Toot toot!!! Toot toot!!!

Ah yes, I'd know that sound anywhere. That's the sound of me tooting my own horn.

And that's because I have some recent me monster fodder.

I am now a triathlete.



Yes, I know we've waited long for this day of victory, my friends.

This was the course:
Swim- 1/2 mile
Bike- 14 miles (lots of hills)
Run- 5k (3-ish miles)

My goals were four-fold, one for each event and one overall. Overall, I wanted my time to be under 2 hours. And for each event: Swim: don't die. Bike ride: don't walk bike up the wicked hill. Run: don't walk.

And the results? I didn't die. I didn't walk my bike up the hill, even though I passed 3 or 4 people walking their bikes up it--and I wasn't riding much faster than they were walking. But I DID walk for a few minutes, to my sore disappointment. It was just too much for a weak soul such as myself. That long, slight incline on a hot day, after already swimming half a mile and biking 14, was more than I could do. BUT, my total time: 1:53:18. WOO! (In Office Linebacker Terry Tate's voice--even found one without swearing.)

It was harder than I bargained for, even after all the training. I wanted to charge across the finish line (the finishing stretch was uphill--so cruel) with vigor and unsurpassed awesomeness. I had imagined that moment all through my training. It would be the pinnacle of my athletic career. The crowds would be going wild. Sweat would be dripping from my undaunted brow as I pressed on, the hero and the inspiration of the onlookers. "Chariots of Fire" would be blaring on a loudspeaker as my muscular, un-lurpy legs plowed across the finish line for the glory of love.

Instead I got passed by a 50 year old lady going twice as fast as me right before the finish line. She usurped my glory and left me, stripped of my family honor, to humbly creep across the finish line at a slow canter, and crumple in an undignified, sweaty heap. James, of course, was ready, video camera in hand, for the post-race interview. Instead of coming up with something inspiring and witty to say, I huffed, "I'm just glad it's over." Then later wheezed, "that was harder than I thought."

But besides my exaggerated replay of the finishing stretch, I must admit that I am very satisfied and proud of myself. It was uncharacteristic of me to accomplish a physical feat such as this. And besides the discipline and endurance it took to train for and complete the race, I also went over a month without sugar previous to the race (which was later modified to exclude things like ketchup, ranch, miracle whip, salad dressing, etc.). But don't worry, I'm now trying desperately to recover my post-partum figure by wolfing down some swedish fish as I compose this.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it was a great experience.

And the experience wouldn't have been complete without the unsung hero in all of this: James. He was the one pushing me out the door when I was feeling guilty for leaving him with the kids the minute he got home from work, saying, "don't worry about us, we'll be fine! Go! Work hard!" And invariably, I would come home to a clean house, sleeping children, and a happy, supportive husband. He has taught me so many times how to be a supportive spouse. I need things like this for him to remind me about that skill. His unflagging support lasted not only until race day, but until our exhausted family pulled into the drive way at 11:30 a.m. and he said, "you go shower and take a nap. I'll unload the van and watch the kids." Oh, I love that man.

Here are a few more pictures. My friends Jenny and Tiffany. Tiff got a medal, I believe, coming in 3rd overall, and 1st in our division.

Me, looking pregnant in my wetsuit.
The swim.
Coming out of the water.
Running up the dock.
Transitioning between swimming and biking.

At this point in the race, I lost my time chip, which was strapped around my ankle, when I peeled off my wetsuit. I didn't notice I had lost it, and left it in the transition area when I went for the bike ride. I realized it was gone while biking, and strapped it back on for the run. It was a bummer because the chip couldn't tell me how long my transitions or my bike ride were exactly because it was left in the parking lot. It still told my overall time since I managed to recover it for the run. Still. Bummer.
Finishing the bike ride.

Approaching the finish line.

Closer....
After we all finished (courtesy of Jenny's blog). Tiff, Jenny, me, Jamie. Jamie ran the race with us, though she only trained with us a little bit. It was her first Tri as well and she did great, despite the unexpected death of her sister a week before the race. Wow.Kind supporters included my parents, Stef and Jan & family, Jenny's, Tiff's, and Jamie's families, and other kind cheerleaders along the way.

It was fun. Except for the part that I thought I would leave in a body cast in an ambulance. The rest was fun.