> Resolution Research Blog

Well - I did it!  I completed my first triathlon, and did a pretty darn good job for a rookie!  When I initially started training, my goal was just to finish.  As of last week, I upped the ante to finish without stopping or walking.  And I did just that!  I was super nervous standing in the herd of other women and waiting for my swim start.  That was the first time of several throughout the event where I was a bit overcome with emotion.  When I looked around and saw 3,000 women, all there because of one common thread, all cheering each other on, smiling, encouraging…I get choked up just thinking about it.  Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, huh!  ;-)  Anyway, I clumsily started the swim and instantly found out that it’s a lot easier swimming solo than with a school - there were many collisions throughout the course, but I guess that just goes with the territory.   Next time I’ll know to bust a move from the start.  I was most nervous about the swim going into this cause you know…it’s not on land.  So finishing that was kind of a “phew” moment.  Although I drank so much reservoir water (and those of you who live round here know what I’m talking about) that I was wondering if I was going to need to have my stomach pumped.

Next was the bike.  I bike a lot, so this part was a breeze.   Nothing really to report there, except I rode fast and finished really well for that section.

Then - the run.  As most of you know, I am no good at running.  And also, it’s blazing hot in Denver in August, and it was already 95 degrees at 10am.  Oh, and the first half of the run was uphill.  And there wasn’t a tree or any form of shade on the course.  I mean seriously…throw me a bone here!  But again - the encouragement from volunteers, the crowd, and the other women competing really kept me going.  That and the non-stop image floating in my head of a burger and beer that I was going to treat myself to once finished. 

So there you have it.  I finished in 1 hour 44 minutes, which was 973rd place out of 3,000,  and I finished 75th in my heat of 800, so I was definitely pleased.  I am now kind of obsessed with this sport and am excited for my next one!  And I’m strangely starting to like running too.  I’m going to keep going with it.  I never thought those words would come out of my mouth.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 1st, 2008 at 11:49 am and is filed under Off The Field. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.