Baby Steps To A Big Dream

The Duck Bill Thrill triathlon was a cold one to say the least. As we were pulling in to the transition site the outdoor temperature was 41 degrees. Not necessarily a heart warming temperature, especially when you know you'll be jumping into the freezing ass lake in less than an hour. But who really cares? Thats why we do tri's because they're for crazy people, who like to do crazy things. The swim start began at 8 am sharp in the frigid, mirky Fall Creek Reservoir. I started up front with high hopes of getting thrashed around by other swimmers. I thought it would be a good chance to simulate the mass swim start of IM. For the first time I also swam with a 3 mm neoprene swim cap which made the swim a lot more enjoyable. As I came out of the water I was slightly disoriented due to the cold water. The first thing I heard was Sarah cheering me on. The she informed me I had dropped my goggles. I looked back and all I could see was brown stirred up water. Screw it I thought...my goggles were looking a little trashed anyway. Like I was honestly going to waste 2 minutes to search for my freaking goggles... all and anytime you can muster up in an Olympic distance tri is very valuable. Transition was kinda chaotic considering my limbs primarily my feet were completely numb. This made it highly difficult to get my socks and bike shoes on... nevertheless I figured it out, hopped on my bike and got to it. I couldn't feel my feet for the entire bike. I tried doing little toe wiggles to get the blood flowing but that didn't do squat. I pushed pretty hard on the bike because I knew there weren't to many women ahead of me. Overall the bike went really well. The course has a decent amount of hills but also a fair amount of down hills to make up for it. As I came into transition I wobbled to my t zone and somehow managed to get my feet out of my bike shoes and into my running shoes. I couldn't feel my feet until mile 3 of the run. It felt kinda like running on cinderblocks... now you may wonder how I know what running on cinderblocks feels like... and quite frankly I don't actually know. I couldn't tell where my feet were in relation to my strides... it was crazy! When I finally regained feeling I was able to pick up my pace considerably. The last 3 miles flew by and I felt really strong. I came across the finish line in 2 hrs and 38 minutes! Beat my last olympic time by 8 minutes. I got 4th overall for women and 1st in my age group! Racing is truly incredible. I love every aspect of it. Competition is ultimately what pushes me to the finish line and on to the next race.

What a great day!

Ironman CDA : 33 days away