My first olympic! I signed up so I could get the TRIgirl glass and Melissa had it waiting for me at the end! Yeah!!
The trip...Rode up with Jackie, Deanna B. and Trish. What a great ride. Just being with the girls helped. I must admit I began to panic a bit when Jackie had to turn on her windshield wipers! I've never ridden this bike in the rain and wasn't sure how I'd do on the hills.
The Swim - When I looked at that course...WOW! It looked long! Thankfully, I knew Deanna B. would be with me as my "swim angel". And an angel she was! Going out...I began to panic. Couldn't get my breathing under control - hyperventilating. She talked my through it. "Just put your face in, Breathe normally and swim 100 with me". Well, from then on, it was all good. We just kept going. I even hit some girls feet and there were people swimming around me. Never thought that would happen in the swim! As it came time to exit the water, I had to pee. So I started walking. Deanna's yelling for me to gooooo! So I finished swimming until my hand hit the bottom of the river. 43:09 - I was pleased! Thanks again to Deanna!!!!
The Bike - Went well. Took off kinda slow, just getting my legs back from the swim and anticipating the BIG HILL. (There are really 4 major hills in this race, but the one on Scates road is the big one, as far as I'm concerned!) So I come around the corner, ready to attack and there is an ambulance blocking the left lane and two bikes crossing the right lane. The ambulance driver appeared to be attending and volunteers were walking back down the hill. So rather than risking getting half-way and having to dismount on the slippery hill, I chose to dismount earlier and walk the hill. I was disappointed, because I had ridden that hill in the pre-ride and knew I could do it, and also because about 6 people passed me!! So I lost some time there. I stayed in aero the majority of the time, I ate, I drank, I felt good! 1:44:27
The Run - Went OK. Thankfully, it was cloudy. My calves were really tight from that walk up the hill with my bike. I felt like my feet were slapping the pavement in the beginning. And I walked all of the water stops. Probably could have pushed a little harder here. 1:08:07
As I rounded the corner for the 1 mile turnaround, who was on the sidelines...my family! It was wonderful to see their smiling faces and hear them screaming "Go MOM!" "WooHoo".
As I crossed the finish line there they were again, my wonderful family AND my wonderful TRIgirls!! Melissa, Lynne, Jackie, Deanna...It was GREAT! Ainsleigh, sitting atop her daddy's shoulders, was crying when I crossed the finish line, (and not tears of joy either!). Melissa told me later it was because "her mommi didn't win 1st place". Melissa tried to explain that "Mommi won in her own race". But Ainsleigh would hear none of it!
The post race food was awesome! A very hot crabcake sandwich and french fries. Yum! And waiting around to see Jackie being acknowledged for winning 3rd in her age-group. I was sooo proud!
Another learning opportunity...another experience to build on!
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