I made it!

I'm glad to report that I'm still alive and kicking. In fact I feel great! I completed my very first triathlon yesterday. Here's a brief rundown:

April came Friday and stayed the night. We picked up my packet and listened to some inspirational speakers, including last year's Woman of Steel. We stayed up too late , but we were doing important things like talking about transitions and swim times, going through our list of gear to bring, hydrating, oh and the ever-important task of braiding my hair. Truth be told, we were just plain nervous and needed an excuse to be up so late. Even with my relaxation tunes playing softly in my ears and my yoga breathing, I still couldn't manage to fully fall asleep. We woke up at 5 a.m., ate peanut butter toast, a banana and lots of water and Gatorade and started to stretch. We lathered down with sunscreen, dressed, loaded the bikes and gear and were out the door by 6 a.m.

When we arrived, the air felt chilly and we kept hoping the sun would peek over the mountains soon. We got marked first, on both shoulders--my number was 181-- and a 31 on my right calf for my age; then we got our ankle bands. We set up our transition areas and listened to the "women power" music. Alanis Moresette I can understand, but Brittney Spears? Could've done without her. . .

We used the porta-potties about half a dozen times, until we were directed to poolside at 7:45 a.m. I spotted Todd and Kendra just as we were lining up--what a great sight they were. Nerves were in check and excitement was starting to bubble inside. The National Anthem was sung and then we started. A new swimmer entered the pool every 10 seconds and before I knew it, I was in the water swimming my first of 6 laps, 300 M in all. It went ok, I could have been faster, but a few problems I had were water in my goggles and two ladies who were behind me decided to duck under the ropes in front of me, making me have to stop, stand and wait for them. Agh! Oh well, it was over before I knew it and I knew all my swim training had paid off. I caught a glimpse of Nicole and Dawn during one of my turn-arounds and heard them, Todd and Kendra cheering for me. It's amazing the extra surge that gave.

I jumped out and headed for the transition area. I threw on my jersey, socks, shoes, gloves, helmet and sunglasses, grabbed my bike and was off. The ride felt good. There were a few hills, but I still felt strong and was able to get up them with minimal slowing. I noticed right away that I couldn't shift into my bigger gear and I think that slowed me a bit, but I did the best I could with my smaller gears. We made the loop twice, a total of 11.5 miles. I would keep my eye on the ladies' calves, their ages marked on them, who passed me. If they were younger, I felt ok about letting them zoom ahead. What really got me was when I would see 49 or 52 pass me up. What's up with that? With more time on my hands to train, maybe that will be me someday.

Back to the transition area where I racked my bike, switched shoes and ripped off my helmet. Just before leaving, I chugged as much Gatorade as I could and I was off on my run. People have asked me the hardest part and I'd have to say trying to get my legs to work after my bike ride. Jell-O, mush, spaghetti, or all of the above couldn't adequately describe how my legs felt, but once I got going, I started to feel strong once again. I got into a rhythm which must have been noticed by others because pretty soon I had two women behind me saying, "Okay 31 (meaning the age marked on my leg) you're our rabbit! Lead us in!" Unfortunately, I lost them as I started to pick up the pace for the home stretch, but I must give thanks to them because their confidence in me kept pushing me ahead. I kicked it into high gear around the last bend and heard my name announced as I passed the finish line. I made it!

I'm so glad to have had this experience and all I can say is when is the next one? Is anyone interested in joining me? It was fun, exhilarating, invigorating and habit-forming. Question though: Has anyone ever anticipated something so much that when it does finally come and is over, you sort of feel let down that it's all over and feel lost because now what do you have too look ahead to and prepare for? Should I just be content with the one experience I had and enjoy the fact that I did it or do I seek out new ways to feed my addiction?