I felt like it took forever to get to my number. As soon as I was in the water, I realized I had underestimated my ability as a swimmer. I passed about 10 people in the pool, which was no easy feat. I was trying not to get kicked by the swimmers in front of me, or collide head on with the swimmers next to me. As I was starting my last lap, I hit arms with another swimmer, and the band for my Garmin got knocked off . I had to swim to the end holding the band my right hand. Probably not the most efficient stroke I ever used. I tried to get to the transition as quick as I could without slipping on the wet floor, or falling down the stairs that led to my bike.
It took forever to get my socks on my wet feet, so next time I'll skip the socks. Got my shoes on, bike down, helmet buckled, grabbed my shot blocks and left transition. I had some technical problems using the multisport function of the Garmin, and probably lost some speed at the start trying to fiddle around with the settings. Need to practice more with the Garmin in multisport. It was also a pain to untangle the shot blocks from the ziploc bag I had them in. Next time I'll just lay them on the towel and throw them in my back pocket. I saw passed several people I knew heading in from the bike as I was heading out, but somehow missed George. I felt pretty confident on the bike, I had trained on this course several times so I knew where there were inclines and declines, and where to shift gears. The first half was more of a decline, and I went as fast as I could. After the turnaround point was my least favorite hill, and I was breathing hard and tired by the top. What surprised me was that as tired as I was, I actually passed a few people going uphill. I was pretty winded by the time I was turning off the bypass, and hoped I had saved my legs enough to have a decent run. Second transition was faster than the first since all I had to do was hang up the bike and switch out my helmet for a cap. I started the run way too fast, and was slowing myself down when I saw my husband coming in towards the finish. We exchanged smiles and waves and I reminded myself that I was near the end. I can honestly say it was the toughest run I've ever had. It was hot, there was no shade, and the aid station had been moved. Instead of passing it 4 times, it was set up in a cul de sac where I would only pass it twice. I was grateful to dump water over my head twice to help cool down, but I could have done it 2 more times. The painful training runs on the treadmill were good preparation mentally for this run. I was used to breaking down distance in my head and preparing myself for the next mile, and telling myself I only had a little more to go. Standing in line for the swim I had met a lady who had a prayer list on her arm. She had broken down the race into sections, and for each section she had chosen a person to pray for while she raced. The last person on her list was herself. I passed her as she was running toward the turnaround, and felt inspired to pray for her too during the last 3/4 mile. A few minutes later I crossed the finish line, and the first thing I saw was George's smiling face, and then he hugged me and told me how proud of me he was. There was a real sense of community with the other racers. Everywhere I looked I saw familiar faces, from church, Tri4him, master's swim class, neighbors, and friends.
I've already started training for the next tri. I'm hooked. I loved it. I can't wait to do it again.
