Triathlon!

Saturday was one of THE BEST days of my life.

Generally for me, days that get remembered that way are the ones that were life changing.  The ones that brought me inner peace, great joy, and deep reflection.  Saturday morning was one of those times.


The morning began with a phone alarm sounding at 5:45 a.m., shortly followed by a knock at the door from Donna, who had come to watch my kids.  Andrew and I gathered our things, mounted my bike to his car, and drove in the cold dark stillness to Cherry Creek State Park, where my triathlon would begin in a few hours.

I felt so cold (low temp. for the day was 52 ; the high was 73).  Bundled up in long sleeves, pants, and Andrew's jacket, I checked-in for the race and set up my transition area: bike. helmet. swim cap. goggles. wetsuit. running shoes. sunglasses. race tags. water.

Then it was time to be marked.  My race number on both arms and my age on my right leg (my dream is that someday the number "70" will be written there!).

Then I scouted-out what would be my first leg of the tri: the swim course.  The orange buoys marked the perimeter of a triangular-shaped course you can mostly see above.


The air was cool and crisp, smell of neoprene was in air....ahhh.


And yes, that is a dead fish you see lying on the shore.  Nice touch.

A thoughtful friend of mine loaned her wetsuit to me at the last minute.  I hadn't ever trained in a wetsuit before, but after briefly testing it out in that morning's chilly 69 degree water, I decided it was defininitely worth wearing.  On it went!

At 8:20 a.m., after eleven waves of racers began their swim, it was finally time for my wave--the 25-29 year-old women-- to begin the race.

Almost the instant that I entered the water, these strange sensations came engulfed me:

cold. darkness. heavy pressure on my chest. difficulty breathing.  

I felt like had thrown myself into a cold, dark abyss.

This happened to me. A competitive swimmer (or so I thought).  I love being in the water, and I had trained for this open water swim! 

After taking several drinks of lake water and swimming a kind of faux-breastroke with my head above the water, I started to come around.  The thought came to me that I was probably having some kind of panic attack (never experienced that before), and I needed to calm down, breathe evenly, and start putting my face in the water.  This mind-over-matter struggle lasted for about one-third of the 750 meter swim.  

Eventually, I got my cool together enough to stop swimming breastroke and get into some freestyle, but I never totally sped up the way that I do during competitive pool races.  

Here's another weird thought:  I never felt afraid out there--like I said before, I love being in the water.  It's like my second home.  It was just like my body decided to respond differently to the swim than I had planned. 

I still don't really understand what happened to me out there. 

I am convinced, open water swimming is an entirely different game.

I finished the swim in 20 minutes...5 minutes slower than I had predicted I would.

But that's okay... now I know what to expect!  Next time I will be better prepared to tackle what the lake deals to me.

Here's looking at the long run down the beach and up a hill to where my bike was.  Getting that wetsuit off was tricky to do in a hurry!  Now that, I really was totally unprepared for.  Another learning experience.

My body was ready for that bike ride.  Just a little roundhouse kick to the camera for added badness effect...

...and I was off!

These pictures don't do the beauty of the ride justice.  I meandered through fall-colored trees, pretty streams, overlooked the reservoir...it was simply gorgeous.

Completed the 11.5 mile ride in just under 48 minutes.  Not too bad for a gal on a heavy mountain bike--going against all the road bike lightweights!

By the time the run arrived, my body kicked right into gear.  It knew exactly what to do.  

Swim. Bike. Run.  I generally struggle most with the run, but this time, having pushed two kids in a jogging stroller for training and running the Bolder Boulder and 4th of July 5K this summer, I was ready.  The run felt really nice. Simple. Invigorating. Healing. Peaceful.

What takes me 45 minutes to run with two kids took only 31 minutes here!  

The finish line.  I did it!

12 minutes faster than my triathlon in Highlands Ranch two years ago.  I'm happy with that.

Video that Andrew took of me just minutes after I finished.

I said it once and will say it again:  this was one of the best days of my life.  

I overcame struggles, I accomplished goals, I developed greater confidence, I gained a deeper understanding of self, I felt closer to God.

I will do this again.  

And again.

And again.

Here's a HUGE thank you to all of my sweet "sponsors:"  

Anne- Who dressed me up with her fashionable exercise headbands for the race.

Alison- Who loaned us her telephoto lens and made all my awesome close-up pictures of the swim possible.

Jacove- Who offered her wetsuit to me at the last minute (thank you, thank you, thank you!).  I'm sure I would have been a freezing maniac without it.

Aunt Donna- My tri mentor and world-class babysitter, who sacrificed so much of her time and knowledge to help me prepare for this race and to take care of my little guys on race day.

and last but not least...

My handsome hubby Andrew- Who sacrificed the most so I could do this tri.   He gave up countless evenings and weekend mornings of would-be free time to watch our boys while I trained, and to be with me while I raced.  He understood my motives behind it all and was always supportive, never complaining.  He is so selfless and understanding.  I am such a lucky lady.

I absolutely could not have done this without you.  Thank you so much, everyone.


P.S. Next racing ideas (anyone game?):
HRCA Wildcat Mountain 5/10 Mile Run
Rugged Maniac Adventure 5K
Orem "Earn Your Turkey" Thanksgiving Day Run