I "tri'd" and didn't die!
The race was last Saturday. What an experience. All in all it was pretty awesome.
The swim:
1000 Meters. 20 laps in an Olympic size pool (40 laps in most pools around here.)
We're smiling because we haven't started. This picture is before.
And this is after.
Cam said the expression on my face was a lot worse than this expression on Kelli's face. I believe it.
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to drown? If so, just participate in a triathlon to find out. Seriously, I have never swallowed so much water in all my life.
The swim was supposed to be my "kick butt" event. When I would practice in the pool I could front crawl 1000 meters in 20 minutes and still feel pretty great.
However, swimming in a pool and swimming with 150 women in a 60 degree lake is NOT, I repeat, NOT the same thing. Not even close.
Imagine a pile of uncooked pasta standing vertically on top of your counter. It is all huddled together, standing one beside the other. Now, what happens when you drop the noodles so they are horizontal onto the counter? They end up on top of each other because they now take up more space, right?
Same thing applies for an open wave swim. They did the big countdown "10, 9, 8, 7, 6," By count 6 I had already peed in the lake I was so nervous, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1". All the ladies fell horizontally into the lake and suddenly we were on top of each other, kicking, hitting, and the freezing lake completely took my breath away. (Note to self, next year get a full-body wet-suit.)
The first 30 seconds were freaky! I specifically remember a lady behind me saying "Joan, I can't do this!" to which her friend replies "Just raise your hand and the boat will come pick you up."
I was so close to doing the same thing. I just couldn't breathe!! And trying to swim? Forget about it! It was rough. I kept looking to Kelli the whole time--just seeing her there was my safety (until she passed me, thanks a lot Kell).
Truthfully, I maybe did the front crawl a total of 20 strokes. Not because I couldn't muscle it, but my body just would not allow me to exhale in that freezing cold water. Plus, whenever I would come up to take a breath, instantly I would inhale a mouth full of water (again, lots of splashing and small waves from fellow competitors.) So I mostly stuck to the side, breast, and back stroke.
I finally came out of the lake, and tried to run up the ramp to the transition station to take off the wet suit and change into my shoes and biking shorts. Cam was there helping me. I had tears in my eyes because the swim scared the crap out of me! Honestly, while I was swimming I kept thinking "So this is what it feels like to drown."
Anyways, I didn't die, and next came the bike.
The Bike:
15.1 miles
The bike was like Celestial Glory compared to the swim. My only regret is I wish I would have pushed harder, but I thought I should save some energy for the run ( note to self: do not save energy for the run next time. You suck at running anyway.)
Shera, Scotty and Lisa competed as a co-ed team relay. Shera did the swim (and kicked butt-even after having a baby less than 2 months ago),
Scotty biked, and Lisa ran.
So here I am on my bike, feeling like I am going pretty fast, and suddenly I hear "Good job Cindy" as Scotty totally wizzes past me like he was on a Sunday joy-ride. He was haulin'! You kick butt bro!
I wasn't hit by any cars (thanks for sharing the road) and next came the run.
The Run:
4 Miles
I hate running (see last month's post.) I actually felt pretty good until mile 1 and my heart began to "freak out." I have this heart problem, and have had it since Josh was born. Basically my heart will all of a sudden start beating at a rapid rate, and won't stop until I sit (or stand) completely still for about 30 seconds, then it will go back into its normal rhythm. Sometimes it does it a lot, sometimes not at all. It chose to do it 4 times during the run. I was pretty upset about it, but what do ya do? Truthfully, it was kind of nice to stop and take a breather while it got back into its normal rhythm, even if people were yelling at me "Keep going, come on! You can do it!"
No worries, I am getting tests done to try and solve the problem.
The icing on the cake was having my family there to cheer us all on. Eggertz came, as well as Dax, Ella, my mom, PaPa Scott, and of course all my siblings who participated (except little Cam who took Josh to his soccer game-Thank you so much, and you are so doing it next year!)
Kelli was her typical amazing self and danced across the finished line.
Isn't my little sis a fox?!
I gave my little Bells a high five and made it to the end,
and Lisa finished up for her relay team and did a great job.
My goal was to finish in under 2 1/2 hours, and my end time was 2:22:36. Saaaweeet!
It only took a day to get over the terror the swim gave, and now I want to do it all over again. Care to join me next year?
