Tri and Succeed

At long last, I'm blogging again, and with the news that I not only completed my first triathlon this past weekend, I really enjoyed it. And I placed 22nd in my age group of almost 60 people. Here's how it went down:

The alarm went off at 4 and after the usual pre-race breakfast I was a bundle of nerves on the way to the state park, and goosebumps in the cold morning air. Noah was an absolute angel, though, carrying my stuff, calming my nerves, helping me set up my transition area, documenting my morning on film, and reminding me to have fun.

We chatted with some friends, I hopped in the lake to warm up a little (both temperature and muscles), waited on the beach for my wave to start, then it was time to wade in and wait for the gun. I was feeling pretty calm knowing that the water was warm and not choppy, and that I could see the bottom, but when my wave started and the chaos began, my heartrate went from chilled out to pounding out of my chest. I couldn't calm my breathing, I couldn't get my face in the water, and the thoughts of a DNF crossed my mind, but I had mentally prepared for this moment and knew just what to do - STOP. BREATHE. RELAX. I treaded water for a second, flipped over on my back and kicked, then when the mess of athletes had passed me and I had relaxed, I flipped back over and passed other swimmers, one by one. It was like the pool, but without the chlorine, and I was amazed at how short .3 miles really was.

I'd never been so glad to see the beach, and as I passed friends cheering me on, the first thing I said was "I DIDN'T DROWN!!!!" with a big grin on my face. I bolted to transition, threw on my bike gear and was off.

On the road, I knew I had a hilly course ahead of me and was content to take it somewhat easy, but once my legs were warmed up and the race adrenaline was coursing through my veins, it was go time and I started picking off the old dudes on mountain bikes and people in "granny gear" climbing the hills. I'm proud to say I didn't use my own granny gear once, and I pushed myself harder than I ever have on the bike. I even hit 33mph as my max downhill!! Then, I cruised into the transition area grinning ear to ear even bigger, knowing that MY part of the race was imminent. BRING IT.

I wasn't even racing my full 5K pace, as I wasn't sure what would happen to my legs if I pushed as hard as I could off the bike, but it still felt like I was passing almost everyone. I even shortened the gap between myself and a few girls from later waves who had passed me on the bike like I was standing still. With the finish line in sight, I kicked it into overdrive and finished in 1:34 and change, once again grinning like I'd just been handed a winning lottery ticket.

I finished almost exactly in the middle of the pack, which is nothing spectacular, but is well beyond anything I could have imagined. And I proved to myself that I was capable of doing anything I set my mind to. And there will most certainly be a next time :)

Now I have to extend a huge thanks to everyone on the Boston Triathlon team and to my fellow Boston Performance Coaching athletes for their encouragement and cheering, and a huge congratulations to everyone who raced this weekend - both the sprint and the 70.3.