Race Day - August 7, 2011 - Part Three

I crowded in with the all the 15-29 year-old swimmers, the buzzer went off and we ran for the water. Instantly, the intensity of the water was felt. I feel pretty confident in my swimming, but this made me feel like I was going to drown. I tried to get into a rhythm, but then a wave would crash down on me. I got to where I could barely touch and I doggie paddled for a little bit. It felt like I was going no where and fast. There was a group of heads bobbing up and down ahead of me. I tried to imagine them pulling me along like I do in running. I noticed people walking the water. I determined that if I seriously felt like I was going to drown that I would get out and walk. I was starting to feel this way. So I flipped to my back for a little relief. It's normally what I do when I get too tired with the front stroke. It was nice to be able to breathe consistently. The waves were a bit disturbing, but at least I could stay on top of the water.

I knew I had passed the first buoy and there were two more to pass until I got to the last one. I was pretty sure that I had passed the first one, and never noticed the second. The water was a great temperature, and the sand felt like sand and not algae like in Munroe Falls Lake. I started to get used to the waves and water, so I dug in and front stroked. I finally saw the last buoy. I dug in harder. One stroke after another, I knew I would get there. I was getting tired, but knew somehow I would get there. Getting around the buoy was also tricky with the waves and other people trying to get around it as well. Then I was attempting to get out at the finish line, but the waves kept taking me up the shore. Finally, I got to where I could walk and get out of the water. As I was walking up the beach with my quickly sand covered feet, a woman came up behind me and told me that I was a great swimmer. She said that she was swimming behind me and just kept following me. I figured if she had been behind me for awhile that she must be a great swimmer too. I told her that, we washed our feet off and wished each other good luck. 24 minutes.

I got to my transition station. Wiped my legs and feet off. Sat down to try and pull my socks on over my sandy feet. Tied my shoes.  I bet it would be a you tube hit to try and watch me put on my bike shorts while being wet from swimming. Not a pretty sight. I looked around to see if anyone was watching me. There were other swimmers in the same boat as me yanking their bike shorts onto their wet skin. I ate/slurped a Hammer Gel and drank lots of water. Grabbed my bike and headed to the transition exit. My first transition took 7 minutes and 11 seconds. This is kind of shameful, but makes me laugh. That is a really long transition time! I can hear Linda, Cassie's mom, now telling me that I could've shaved a lot of time off if I had been quicker.



Bike Portion of GCT at railroad tracks

There was a couple in front of me. This is where the ages on the calf becomes a little annoying. Their ages were 64 and 65. Yea. The man looked extremely fit though. Here comes the positive thinking reel. . .I'm only comparing me to me. It's not a race. My goal is to finish. Imagine they are pulling you forward. I made my way out of the park. It was interesting to be on the roads. The biggest hill was the bridge over the expressway. One pedal at a time I made it up the hill. I ended up passing the woman who told me I was a good swimmer. It was a beautiful morning. The storm clouds completely passed and we had blue skies. It was challenging, and I was worried about being able to finish. So, I focused on enjoying the moment. I soon came to where my friends were volunteering at the rail road tracks. I did slow down so that Cassie had time to grab my camera and shoot a quick photo. After the railroad tracks came the wind tunnel that ran along the expressway. It was very odd, as I had never bike against the wind before. There was  woman who I had seen previously that chatted for a moment and encouraged me along my way. The next was the road into the park to transition again.

1 hour, 4 minutes, and 55 seconds.

My second transition, I racked my bike, ripped my bike shorts off as quick as I possibly could and put on my running shorts. I ate another Hammer Gel, Raspberry (my favorite), downed some water and walked to the start for the run. They handed me Gatorade. I asked if it was the low-calorie. They said no. I drank two glasses anyways and quickly started to feel sick to my stomach. I also needed to go to pee, but had no idea where the bathrooms were and didn't want to take the time to stop. 4 minutes and 16 seconds.

I think I crossed the start for the run. The sensation of switching from bike to run is completely weird because of the different sets of muscles. So I walked part of it. I was starting to feel tired, plus the sick stomach feeling wasn't helping. I saw my friend Shana Jane, her daughter Sophie and our friend Ebony as I was heading out. It was wonderful! I hugged Shana. It was a surprise to see Ebony. It was all very encouraging and fun. A great way to start the last leg of my triathlon.  I ran/walked through the path to the parking lot. I'm so used to saying hello to everyone on the trail when I'm training, that I started to say hello or good luck to people that were coming in. I also tried to tell myself that it was only 3 miles and I would be done. My legs were tired, so I kept reminding myself that the others in front of me were pulling me along. There were some people that looked really beat up or were too focused to even respond to my good lucks. But then there were a lot of women that cheered me on as well. A few men too. Oh, and Cassie found me while riding her bike. She was all excited and energetic which helped me keep going.

The majority of the women that said 'good luck' or 'keep going' to me were wearing Grunt Girls Racing jerseys. It was very refreshing. It was also really cool, because I had been thinking about joining GGR. The way they acted on the course without even knowing me was awesome and very encouraging.  I made it to the 1 mile marker and knew the turn around would be coming soon. It was very sunny and open which meant not much shade for the middle part of the run. Thankfully there was a water station at the turnaround. After getting more water and running around the cone for the turnaround, I felt like I was nearing the end. I really tried to focus on the next hundred feet in front of me because I was tired. There were some real fast runners that passed. I wasn't really paying attention at this point. I think my pace for the run was the fastest I've ever run a 3.1, so even though I felt really tired I was going at a good pace for me. Plus, I still had to pee.



Fred and I heading to the finish line. The END!



Fred ended up walking down to find me and ran/walked with me all the way to the finish. I'm a big high-fiver, so I gave him a high-five for finishing. He had a finish of 1 hour and 35 minutes.  We chatted as much as I could muster up towards the end. There was a little girl probably 11 or so that wished me good luck and various other people along the way. It meant a lot that they didn't know, but cheered anyways. I got to where I could see Shana, Ebony and Sophie again. For some reason, I thought they were at the finish line and I slowed down. Then Shana told me the finish line was up ahead. I started jogging again. The Finish Line was huge and there was a race photographer. I think this is where I got a cold bottle of water from a volunteer. 43 minutes and 30 seconds. A total race time of 2 hours, 23 minutes and 50 seconds. I had projected that it would take me anywhere from 2 hrs and 45 min. to 2 hrs and 30 min.

I was happy to cross that finish line! My body really wanted to keep going, it was hard to stay still to talk to people at the end. They also gave me my finisher medal at the finish line. It was probably one of the biggest adrenaline rushes that I have had in a really long time! It took some time for my brain to catch up after I finished. I still sort of felt like I was going to puke, and still had to pee. I finished. I had just completed a triathlon. I had just completed a freaking triathlon. I was able to do something challenging that I never would have guessed that I could do a few years ago.  Granted it wasn't just me, but my higher power and everyone that had supported me along my journey. Kristy and Shannon joined us at the finish. I met some of the Grunt Girls. I got some free food for Shana, me and Sophie. I was impressed that they had Lara Bars. They are my favorite! Thankfully Shana and Ebony took photos of me after I finished. It really was a beautiful day all around. We all got to go to Pickle Bill's and decompress afterwards. And hear about some infamous history of Pickle Bill's.

I had started to feel a little sad that it was over, but tried to stay in the moment the best that I could. Someone called us triathletes.  I had that split second reaction of looking at Fred like it didn't include me. And realized, oh, yeah, I just completed a triathlon. I guess that does make me a triathlete. Hmmm. I like the sound of that. I like breaking down walls and re-creating who I am. It may be challenging, but completely worth it! Namaste.