I made it! (The extended version)

It's been three months since I signed up and started training for the Wildflower Triathlon as part of Team In Training (TNT). I was originally motivated by a desire to get fitter while trying a new activity and helping a good cause in the process.

I've been fortunate not to have a personal tie to leukemia/lymphoma, but as the weeks passed and I met and heard from honorees and their families, I felt increasingly connected to the cause. The thing that resonated most with me was "We race because others can't be here" and it forces you to a) reflect on how fortunate you are to have good health and b) really want to do something for those who are suffering.

The night before the race, there was a big TNT dinner, and it was truly a sight to behold. Imagine a giant carnival tent with over 500 TNT competitors and their families. Folks had flown in from Georgia, Michigan, Boston – all of us united by our TNT ties. At dinner, Angela Kott spoke about her son Trevor, who was diagnosed with congenital leukemia the day after he was born, and who passed away a year ago. She wanted to replace the memory of the sadness at his passing with the feeling of completing a triathlon in his honor. Everyone from Angela's TNT team had Trevor's picture pinned to the back of their run jerseys. With 500 TNT participants, every sixth person is wearing a purple TNT jersey, and it seemed like most of them had Team Trevor pictures pinned on. I was ready to start bawling at the end of her story which really brought home for me why many of the TNT folks race.


The race

It's 8am on race morning, and I'm setting up my transitions prior to our wave start, and it all still seems rather surreal. The transition is a mass of 3000 competitors and their bikes, each setting up their bike and run gear as race officials wander around with black Sharpie markers chanting "Body Marking, Body Marking"


<<---The transition zone! I had my number marked on both arms and calves, and my age on the left calf. Had I really signed up to do this? What was I thinking? My nervousness only increased as I watched the initial waves jump into the water. I'm going to be trampled or drowned!
Jackie and I agree that our best bet is to stay at the back of the start wave in order not to get trampled by the more aggressive/competitive folk. Even so, it ends up fairly crowded in the water.

The swim actually went pretty well – I'd expected to take 40-45 minutes based on my prior open water swim practices, but I ended up exiting the water in 32:45 (despite swimming WAY off course at one point and having a race official in a kayak yell at me to get back on track) Once out of the transition area, I was immediately confronted by Lynch Hill – a mile long ascent so steep that some folks got off their bikes halfway. I was definitely struggling, but there were a couple of TNT coaches halfway up the hill who encouraged me to continue. Compared to Lynch Hill, the rest of the bike ride was relatively easy – the hills were tough, but once I hit the turnaround, I knew I could finish the race, it was a question of how fast. I completed the ride in 1:50:23, a full 10 minutes faster than during the practice ride two weeks before.




Here I am in transition -->>








Now the toughest part of the race was left – I'm a poor runner anyway and I was already a little worn out by the swim and the bike ride, but I just had to get through this final section and I'd be done! It was past one o'clock in the afternoon by this time, and the sun was blazing overhead. At each aid station, I would grab a cup of water, dump it over my head, and then grab a cup of Gatorade and drink that as quickly as possible before continuing on my run. I didn't run as well as I would have liked, but I've attached a picture of myself at the finish. It is an awful picture, but a fairly accurate depiction of how I felt at the time. I did not have the energy to cheer or raise my arms in triumph – I was focused solely on the finish line!




Folks have asked me if I'll do another triathlon, and my immediate response was, "Ask me in a week, when my legs don't hurt!" Having said that, it is rather amazing what you can push your body to do with enough training and time, so I do think another triathlon is in my future somewhere.

Special thanks to all my donors for their generosity and support. I surpassed my original goal of $3,000 and have raised $4,860 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so far. I will be trying to round up the last of people's commitments in the next month, and hopefully surpass $5,000.