Thursday, August 26, 2010

Diary of a Triathlete.....Yes we're talking about ME!


Dear Diary,
       What to say about the awaited day otherwise know as "THE TRIATHLON".  Well for starters I could have done without the anxiety build that occurred the  previous days before, but I'm sure that had to do with the unknown.  Now that I'm a seasoned triathlete : ) I'm sure that won't occur the next time. (RIGHT)  : )  OK enough of this lets get down to the detail of the story.  Our day started at 4am by getting out of bed and getting ready for the unknowns of the day.  This also included getting the kids out of bed and ready so they could go over to a friends house while we were racing.  We had to be at the race start at 5 am to check in and set up our transition stations.  There were 105 entries including teams so it was a bit crowded but from what Spencer says that's a small race.  Whatever, is was big enough for my first time.  So after consuming some mighty gross "energy producing" items Spencer and I were ready for our swim.  We were in the 1st heat lane 7 A & B.  We were lucky enough to be placed in the same lane.  This was a little bit of a relief because I didn't want to have to seek someone out in the end to apologize for kicking them.  Instead I got to kick Spencer and it was all good, after all we will be kicking each other for eternity.  The swim went well.  It was a little weird know people were sitting there watching you.  All the training I've done there has only been one watching, the lone lifeguard.  It was fun having friends around to cheer you on, and I may or may not have stopped in the middle of my swim slightly to give a thumbs up. Hey someones got to keep it entertaining. : )  That was the last time Spencer and I were together throughout the race. I knew there wasn't anyway I was going to be able to keep up with him.  He finished a full lap of the 800 M swim before me.  I took my time during my transition due to the fact I wasn't sure how my body would react, and I was determined to finish the race, so taking my time was what happened.  Now, I may or may not have gotten some weird looks when I put on my knee high crazy socks but hey someones got to keep it entertaining. The 13 mile bike was what I had expected, easy on the way down up hill the whole way back.  I would have to admit that it has been the only time I felt relief seeing the cemetery because that meant that I was getting close to the end.  I did see Spencer for the last time during the race as we were going in opposite directions.   We gave each other a woot woot and we would meet up when I was done with my race.  What a feeling having pulled into my spot to park my bike and get ready to run, jog, walk, OK well a combination of all of the above.  So I was off on the 5 K run and I guess I went on the wrong side of the cones because I was corrected immediately. Soooo to correct myself I may or may not have weaved in between the cones like a slalom course to make sure I ended up on the right side.  Like I said someones got to keep it entertaining.  I made sure to take full advantage of the water stations on the walk.  I must have looked really tired because I sure got a lot of comments that I could do it and to keep it up.  In all honesty I was totally fine and having a lot of fun but if it made them feel better to say that more power to um.  I finally finished 2 hours 31 minutes and 22 seconds later.  Does that really matter?  No, all that matters is I FINISHED!  Now I may or may not have gave a little running pose on the finish line for the photographer at the end, but someone had to keep it entertaining (OK I promise that was the last one).  I thought I was in last place the whole day, but when the newspaper came the next morning SOMEONE TOOK LONGER THEN ME!  I DIDN'T COME IN LAST!  That just makes my achievements that much sweeter.  All in all I had a blast and would definitely do another one.  I completed my goals of finishing the race and in under 3 hours.  With more training I'm sure I could have done better (I really only swam about 8-10 times before the race biked about 7-8 times and ran 3) but that will just have to happen for the next one.  I'm sure there were some out there that thought I couldn't do it, but that only makes me want to prove them wrong.  I'm very proud of myself and I'm excited to try my next.  Watch out Tri World Lisa and her crazy socks have arrived!

Above from left to right: Allison, Holly, Alisha, Sarah, Jill, Lisa, Brittany (down front) not pictured Kayla
All these awesome women are from my ward and all participated in the triathlon.


Above from left to right: Spencer, Dave, Brian, Brian's Brother in law(I don't know his name)
 not pictured Landon
All of these awesome men are from our ward and all participated in the triathlon too.

5 comments:

The Stutzmans said...

CONGRATS TO YOU, SHEERAH!!!!!

Katie said...

good job and nice socks. I want to do one someday soon

Heidi said...

Great job!!!! Doesn't it feel so good? I tell you, triathlons are addictive.

Jill and Scott said...

I love that you kept it entertaining. You made me laugh even while in pain. I am so glad you and Spencer did it. Can't wait for the next one!

The Mazz Fam said...

Wow!! I'm so happy for you! It looks like you had a great time. Maybe next year I'll have to join you guys. That would give me enough time to get motivated.