I am thrilled and proud to announce that this past Sunday, I competed in and completed my first ever triathalon!
The event was a mini-sprint (perfect for first-timers) and consisted of a 200yd swim, 6 mile bike ride, and 2 mile run. I placed 21st out of 51 women in my age group (35-39) with a finishing time of 49:23. Can you believe it? While I knew my practice times going in, my real goal was to just not stop at any point, and to at least not finish last. Obviously, I smashed both those goals!
I can't thank Scott enough for all his love and support. He has had faith in me every step of the way and was my wonderful (and loud!) cheerleader through every step of the race. I have also had a wonderful trainer, Shannon, this summer who has helped me so much. He's helped me push myself more than I ever thought I could.
Just a little backgorund:
The event was started last year by Greg and Stephanie Johnson. Stephanie was a healthy, stay at home mother of three when she was diagnosed with stomach cancer at age 35. Given only months to live, Stephanie fought a courageous battle and beat the odds over and over. Her cancer and seemingly limited time made her step outside her box to experience and try many things she had always wanted to. One of those things...a triathalon. So Greg and Stephanie started their own, in their neighborhood, with the support of friends and neighbors. Last year's event was a huge success, allowing Stephanie to achieve a dream, and help raise funds to fight cancer at the same time.
She was preparing for another great event this Fall. But sadly, having beat the odds and fought the fight for 4 years, Stephanie passed away on July 21 at the age of 39. She left behind Greg and three young children. I will admit to breaking down in tears upon reading Greg's email. Though I had never met this woman, I was inspired by her spirit, and moved by her story and the pictures of her and her family.
Greg made sure we knew on Sunday that Stephanie would not want the race to be about crying (though he had many of us in tears!), but about living life to its fullest, trying new things, exploring new places, dreaming new dreams, and going for them. It's not about crying and dying, it's about TRI-ing and living....
I was honored to meet Greg and to be a part of such an amazing and beautiful day. I can't wait to do another one!
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Here I am early in the morning setting up my transition area. Check out my rockin' new rode bike...I love that thing! Thanks, honey!
The swim was a "snake" swim in an 8 lane pool. We were aligned by submitted swim times, with half the participants starting in Lane 1, and the other half starting in Lane 8 at 10 second intervals. It was a fun and efficient way to move 400 competitors through the pool.
The bike ride was an up and back 6 miles through the master planned community of Gleanloch Farms in Northwest Houston. Did I mention how much I LOVE my bike? It's beautiful!
The run took us through a small part of the neighborhood, then along the back edge of the community along a drainage canal and then around the little league fields back to the aquatic center. It was a quiet and peaceful 2 mile run. I spotted a few deer back along the drainage fields, and you could see planes take off and land at Hooks Airport. Unfortunatley, the pictures of me running aren't so close up...which may be for the best anyway...I wasn't looking too pretty crossing the finish line! I'm that little blob coming up the middle...
Me and My Man post race!
