On my way to Beijing...

Over the weekend, I competed in the San Jose International Triathlon - my first Olympic distance race.  It was so much fun!  

In training, I had done each event separately, but never the entire distance of all three together, so I was a little nervous for the actual event.   

Leaving the house at 4:35 am to pick up my friend Amber, who was also doing it with me, I thought I had to be out of my mind.  The whole drive down to San Jose, I was ready to throw up.  Squeezing into my wetsuit, I could barely breathe.  I had my transition area all set up and ready for quick changes.  I was terrified.

When the gun went off for us to start swimming, a new calm came over me and I took a deep breath and jumped in.  My swim strokes were smooth, my breathing was even and I flew threw the water.  I finished the mile swim in 28 minutes - a record for me.  My fastest training time in the pool was 34 minutes, and in a lake was 46 minutes.  I was shocked when I looked at my watch and saw how much I'd shaved off my time!

I jumped on the bike, dripping wet, and started pedaling.  About 2 miles in, my spedometer/odometer quit working, making the 26 mile bike ride impossible to track.  I knew there was one big hill, but I had no idea when to expect it because I didn't know how far I'd gone.  When I suspected it was coming, I shifted down, hunkered down and kept going.  I saved 2 more gears, for when it got really steep.  With each pedal rotation, I whispered a new adjective describing myself, to keep me going.  I never had to use those two bottom gears, and when I got to the top, I let out a giant "WOO HOO" and began flying down the backside of the hill.  

The run was a little tougher, as I had been going for 2 hours and 20 minutes by the time it started.  The sun was beating down pretty hot, and I was getting hungry too.  I downed a couple of energy shots, put on my headphones (against the rules, but the only thing to keep me going at that point) and started running.  

When the finish line was in sight, I picked up the pace a bit and did as close to sprinting as possible at that point!  When I crossed it, I actually felt great, and wasn't ready to die!!!

Now, a few days later, it seems a bit of a dream, and I still can't believe I did it.  Sure, I've got a long ways to go to make the US Olympic Team - but in my mind, I'm a member of an elite group of athletes, who can actually say they've completed an Olympic Distance Triathlon.

My finish time was 3:28:23 - I placed 7th in my wave!  I won't tell you how many were in my wave, because that ruins a bit of the impact.  I just like to say I finished 7th!!! 

This weekend's sprint distance race at Disneyland will be a piece of cake.  I can't wait!

I'll post pictures as soon as they're available.