I did it! I did it! I did it!

If you haven't already figured it out, I did it!!! I have successfully completed my first triathlon!

I was wide awake by 1:30 a.m. this morning. It was the kind of awake where I just knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. I was one if the first to arrive at the park at 5:15 a.m. I wasn't alone -- there were a few others who couldn't sleep either! I got all set up and chatted with some of the other women. Many of us were there for the first time, so I quickly realized I wasn't alone in my apprehension.

The Sprint waves went first, followed by my SuperSprint waves. The water was cold, but not bad -- 70 degrees. I did a mix of strokes and managed to keep calm, but can now really see why some people freak out during this part of the race. With all those bodies in the water, it's easy to get hit and it can be challenging to see very far in front of you. I made it to the exit spot and ran the 0.10 mile up to the transition area. It was a little weird running in my bathing suit . . .

At the transition point, I did my best to dry off, but it was hard to put my pants on because I was a little wobbly on my feet. I even had to sit down to put on my shoes and socks. My friends were there, cheering me on the whole time! Then I was off for the bike ride portion.

I was feeling pretty good about the bike ride. However, at about the halfway point, I made a poor gear change and my chain popped off! I had never had this happen before and had no idea how to fix it. I took a look and tried to move it, but couldn't get it to budge. A couple ladies stopped and tried to help, but no one could get it. I ran with the bike to the next point where there were helpers and they called a policeman over. He said he'd fixed 15 chains today, but mine was the worst. I told him that I like to do things right! He finally managed to fix it for me, which was great, although this all took 10-15 minutes and many people were passing me. If he hadn't fixed it, I would have been disqualified. That would have upset me GREATLY and it was at this point I realized just how badly I wanted to finish this race. I hopped back on and made my way back to the transition area.

I dropped off my bike and took off for the run. As I reached the start of the trail, my whole back siezed up. I did my best to stretch it out and grabbed some Gatorade and one (or both) of those things worked because I was soon back in action. The run was hilly, but I managed.

Crossing the finish line was the best! Not only were my friends there to cheer me on, but many others were as well. I felt wonderful afterwards! I love endorphans!

After a nice lunch, I drove back home and took a much-needed shower. I smelled of sweat and lake!

This was a great day! I almost had an "ugly cry" (as Oprah calls it) when I was about a 1/4 mile away from the finish line. I started thinking about why I really decided to do this race in the first place -- to celebrate my return to health. How wonderful that I feel back to normal and strong enough to complete a race like this. However, the sobbing was throwing my breathing pace off, so I had to shake that off and keep my eye on the finish line. I did it!!!