My First Tri was last Saturday!

What a blast! I certainly didn't place(not even in my Athena group) but I finished and I am so glad I did!

The morning of the race the alarm clock screamed at 5:00am(about 2 minutes after I finally fell asleep-those jitters will make ya nuts,huh?). Anyway, I had to shower and get the truck loaded by 6:00am to get to the park when the gates opened at 6:30am. To my surprise there was a long line at the gate when we arrived. Yikes-this is big, I thought to myself(it turned out that there were 600 participants and a record number of spectators). We parked the truck,unloaded quickly and rushed to the transition area to get my stuff set up. There was plenty of room and I set up a perfect little area with my shoes backpack towels, etc. Not hogging space but making the best of it. Then I was told to proceed to the body marking area. I felt so proud as I was initiated to this ritual.

Time just sped by. After several trips to the little girls room, I decided to test the water. I can't tell you how glad I was that I did. I was not prepared for the disgusting sliminess that I was to experience. The seagrass was so thick, the water so shallow that as I swam it tickled every part of my body. When trying to stand I would just sink in this dirty muck! You can't imagine how it was waiting for our group to start!

We entered the water as the group in front of us mistakingly turned at the wrong bouey marker! They all had to turn and go back. Made for some excitement- an additional nerve wracker!

All of the seamingly nice people became animals as the horn blew! I've never been kicked so hard and so much in my life! The sensation of swimming ontop of, below of and squeezed next to people was wild! Clydesdales/Athenas kick HARD!! I wasn't prepared for that and swallowed a ton of water. I felt rough coming out and what shocked me the most was this was my fastest event- I guess I really wanted out of there!

When I arrived back at my transition area I found that some girl rudely put all of her stuff on top of mine! It threw off my whole game plan! I forgot my inhaler, I didn't get the sand off my feet as I'd like to have.

The bike ride was beautiful and I just took my time checking out the sites. Having banter with those racers passing, etc.

My demons came out for the run. My stomach was cramping, and I felt oh so nausious. I ended up finishing with a guy who started in my group named Michael who I am so grateful to. I don't think I could have made it without that! Michael if you read this THANK YOU!!!!

I really can't tell you how wonderful the majority of people I met there are! We all cheered eachother on, mostly they were rooting for me! I loved it and recommend it to anyone who wants to challenge themselves-no matter of age, size, race or status! Triathlon is for everyone!