Adventures [Week 20; 0 To Go]
Well, I did it. I successfully showed up and completed my A Race on Saturday, 7 1/2 months after giving birth to my son. A Half Ironman distance triathlon. T and I (and Great Cousin KK) adventured 700 miles from home to get mama to the starting line.
Forecast became increasingly....interesting....as race day approached. After an interesting night of sleep with T and a rough morning (thanks Grandma for getting my crying son back to sleep while mama got out the door to the race) Grandpa dropped me off and I was off to the transition area. My Big Brother and Cousin met me before the race and were there to see me off on the swim. It was quite a drive for them that early in the morning, and it meant the World to me that they got there to see me before my race.
Because of high winds and white caps at 4 AM, the swim was moved to the marina, which was very interesting. The swim consisted of a time trial start (which makes for a very different race mentality as you don't know when folks started as you are racing them out on the course), and two loops up and down and around the boats and docks. We even had to go under one of the dock walkways which was kind of freaky, but it was safe and calm. It rained most of the swim, which didn't matter much cause I was wet anyway....but the spectators probably weren't loving it :) As I exited the swim I saw Grandma and Grandpa and T cheering for me!!! I didn't expect that at all as I figured they would still be sleeping - but I guess T had different plans :)
So the bike was cold.......and wet......and windy most of the way. It was a fairly flat course, but the wind took it's toll on the athletes and you could see it on our faces as we passed each other after the two turn around points. But I grinded it out, and didn't get in a crash or slip during the ride - so that's a win for me! One of the beautiful things about weather - good or bad - during a race, is that everyone is in the same weather (for the most part), so we all had the same 'stuff' to deal with, and any race day is a good day. And......I successfully peed during the ride.....yup, I said it.....I HAD TO GO!!!!.....and it's harder then you think when you're trying to pedal or at least not slow down too much :) Guess I'll have to start practicing that next season.....don't worry babe, I'll warn ya if you're behind me and we're training together :)
So then the run. I was feeling pretty drained, but happy to be done with two out of the three disciplines. Only 13.1 more miles to go. I lost my last water bottle on the ride (grabbed a water bottle at the aid station, got one sip, and lost it when trying to put it back on my bike) - so was trying to play catch-up a bit with hydration. It wasn't hot, so I hadn't lost too much water, but I still knew I was behind a bit. Now it was time to test out my over the shoulder boulder holder as my milk supply as been growing since 6 AM (nursing mamas who like to be active - Go to Athleta - it's the best $60 you'll ever spend) Short of the long is that I made it - I was a bit top heavy - and I pushed it a bit hard from miles 7-9, which made the last 4 miles pretty ugly - but I made it. It is different from most other races that I've been a part of because there are three distances (sprint, Olympic, half) of a triathlon, duathlon, aquabike, and kayakathon - so there are A LOT of other races going on - all of which are finishing before the full half ironman distance of the triathlon - so it was a bit lonely out there on the run. As I came down the finish shoot there was not another racing soul to be found- which just felt a little off - but I was ecstatic to see Grandma, Grandpa and my Beautiful T at the finish line waiting for me.
It was an awesome day! I overcame quite a few obstacles to pull that day off and having a great cheering section sure did help :) I couldn't help but think when I was struggling about my last post. Again, you know who you are and I thought of you often. Thank you for inspiring me and pushing me to be the best mama and triathlete I can be.
T was a trooper the entire day - of course. He traveled back and forth to the race twice - napped well, and even came back to town two more times as we tried to participate in the festivities at the end of the day because....... I Placed 2nd in my Age Group and 6th female overall! Now there were only 32 women in the half ironman distance - but 6th place ain't bad for a new mama. It was a very long day, but well worth the wait, in a couple torrential downpours under the tent, to walk up with my son for my only hardware of the season. When I came back to our seats a fellow athlete sitting near us (you can see her in the pic)said jokingly "You won a Baby!"
Oh man, did I ever. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Thanks so much to EVERYONE who has supported me and my family over the last 8 1/2 months. I fear forgetting someone so I won't list everyone, but you all know who you are. Whether you live in MI, MN, FL, TX, PA, MA, or NewZealand (yeah you too:) ) I love you and I thank you.
