Tried to Tri. Had to Du.

Well, I tried to Tri and got denied. I had to Du instead. Saturday was a great day, except for one of the legs, the swimming leg, of the triathlon was cancelled. Apparently the water was cloudy and they won’t let you swim in the pool if they can’t see the bottom. I was soo beyond bummed! So technically, I did compete in the 2010 Women of Steel Triathlon, but technically it wasn’t a triathlon, it was a du-athlon. (run, bike, run instead of swim, bike, run) Now, I have to wait who knows how long to find another race to be able to actually say that I did a triathlon. (Although, I must admit I was so excited when I came home on Saturday and felt so good that I posted on facebook that I did I a tri!)
Other than that big blow, it was an awesome experience that I plan on repeating over and over. It felt so good to get a well deserved t-shirt, mingle with amazing athletes and fellow novice athletes, dump a cup of water on my head (even though it was cold and I didn’t really need to), crest a hill, pass other runners and bikers, stop and help another rider put her bike chain back on and watch those people fly past me, realize that most of the women that participated are much older than me and that I have lots of years yet to compete, have my kids and hubby there cheering me on and hoping to inspire them, the feeling of being able to sprint (I really don’t know where that burst of energy came from) across the finish line, doing much better than I thought I would. In fact, after I finished I went over to watch for the other runners to come in and I looked at the clock and I literally said “holy crap!” out loud because I was already done. I learned a ton of stuff and other than some 5 and 10K’s this is my first real race.
Among other things, I learned:
· I’ll never use energy goo again. I almost threw up. It’s only shot blocks from here on out.
· I can do more than I think I can.
· Spandex really is comfy, but not flattering at all.
· When you’re all in spandex, no one cares!
· It really does help when you have people (even when you don’t know them) cheer for you. I’ll never watch a race again without cheering everyone on.
· Always expect the unexpected
· Sometimes, there are things more important things than improving your time
· Just cuz you’re a skinny girl, doesn’t mean that I won’t beat you!
· I love to bike! Riding on a road bike is so much more comfortable and you just feel faster. I’ve already added it to my Christmas wish list.
· No matter how you think you’re doing in your fitness goals, pictures of you in spandex will bring you screaming back to reality. I share the following pictures only to prove that I was there!!