My goal for the triathlon was to finish in less than 2 hours and I did it!!!
My final time was 1:47:39. Not bad for an old lady!
Muse of the Day
There was an inspiring speech at the beginning of the tri which emphasized the need to celebrate living on a day when we commemorated the people who died on 9/11. It wasn't that we did not remember the tragic events of the day but it is also important that we continue with our lives. This day is always difficult for me. You see it is my birthday and it always seems awkward to want to celebrate my day when so many others are mourning. This year was especially hard since it was the 10-year anniversary. I set aside time to grieve and remember that day but I try to continue on with my life and my day. I think it is important to do so otherwise all of those people died for no reason and the people who inflicted this pain on us will have won. So for me it is always a day filled with love, celebration, and sadness. A colleague's niece was born on 9/11 and expressed concern that her birthday would be forever associated with tragedy. One of her clients told her that the people born on this day are here to pick up the spirit of those who were lost. I think that sums it up nicely.
The Triathlon
A bit of the scare at the beginning because I arrived at the transition area with only a minute before it closed. At first they weren't going to let me in and then acquiesced when they realized there were still a lot of people setting up. Fortunately, I had set my bag up the night before and was able to get everything in place in less than 60 seconds.
Swim - .5 miles
The swim was much harder than I anticipated. At first I didn't think I could swim the distance. A little scary since I was already out in the middle of the lake. I was just thinking I could turn back when I saw another swimmer freak out and grab onto the nearest kayak. I realized that I needed and wanted to finish it out. After doing some relaxing side stroke, I got into the rhythm of my stroke with a golden oldie "Stand By Me" and made it through that portion of the race. The swim took me 26 minutes, longer than I had hoped for and knew I would have to make it up on the bike and the run.
Song of the Swim:
Bike - 12 miles
The bike ride went by faster than I thought it would. I channeled Alberto Contador and got up on my pedals and powered up and over the hills and passed a lot of other riders. However, there was one rider that I kept passing then she would pass me. She finally left me in the dust when I missed a gear change on a hill. GRRRR!
Before I knew it I was coming back into the transition area with Florence and the Machine's Dog Days playing in my head. Although, this was not a big competitive tri, I couldn't help but kick it at the end and blow past another rider. :P
Song of the ride:
Run - 3.1 miles
This was a beautiful shady trail run. It has been a long time since I ran trails and after the swim and bike it was wonderful not to run pavement. My only complaint about the run was that it was uphill coming out of the transition area and went across sand. UGHHH! Other than that the run was fantastic. My body was saying, "Why couldn't we have just done this instead of all that other stuff?" Most of the run was uphill but it felt great. A friend had told me not to worry the soul of Molly the Dog would be running with me and she was right! I have never felt so fantastic going across the finishing line!
Song of the run:
All in all it was fun. Go and create some fun of your own!
