally thought I was going to drown. I got kicked in the face at least 3 times and pushed under twice...all in the first 100M. I ended up drinking about a gallon of water and it took everything in me to keep going. The hardest part was getting around the women in front of me who were blocking my way to the "open" water. Once, I broke free from some of the people I got into a rhythm. It was about that time that I heard my name being shouted. I looked up and there was my super cute hubby in the canoe. He decided to volunteer this year and he was canoeing around a lifeguard. Hearing and seeing him was all I needed at that point to turn it up a notch and finish that portion. Next came the bicycling portion. Right out of the gate there was a huge hill...ugh...I was still trying to get my heart rate back down from the swimming. About 2 miles into the ride I got comfortable on the bike. The bike portion is NO joke however. There were hardly any flat parts of the ride. I felt like the majority of the ride I was going uphill...however I know there must have been a down hill at some point right? It was cracking me up because I have a hybrid bike and most triathletes have road bikes. I had 55 year old women FLYING past me on the downhill. The only time I could pass people was on the uphill portions. Next year if I do this again, I guess I'm going to have to invest in a road bike (sorry honey). The running portion was just plain out crappy. I hadn't practiced getting off the bike and running so I had no idea what to expect. Well, I will tell you this, that part is BRUTAL. I felt as if my legs were complete jello. I could barely walk, so to run was extremely hard. I think I may have re-injured my left knee during the run or during the transition. I ended up limping/walking most of the run. But I got through it...nothing was stopping me at that point, I was too close to the end. And then, I saw that finish line and I just started sprinting (and limping) my way to the end. I'm so excited to actually begin training for doing another one of these...like I said earlier...I'm hooked!
It's OFFICIAL...I am a TRIATHLETE! This past Sunday I competed in my first triathlon...and I didn't die, lol :). Although, there are definitely times I felt like I was going to. I have so much more respect for Triathletes after competing in this event because man it is hard. But, I must say, I'm kinda hooked. It's hard for me to explain the feeling of running across the finish line but it was exhilarating and amazing to know I completed something like this 4 months after having Pierce. Last year I volunteered for this event and it's a wonderful event that raises money for local area cancer patients. My good friend Kimberly puts this event on...to say she is amazing is an understatement. She pretty much raised $75K on her own. Wow, I can't even believe that one woman can raise that kind of money in this economy by HERSELF! I'm so proud of her and so happy to call her a friend. Now back to the triathlon. I did train some...definitely not enough. I made the most effort of training in the swim portion. Going into that part I felt the most confident even though everyone told me that was the hardest part. I could easily get through 400M in the pool but open water with 150 women surrounding you is COMPLETELY different. I literally thought I was going to drown. I got kicked in the face at least 3 times and pushed under twice...all in the first 100M. I ended up drinking about a gallon of water and it took everything in me to keep going. The hardest part was getting around the women in front of me who were blocking my way to the "open" water. Once, I broke free from some of the people I got into a rhythm. It was about that time that I heard my name being shouted. I looked up and there was my super cute hubby in the canoe. He decided to volunteer this year and he was canoeing around a lifeguard. Hearing and seeing him was all I needed at that point to turn it up a notch and finish that portion. Next came the bicycling portion. Right out of the gate there was a huge hill...ugh...I was still trying to get my heart rate back down from the swimming. About 2 miles into the ride I got comfortable on the bike. The bike portion is NO joke however. There were hardly any flat parts of the ride. I felt like the majority of the ride I was going uphill...however I know there must have been a down hill at some point right? It was cracking me up because I have a hybrid bike and most triathletes have road bikes. I had 55 year old women FLYING past me on the downhill. The only time I could pass people was on the uphill portions. Next year if I do this again, I guess I'm going to have to invest in a road bike (sorry honey). The running portion was just plain out crappy. I hadn't practiced getting off the bike and running so I had no idea what to expect. Well, I will tell you this, that part is BRUTAL. I felt as if my legs were complete jello. I could barely walk, so to run was extremely hard. I think I may have re-injured my left knee during the run or during the transition. I ended up limping/walking most of the run. But I got through it...nothing was stopping me at that point, I was too close to the end. And then, I saw that finish line and I just started sprinting (and limping) my way to the end. I'm so excited to actually begin training for doing another one of these...like I said earlier...I'm hooked!
1 comment:
Oh no! You re-hurt your knee?! I certainly hope not. But if you did we can be gimps together :) Love you, friend! I'm glad you finished the race with LDGM style.
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