The place where dreams come true!

This past weekend, I competed in the Danskin Women's Triathlon, held at Disneyland!  How fun is that?

We drove down Friday afternoon (school's out...yahoo!).  Saturday morning was spent getting registered, then relaxing by the pool at Steve's mom's house.  

Sunday morning, I was out of the house at 4:40 to get set up and ready by 5.  Steve, Joyce and the kids came later...like 6am.  

I was in the 8th wave, starting at 6:21.  The swim was in the lagoon at California Adventure - a body of water that had never been swam in before!  It was 80 degrees warm...no wetsuit required!

There were 1600 women participating in the race.  The lagoon was not big.  We went out in waves of 100, 3 minutes apart.  It was a little like herding cattle.
 

I was surprised at how many beginner swimmers there were and I came across more than one who was just floating on their back, "resting".  
It was tough trying to swim over/under/around them.  I was competitive, and was not into a leisurely swim.  I was trying to kick butt.  

After the swim, I hopped on my bike for a quick 10 mile ride.  No problem.

Then the run started - I ran out of the transition area, snapping on my number as I went.  I didn't quite realize how quickly I was running, and kept up the pace as I ran through the streets of California Adventure.  It was so cool to see all the behind-the-scene stuff as the park was not yet open.

When the finish line came into view, I picked up the pace even more and crossed the finish line with a smile.  I stopped my watch and looked to see my time:  1 hour, 12 minutes and 37 seconds!  I couldn't believe it.  I had hoped to finish in an hour and a half...!  My ranking was a bit better than my race last weekend.  I placed 334 out of 1600!  And my run time was 19:37, which meant that I did 2.5 miles at a pace of just under an 8 minute mile.  An all time record for me.

As I was beaming at the finish line, proud of my time and accomplishment, I watched the women finishing after me.  Women of all shapes, sizes and ages.  I watched one very large woman running across the finish line, with a sign on her back that said "I'm running against my will".  Do you get the double meaning there?  I was touched.  I saw a woman with severely deformed legs, doing her best to run across the finish line.  I cried.  This race was really an opportunity for women to realize their biggest dreams.  It didn't matter what size they were.  Or whether or not they were athletic and fit.  What mattered was that they did it.  

My adversities in life may seem big at times.  But when compared with so many others, I have no reason to complain.   I have wonderful friends, wonderful kids, a husband I adore, a healthy & strong body...the list goes on and on.