Olympic Triathlon

Well....I survived, but barely! You think I'm exaggerating? Here's a recount:
My preconceptions: I felt most nervous about the run. I know...why? It's only 6.2 miles and I've ran plenty more than that at a time. But here's the thing...I don't do well running in the heat. I knew it was going to be hot by the time I got to the run and I knew it would take it's tole on me. I wasn't worried about the 25 miles on the bike. I was a little worried about swimming in the lake.

The swim: Oh my goodness! I had trained for the swim and knew I could freestyle a mile without any problems. The fact that I had trained in a pool got the best of me. I hadn't anticipated the adrenaline comboed with zero visibility. I jumped in and started to swim. It only took seconds to figure out that I was freaking out. I felt like I had never swam before. I couldn't breath. No matter what I did, I could not swim. Did I mention I was freaking out? It is a feeling I will never forget. I felt like I was going to drown. I tried to breaststroke it (which was supposed to be my "reserve" option) but I couldn't breath that way either. People say they'd rather "go" anyway but drown....and I now agree. It was terrifying. I felt so claustrophobic and panicky that I had to figure out something. I flipped over on my back and started back stroking it. That way I had constant air. I had to get a hold of myself mentally and back stroking it gave me that chance. After about a quarter mile, I tried freestyle again. Slowly but surely I got somewhat comfortable. The fact that I could never see a thing never went away. I'd get moving and bam...I'd run into somebody or have to come up to see that I was still on course. You'd think you could see the course, but no, you couldn't see anything. We were so far out there, you couldn't even see the shore or finish line. I just kept telling myself to "get through the swim, get onto the ground." I felt like I was swimming zig zag. Mentally....it was tough! Out of no where came the finish line....I thanked God.

The bike: The ride was 25 miles. It went great. I enjoyed it, built some broken down confidence and powered through it. I was bummed to see my girlfriend Katy down with a flat. I tried to drink as much as I could on the ride because I knew the run was going to be brutal.

The run: Hmmm...the run. I mentioned I was most nervous about this event. It was worse than I could have imagined! It was 95 degrees out when I started my run. I mentioned I don't do well running in the heat. I would never head out for a 10K run at 11am in 95 degree weather, much less after I had swam a mile and rode 25 on a bike. Katy came into the run right about the same time I did. She was crying because she had to disqualify herself on the ride. She got two flats and couldn't finish the bike ride. The race cost $140 and required a whole lot of training. DQing is such a disappointment. She was basically running with me for support. Do you know how awesome that is?? It's true what they say...misery loves company. The run was horrid. It was all uphill! I couldn't get a break. I was hot and tired and MISERABLE! Katy and I couldn't even talk (you know it's bad if Katy's not talking). It got worse at mile 4. Katy started vomiting! I don't mean just a little. She threw up about 10 times. She was a wreck and I was no better...I just wasn't physically sick. I told her to stop (her time didn't matter anyway), but she wouldn't. Now that is a woman of steal! In the 2 years I've trained with her, I have never seen her in that condition. She wanted to finish...as did I. It didn't get any better, but we finished.

Final time was 3 hours 27 minutes. 3rd place for women 30-35. 13th female overall. Ya, I know that's decent. I was disappointed. I wanted to love it and I hated it. It was the ultimate mental test and I won't compete in another olympic tri. I'm proud I finished and my pace was what I wanted it to be, but it hurt so bad.

So there you have it....my first and only olympic triathlon. Here's Kary and I smiling before the race. We were train wrecks at the end! The most important thing: I said I'd do it, I said I'd try my best, I said I'd finish...and I did.