My heat was at 10:21 am for all women ages 14-29 and all the relay teams, about 100 racers total. At the sound of the blow horn, we took off. This leg of the race was pleasant--the water was cool, but not too cold, and clearer than most open water swims. 16 minutes and half a mile later, here's me coming out and trying to get the wet suit off (hence the funny look on my face)
Then, it was off to find the old sneakers that each racer had waiting for us at the exit. Our bikes were stationed half a mile away at our transition area, and it was a gravel-ly road to get there. Once there, I geared up for the biking leg: shoes, helmet, sunglasses and Camelback (thanks, Dad!). The transition area for all 1,000 racers was strung out along another half mile of road, and you had to run your bike through the length of the transition area before you could get on--as seen here.
As far back as you can see in the picture, that's still the transition. I am almost to the end by the time this was taken.
As far back as you can see in the picture, that's still the transition. I am almost to the end by the time this was taken.Then, it's off on the 13 mile bike trek. This was taken just near the beginning:
You can't see it in any of the pictures, but the course takes you around the backside of a very steep hill. The ascent is long and less harsh this way. The payoff, though, is that you get to come down that hill. I really looked forward to that part. Before I reached it, I decided that I would try to go faster than I had ever gone before on my bike. Any guesses as to how fast that actually ended up being? Well, the speed limit was 40 mph... I am happy to say that on that day, I was a law-breaker. According to my cycling computer, my bike and I reached (Mom, close your eyes) 49.0 mph. Hee hee! It was great! (Okay Mom, you can open now).
You can't see it in any of the pictures, but the course takes you around the backside of a very steep hill. The ascent is long and less harsh this way. The payoff, though, is that you get to come down that hill. I really looked forward to that part. Before I reached it, I decided that I would try to go faster than I had ever gone before on my bike. Any guesses as to how fast that actually ended up being? Well, the speed limit was 40 mph... I am happy to say that on that day, I was a law-breaker. According to my cycling computer, my bike and I reached (Mom, close your eyes) 49.0 mph. Hee hee! It was great! (Okay Mom, you can open now). Back in the transition now, I racked my bike, swapped my shoes and was off on the last part--a 5k run. The run has always been my weakest link (goodbye!) and due to my lack of training, that weakness was blown WAY out of proportion this time. You can see a progression in these last two pictures. This one was taken about midway through: 
The feet are coming off the ground nicely, the air is still moving in and out of the lungs, the face is a healthy color... And then you get this one, just at the finish line:
The feet are just barely clearing the ground, and my face is like a little strawberry. Then--whew!--I was finished! One hour, 44 minutes and 43 seconds after beginning, I was finally finished! Thank goodness!
The feet are coming off the ground nicely, the air is still moving in and out of the lungs, the face is a healthy color... And then you get this one, just at the finish line:
The feet are just barely clearing the ground, and my face is like a little strawberry. Then--whew!--I was finished! One hour, 44 minutes and 43 seconds after beginning, I was finally finished! Thank goodness!As an aside--for races like this, each participant has their racer number written in permanent marker on their arms. The missionaries had a great time mock-chastizing me later that night at the Referral Center (Sister Martino, your body is a temple...) Ah, bless their little souls.
Reflections: though I would scarcely have called this race fun (due to my lack of training, it was physically not enjoyable) it gave me great opportunity to reflect why I do such things. After much thinking and many reformed conclusions it is this: I love the concept of self mastery. When I did this particular race last year, I felt in such complete control. I knew that I could push my body and my body would obey. I knew that mentally, I had become full of optimism about what my body could do. I had become tolerant to pain and felt more fit than I had ever felt before at any point in my life. That is why I felt so disappointed with this race--I didn't feel any of those things. (Rightfully so, considering that I trained about a third as much as last year.) But that is what also keeps me determined to come back for more. It also helps me understand that new personal best times are not my goal, not anymore. But rather, I want to be fit and gain great self mastery. That is why I TRI.
