Did I tell you about my Triathlon a few weeks ago?  I don’t think I did.  I have now officially finished three tri’s.  WHOO HOO FOR ME!  This one was my hardest so far.   The swim and bike were both longer distances than I’ve done in the past but I don’t think that is what made it more difficult for me.  What seemed to be an issue was the crazy desert heat and odd terrain.  Here is a play-by-play of what went down.

I got up crazy early after sharing the floor of the motor home with Riggins.  The race was right next to a camp ground which was perfect!  Mom, Dad, Riggins & I showed up Saturday to check into the race and find our camp site.  Then the temps hit way past 100 and we started melting.  The rest of the afternoon was spent inside the motorhome with the air conditioning on full blast.

I made my way to the transition area with a flashlight and set myself up.  I got the prime spot right on the end of my rack!  That has never happened before.  I took it as a good sign.

When my wave hit the water I was really excited.  Then I IMMEDIATELY freaked out.  That is pretty common.  I train in a pool and hitting a lake where it is murky and I can’t see under water while being kicked by other women tends to throw someone off their game.  I told myself I could “freak out” until the first buoy and then I had to pull it together.  So that is what I did.  After the first buoy I was good to go and swam my little heart out.  Not fast but steady.  My theme.

My bike transition was a breeze due to the tri-suit.  Tri-suits are the most unattractive things you could possible every wear.  BUT no one said this was a fashion show.  They were made for a purpose and they work PERFECT for that!

The 14 miles on the bike was the most fun bike leg I’ve had ever!  I guess that bike training actually paid off.  Who knew?  I kept it at my steady pace and even managed to pass some folks yelling the mandated chant of, “YOU GO GIRLFRIEND” as I cruised by.   (This is an all female race and is very “women power” and “women rock” and “you can do it”.  You take away the smelly men and it is a much more encouraging atmosphere!)  I even said hi to a couple of cows and a bull snacking on and around some orchard trees.

Transition to run … no problemo.  Well minimum problemo.  I don’t have a place for water on my bike (lesson learned) so was parched during this transition.  I had to take time to gulp down some Powerade but it was too late.  The damage was done.  About 3/4s of the way through the bike ride it started to get hot and hotter and hotter.  I had stopped sweating and dehydration was nipping at my heels.

The run kicked my ass.  There is no nice way to say this.  The path was often dirt or sand and always uneven.  It is the first time in a Tri I have had to walk during the 5K and I did that often.  I wasn’t the only one.  The temperature had now made it to the 90s and we were all out!  BUT I powered through and finished “running” (or moving a bit faster than walking while in a jogging type body position).  My folks and Riggins were at the finish line to cheer me on.  A couple of high fives and I was across the finish line and had a new medal around my neck in just under 2 hours.

I’m going to ignore the HORRIFIC dehydration headache I had a few hours later.  My body didn’t want to process the 2 bottles of Powerade, 2 bottles of water, & 2 bottles of coconut water.  It didn’t care a hoot about me trying to rehydrate.  Luckily after some medicine, food and good ol’ caffeine my brain no longer felt like it was going to explode.

Tough … sure.

Worth it … totally!