Danskin!

Sunday June 10, myself and 999 other woman from around Texas (including Sadie and Mandy) will be participating in the Danskin Triathlon! The Danskin is a sprint tri which means we will be swimming 1/2 a mile, biking 12 miles and running 3 miles. At least that is the goal! I will be honest I am not a runner so I have yet to run the full three miles after the 12 miles of bike, I am thinking that will be a goal for next year's race! My personal goal for this year's race and my mantra is "just finish" I know, I know not very creative but that is it! I have other smaller, but equally as important goals which are best relayed in an itemized list:

#1 Not having to use a Skid-O can because of nervous tummy... GROSS!!
#2 Not throwing up on other race participants or in the areas in which they are competing... i.e. the lake, their bike, the run trail
#3 Not swallowing anything during the swim that at one point might have been swimming/floating next to me
#4 Not having to push the bike up the "hill from hell"
#5 Not turning part of the race trail into a transition area by stopping on it to rest, pant, try and see straight..
#6 Not crossing the finish lines with Sally Edwards ( the Amazing Sally Edwards is always the last person to cross the finish line at Danskin, so no one technically finishes last)
#7 Not needing a swim angel, paramedic or my mommy at any point during the race, after is fine, just not during
#8 Not having to be pushed, dragged or driven in a golf cart across the finish line
#9 Not ever wondering " Why the HELL did I want to do this"
#10 Not needing my insurance card for anything that might happen before, during or after the race for instance having a tooth kicked out during the swim, breaking something after rolling down the "hill from hell", needing stitches or a cast of some sort after Sadie beats the crap out of me for talking her into this.

I say most of these in jest, for the past month Sadie and Mandy and I have completed if not exceeded the race requirements in our training workouts, which at times has made me wonder why I paid $80 just to do it at Decker Lake! And then I remember the first Danskin I watched with my aunt Norma competing and being so proud of her and motivated by her. I think about just being able to go running with my sister, and my 16 year old cousin telling me how proud of me she is, and how she wants to do it next year. I think about riding bikes, swimming and running with my two best friends and wanting so badly for them to do well and feel good about their accomplishment, and knowing they feel the same about me. I think about my sweet friend Meredith who has not let one conversation in the last four months end before she tells me how proud of me she is. I think about Judy and Shannon who have been so gracious in sharing their time to help us prepare, knowledge of the race and in loaning us their bikes, helmets, even down to bike shorts! And I think about my beautiful, loving, family being at the finish line like they always are when I have accomplished a goal. Then I think what a bargain, all of that for just $80...