I did it! Danskin 2011

A week ago today I completed my first triathlon! Yes, you read that right, ME... Sarah... COMPLETED a triathlon! It has taken me this whole week to think about the events that day and how I can put it into words to share with you all.

Saturday morning I was up early ready to go... I got the car packed up and just waited for Mark. We caught the 10:25am ferry to Seattle and headed to the Expo. (By the way this was the first time I drove in the main city part of Seattle!) We parked and found the place to check in. I got my packet and then got my arm marked with my race number #2076... and then also got the letters KTB written on. We decided that all us Kitsap TriBabes needed something on our arms so we could better spot each other throughout the weekend... went into the expo and got my swim cap, and finishers shirt. I would be in wave number 18 wearing a red swim cap. There were about 27 waves with about 125 women in each wave. These waves went about every 4 minutes! My start time was 7:50am... When I walked into the expo I hear some ladies shout my name! They were fellow TriBabes... one of my TriBabe friends bought me some new Tri-shorts. They thought I should look the part tomorrow at the race! It was so thoughtful of them to do that and I realize how amazing all these women are and how happy I am to have met them all!:)

After the expo we heading to the park to rack our bikes. My transition area was the farthest from the swim! My friend and I found a spot next to each other which was nice because then we can share the little space that we have! I walked from my bike area to the swim area and back so I knew what to expect and where to go on race morning. Mark and I headed to check into our hotel room where we laid around for a couple hours.

Lisa our fearless leader had a special TriBabe pep rally in a downtown park in Bellevue Saturday night. She made us cookies, had some special quotes for us and gave us a really nice pep talk. We sang a TriBabe song and just had a fun time together. Mark and I met his sister and her hubby for dinner at the Cheesecake factory. I tried to carb up but it was so hard to eat anything with my nervous stomach! :)

I crawled into bed about 10:30pm and set my alarm for 5am! I did get a couple hours of sleep and of course I was up way before my alarm went off. When it finally hit 5am I was up and ready! Washed my face, got my gear on and tried to eat a little something before we headed out...

We found a great parking spot close to the race which made me feel a lot better knowing we didn't have to park at Safeco and shuttle it to the race...

I had my pink bucket in hand, found my bike and set up all my gear so that it would be ready for me when I got done with the swim... we of course were there way early but that was OK with me... I headed down to the first swim start and it just made me so excited and nervous to see the first people start! I cant even describe the things that were going on in my head at this time... probably "what the heck did I get myself into" ... lol

I gave Mark a hug and told him I would meet him at the finish line! Then I headed to the swim area... as my wave was waiting our turn I saw our fearless leader Lisa walking around, we yelled her name and she came over to hug us and calm our jitters! Thank god for Lisa!

As our wave got closer to the water we had a couple minutes to dunk in the water and get use to it... the next thing I remember is the 10 second count down! I remember yelling "oh crap" and the lady who was holding the line we were behind laughed at me... told me it would be ok! :) 3...2...1... GO... and I was off on the swim. The water was very choppy that day... there were a lot of people out on boats and surfboards in case we needed to stop and rest at any moment. There were times I thought I was going fast, and other times I felt I couldn't move at all! Every time I put my head in the water to swim like I had been practicing a wave would smash in my face and I would freak out... I think the last couple yards was the longest! lol... I knew there were a couple fellow TriBabes at the end of the swim helping people out so I just kept them in focus knowing I would get a huge hug when I was done!

When I exited the swim and started making my LONG journey back to my bike I heard someone yell my name... I thought that was weird since it was just Mark with me and I figured he was parked somewhere at the finish line. I look up and it is my sister!!!!!!!! She was holding a sign she made for me! I gave her a big hug and pretty much cried! It was so nice to have her there to support me! Once I realized I needed to keep going I rushed back to the bike area to change. Since I had my new tri-shorts I just put on my socks, shoes and Tribabe

The bike ride was amazing.... we got to ride along the I-90 bridge. They close off the express lanes for this event and we get to go through a couple tunnels! My gears were working perfectly for me! I even made it up the steep hill onto I-90 that I figured I was going to have to walk it up! It was so nice having other Kitsap TriBabes there... I would pass them and hear some encouraging words just at the moments I needed them. I was actually smiling during all this! lol

I get back from the bike course, take my bike back to my transition area and guess who else showed up?! My brother and his good friend were there! I racked my bike, took my helmet off grabbed more water and then headed for my run/walk/crawl....

The run was 3.1 miles... it was quite funny how that went. So during all our training I have really done nothing but walk the courses. I don't feel ready to run and I always just feel awkward running... BUT that day I jogged a lot with my walking too! It must of been the excitement of the race, the amazing adrenaline you get OR every time I went to walk a tribabe would pass and tell me "good job" or "keep running!" lol... even random women would say nice things too! I felt great! Coming towards the end I saw my brother and his friend standing on the side walk... Mike ran a couple steps and told me the finish line was just around the corner... at this point I was getting really tired... I kept up my jog and as I turn to that finish shoot I hear lots of TriBabes cheering for me and my family too! I feel so amazing once I finish that line. All I remember is someone asking me if they could take my timing chip and then I got a medal and some ice cold water! Went and gave my family some sweaty hugs and found Lisa for her hug and my TriBabe friends!

Later that day when the adrenaline left... my body was like WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?! lol... I could hardly move! :) I am glad I took Monday off of work to just rest and go to the chiropractor to make sure things were good! :)

I wasn't concerned with what my time was... I just wanted to finish.... but here is my times:

Distance	Short
Clock Time	02:32:03
Overall Place	1830 / 2037
Division Place	110 / 120
Swim	00:33:07
Swimrank	1833
Trans1	00:08:44
Bike	00:57:19
Bikerank	1721
Mph	12.5
Trans2	00:04:20
Runrank	1838
Run	00:48:30
Pace	00:15:38

Not bad! :) I have a lot that I can improve on. I try to focus on what an amazing accomplishment I have just achieved and not think about all those people who finished WAY ahead of me! lol... I have come a long way...

I was so happy to get home Sunday afternoon! I took a hot shower and headed for a long nap... We had a nice dinner with my parents that night who were excited to hear about my triathlon...

The experience was amazing and I know this blog cannot even begin to fully describe that day... I am so glad I took this step... :)

Mini Triathlon (aka dress rehearsal)

I have some things to catch up on before the actual triathlon. Which by the way is this SUNDAY!!!!!! I cannot believe how fast it has come... I am interested to go back and read my posts from the beginning and laugh at some of the things I was afraid of :) I really have come a long way and I am so proud of myself for sticking with this.

First off, we had a mini triathlon about 2 weeks ago. We did a full half mile swim in the lake, 8 mile bike ride, and 2ish mile run/walk. Now the actual Triathlon will be a little longer, the swim is the same, but the bike is 12 miles and run is 3 miles. It was the getting use to all 3 events together that we were working on. So here is how that day went for me.

I get there bright and early, check in and find a area to park my bike and unload my bucket of stuff. We use a bucket so that you can flip it over and sit on it to put your shoes on during transition. Of course I had to paint my bucket pink! What else would you expect of me? lol... so I get my area all situated, talk to some tribabes and then I walk down to the lake to see our swim course. My stomach sank when I saw the 3 large buoys out in the middle of the lake that we had to swim around! Yes when we swim Tuesday nights it is away from the shore, but never that FAR from the shore! It was once again time to get my "big girl panties" on and get over it! :)

So we all head to the water about 7:50am... just in our swimsuits or wetsuits... cant take your towel or anything like that... she starts the time and we all at ONCE head out for our swim. I take my time and let the crazy fast people go by so that I don't get kicked. I will admit it was a little scary to be out so far from the shore. I freaked out a couple times and just rolled onto my back like we are taught, caught my breathe and then kept on going! It took me a LONG time to finish, 35 minutes to be exact. The fastest person was like 15 minutes and the last but not least was at 55min... There is no shame because I didn't QUIT! I kept going... so I get out of the water... Lisa yells my time at me, and then I walk up to our transition area. Let me remind you, no towel is right when I get out... so yes... here I am walking in my swim suit for all to see! lol... I get to my area, towel dry off as fast as I can, throw on my Capri pants, which were not too hard to put on being wet... put my shirt over my suit, socks (those were hard to get on) shoes... eat a couple power blocks, drink some water, helmet, sunglasses, and racing belt and then I am OFF! :) I get on my bike and realize even though I am in an easy gear my legs are already tired! We have never put swimming with the rest and my arms hurt already! lol... the 8 mile course was not easy, lots of hills, and I was pretty pissed at that! lol... but of course I survived and of course all those stupid hills I have to go up... i forget I get to go DOWN them later! :) After my ride, you walk your bike back to your transition area, take off helmet, grab some water, and off to the run I go! I actually did jog a little this time... but I mainly walked it and that is ok! Because guess what??? I finished! :) I can officially call myself a triathlete...lol

Putting all 3 events together was crazy, scary, and fun at the same time! I feel like I can actually DO IT now... I am already looking forward to next seasons training, and thinking about the things I can work on during the winter!

Danskin is something I have been so nervous about since the first day I signed up! It is less than a week away now and as we get closer my nerves get worse. I have no doubt in my ability to complete this... the thing that scares me is the amount of people that will be there! I am so thankful to all my fellow tribabes though! There will be a lot of us there this weekend and I will feel so much better knowing they will be there until the end with me! :)

I have already said it, but I am going to say it again. This has been a crazy hard journey, I am so proud of myself for sticking with it until the end. I cannot tell you how many fears and obstacles I have faced these last couple months! I know my grandparents who have passed would be so proud of me today!

Wish me luck! I probably wont write more until after the official triathlon!