SHE'S ALIVE!!! part deaux....

Okay, back to the race. Our pre-race meeting was held at 8:40 am...so we had that much time to set up the transition area, (which was not arranged by number as it usually is, so Anne and I got to set up together, which was fun!) put on our wetsuits, cap, goggles, etc...go to the bathroom, get to the start line, etc... The transition area (or TA as it is known) is the place where come back to at the end of each leg of the race--so you rack your bike there and lay out the assorted gear you will need during the race. It's also the place where you strip out of the wetsuit, change clothes, etc....doesn't sound like much, but trust me....the set up of the TA can make or break your race! AND...the faster you are in the TA, the better your race time! So it's kind of a big deal. So, we get done there, head over to the swim start. The water was cold. Really cold, but honestly not as cold as I had thought it would be. Here is me checking out the water temp of the bay....not too bad...but still pretty darn cold!

We started the swim in waves--3 minute increments grouped by a combo of age/sex. I was in the 3rd wave and Anne was in the 5th wave. At 9:06, I started my very first tri! It's always a shock to enter cold water...especially with a huge group of people....I started out walking...but as soon as I got up to my boobs in the water, my feet were sinking in the muck, so I laid out and started to head-up freestyle (this is NOT an official stroke, mind you!) Immediately, I got kicked right in the face, took in a LARGE quantity of salt water and spent the next 3-4 minutes struggling for breath and trying not to choke. I'm convinced that every race, no matter the water type, how many people, how cold, etc...that is just the way it's going to get started. Grant you, salt water is worse to inhale into your lungs...but pretty much any water in your lungs stinks all the way around! :) I maintained my composure and concentrated on not drowning, smoothing out my stroke, staying off the girl in front of me, remembering that I can swim.....after a few minutes, I leveled out. And I had a decent swim....17 minutes and some odd seconds (I know it says 18 on the results page...but trust me, I timed it perfectly!) All in all, not a bad swim. And the water....God's faithfulness in even tiny, insignificant things....what a blessing. Beautiful, warm sunshine and a bay like glass. Awesome.

Here is the end of the swim...we had to swim around those big orange bouys...staying to the outside. Out of the water, into the TA I went. I ripped off my wetsuit, changed into my bike shorts, t-shirt and tennis shoes, grabbed my bike, and ran onto the bike course for a 15+mile ride thru the beautiful coastal bays region of MD. It was awe-inspiring. But I have to say, the bike was the worst part of the race. Totally a mental challenge for me. I kept telling myself--"Okay, if I get to that tree up there and don't see a red bike, I'm gonna get off and walk for a minute!" Of course, I NEVER would have walked it and didn't...but by the end of the bike leg, I was TOTALLY READY to get off my bike. I know now that the bike portion of the race is what I need to spend some serious training time on....

So finally, after over an hour, I'm off the bike, back into the TA--change shorts, take a sip of drink, and I'm on my run. Let me describe the beginning of the run. I use the word "run" loosely. BY the time you get off your bike, you just cannot anticipate the level of jello-like substance that your legs have become. So instead of running, think shuffle-like trudge. But only for the first 2 miles or so, until the numbness wears off. :) The run was GORGEOUS. And I ran the vast majority of it. I ran the entire first 14 minutes, walked a couple, ran a couple, walked one, etc... Passed my girl Anne (actually, I didn't PASS her, like go around her....I passed her as in the run was out and back...i was headed out, she was headed back) and got a big hug and finally made it to the halfway point and turned around, headed back for the home stretch! Now...let me explain....at this point, I really, really had to pee. I'm not sure why...maybe it was nerves, maybe it was bad luck, or maybe it was the 3 bottles of gatorade I had just downed, plus 3 or 4 glasses of water along the run route...regardless, I had to go. It is NO FUN to run when you have to tinkle. About this time, an old guy--maybe 50-60...in a blue speedo runs up to me. He starts giving me instruction on how to run..."put your arms down....breathe with me.....pick up your pace a bit..." all very un-invited like...but for some reason, I OBEY. It was all quite comical...and all I can think is, "dude, please go away." After 5 minutes or so of him barking at me...I finally say, "you know, I REALLY need to go to the bathroom." At this point, the speedo'd run-nazi (as I like to think of him) gives me a great gift...."check it out," he says, "there's a porta-potty right there!" I'm off like a bolt of lightning! And it took me just enough time that I lost him!!! With about 1/2 mile left in my run, I see my precious friend Anne walking towards me on the course....keep in mind, she had just completed the same race, only much faster....she came back to RE-RUN the last 1/2 mile with me. Good thing, too...cause I was all ready to walk it in!!! :) We walked for a minute, then finished strong with a few rounds of "Father Abraham had many sons" to trot by... It wasn't long before I heard the announcer at the finish line saying...."And here comes #337, Christy Rogers from Alexandria, VA!! Christy's an Alabma fan (my shirt)--so Roll Tide! Great job, Christy, you make it look so easy!" It's a moment I will never forget.

Here I am about to cross the finish line....only seconds away from being a triathlete!

And then, in just over 2 hours, after months of training and preparation, it was over. Just like that.

The rest of the day (to be covered fully in the next post) was spent in kind of a cloud of endorphins. I was high as a kite...without a drug one in my system. All-in-all, a pretty sweet deal.

So yesterday a friend sent me a link to another race being held in Charlottesville, VA, Oct. 15......hmmmmmm.....I think I might like it.....Bonzai, baby.