On Saturday, June 19th, I competed in my
first triathlon. My mom, dad, and little girl were there to cheer me on, but my fabulous husband was serving active military duty in Texas and missed my race. So, I apologize for the huge amount of pictures in this post, but they are for my husband's sake, though, who knows, someone else might take enjoyment in them as well.
The day began at 5:00am, though who knows if I really slept at all between a fussy baby and my nerves--I was very, very nervous. My dad and I arrived at Sand Hollow Lake at around 6:30am. I set up my bike and laid out all my equipment for the race. Here I am with my bike behind me to the left:
I ran around a bit and then but my wet suit on to
warm-up in the lake--it may sound like an oxymoron, but with a wetsuit the lake felt nice. My mom and little girl showed up around this time to cheer me on:
The olympic distance men and women went first, then the sprint men, then it was time for the woman's sprint, which was my event. Here are the sprint ladies getting ready for the count-down:
Luckily, my friend Brittany Hunter, who was on the swim team with me in high school competed with me in this event. She found me and we stood together and set the pace for the first part of the swim. No worries though, we left the pack behind us quickly. Here is a picture of Brittany and I at the very beginning of the race. We are in the center of the picture, in front of the pack. I am on Brittany's right:
Here is a picture taken a few minutes later, Brittany and I are leading the pack by a long way. We are the black clump swimming about an inch to the left of the orange buoy (you might be able to click on the picture and it will open up in a new tab as a much larger picture). In case there is any confusion, we are swimming toward the buoy or swimming toward the left:
Then I pulled ahead and began to pass the sprint men who had left at least ten minutes before the women. What can I say? I am a swimmer! I don't know my split yet for the swim, but I did finish first for the swim portion of the race! Here I am climbing out of the water by way of the boat ramp. I started to take off my wetsuit at this point, thus the reason for my arms in the air! And p.s., those aren't girls behind me in the picture, a lot of them are the men I passed:
Then I ran to the transition point, took off my wetsuit, put on my shoes and helmet, and hopped on my bike. Here is a picture of me leaving the transition point on my bike. I am in the center of the picture:
Here is where my troubles began. About a mile or so into the race, my friend Brittany passed me and just moments later my bike chain fell off my bike! Okay, so my bike isn't one of these fancy and expensive bikes, but hey, it's nice enough for our budget! So, why is my chain falling off so easy? Anyway, I hurried and jumped off my bike after realizing what had happened and put the chain back on. I was a little flustered at this point, but jumped back on my bike and kept on going. For the most part, all I really saw during the race were men. I would pass them, they would pass me. It was fun. Then I came to "THE HILL." I hate this hill, it is super, super steep and about a mile long! I was proud of myself though, I have only been biking for about, maybe a month, and I kept up with the pack of people heading up the hill with me. After riding on and then turning around at the turn around point, I found myself at the top of "THE HILL." I began to shift my bike to prepare for the hill and my bike locked up completely! The pedals would not turn. Honestly, I started to pray aloud at this point. The people who passed me probably thought I was nuts! I was so frantic I just started trying to shift in any direction and my bike would not let me. I got off my bike, still frantically praying out loud, and inspected my chain. I noticed after a little while that half of the chain on the front wheel of the bike had slipped off. I hurried and slid the chain back on and noticed a girl with the number 23 written on her left calf. That meant she was in my age group! I can't tell you how frustrating it is to watch helplessly as your opponents speed passed you! I jumped back on my bike and headed down the hill. I kept this number 23 girl in my sights the rest of the race. I gained on her, but couldn't pass her in the remaining 3 miles. I pulled into the transition point, ditched my bike, threw off my helmet, grabbed my race number, watch, and a snack, and headed of to begin the run portion of the race. Here I am snacking on this thick, and not too appetizing, energy goo as I run:
I found the 23 year old and raced to catch her. Yes, I am competitive...I can't help it. I passed her before the first mile mark. At the mile mark I was handed a cup of water and I threw it on myself! Awwwwwwwwh. That felt great. At the turn around point there where these fabulous summer games volunteers that were cheering for everyone with gusto. It was great. At the last mile marker I again threw water on my face, can't tell how great it felt. I then ran up the final hill and crossed the finish line at
1 hour and 25 minutes. Here I am running up the hill toward the finish line:
This finish gave me a gold medal for my age group and a 4th finish overall for the women. YEA!! Anyway, though I find myself a little frustrated with the bike issues that I couldn't control and wondering how much better I could have done, I still walk away pleased with myself and of course with my Heavenly Father that has blessed me with a body and the ability to compete. Thanks to my mom and dad for all their love and support!
Here are the final pictures. These are my bike wounds. Notice all the grease and cuts:
The following pictures are of my little goose who fell asleep, my medal, and my friend Brittany who took 2nd overall for the women! Way to go Brittany!
Here is Aaron repelling down the last hurdle.
Bro-in-law showing his skills.
This is where we stopped to catch the subway...
First repelling point. My sister coming down with my uncle's help.
Love this picture, makes me laugh every time!
This is our first view of the Subway canyon. We will be hiking straight down into that canyon.
A good "before" picture of our group. This is my family (from left to right) with me, my husband, my little sis, my bro-in-law, my older sis, my uncle, and my dad. What a good lookin' group! Thanks guys for taking us! It was loads of fun.
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