I am a TRIATHLETE!?!?

I have been going over and over it in my head "I am a triathlete" I can't quite wrap my brain around it yet. I have actually been trying to decide if I even get to actually call myself that. This was after all my first triathlon, and I did have to get off the bike twice and push it up what can only be described as a MOUNTAIN! But I did finish the race. I never stopped, even when I was pushing the bike instead of riding I was still moving and I crossed that finish line in 2 hours and 50 minutes after I started. And, I would like to point out that 13 of those minutes were "transition"minutes meaning drying off, changing and getting the bike after the swim and getting the bike back, drying off again and starting the run. So my unofficial time, not including transition time was 2:38:14... I like that number much better, I think that is actually my new favorite number, so be prepared the next time I am asked what my favorite number is for my answer to be 23814.
So let me tell you all about it from the beginning! Saturday morning we loaded Judy, Shannon and Don's bikes on to the bike rack on Mandy's car and headed out to the Expo center for our informational meeting. (Quick side note I feel it necessary to include the bike owner's names because Sadie, Mandy and I are so thankful to them for loaning us their bikes, we have practiced on those bikes, we have struggled with those bikes and we have now completed our first tri on those bikes, those bikes and their owners are very special to us!) Now, back to our story upon arriving at the expo center we are greeted by a line that begins at the door and loops through the parking lot. We make our way to the end of the line we are hot, we have to pee, we wonder why that girl is wearing heels and before we know it the lines starts to move, much to our delight pretty fast. Once we get a little bit closer we notice a list with each of the competitors names and what wave they will be going in, by swim cap color and time. We are in the LAST heat in the last wave! My mind flashes back to my goal list from the last blog (goal #6 not crossing the finish line with Sally Edwards which means you are the last athlete to finish!) I start to sweat, a little from the sun, more from the thought of coming in last!! Then before we know it we are in the Expo, booth after booth of everything from diamonds to sport jelly beans, which give you energy... yes we bought some... SUCKERS!! We get our packets, we activated our chips, we start to realize there is no backing out now! Why is any of this relevant to our story you may be wondering, because this race, in particular, is so much more than just the race it is about the event! The Danskin tri is the only all women's race! It was humbling and overwhelming seeing all of these women that we would be racing with, not competing against. This race is for EVERY woman, every age, every size, every stage in life! Everyone involved in making this race happen makes sure that the athletes feel comfortable, excited and supported! I know I can get a little emotional but I can honestly say that in our information meeting and Sally Edwards's speech following it I went through every major emotion! Fear, excitement, anxiety, happiness, joy, gratefulness, pride you name it we felt it! I will share with you two moments that were genuinely inspiring we had the pleasure of meeting the 79 year old woman who was racing with her daughter, as well as applauding Team Survivor which is made up entirely of cancer survivors! 100% of the race's proceeds goes to breast cancer research, which is just one more reason to get involved! So, after the course overview, and after fake vomiting on Sadie after hearing about the hills on the bike course we were ready to unload the bikes! We got to drive them up to the race site not really paying attention to the hills that got us there, which meant not getting to adequately warn our family members about how hard getting to this event was going to be on them! Once the bikes were in place, it was back home to get our last minute supplies, mass and carb loading! I will say that was one of my favorite parts of the pre race activities, thank you Grandma and Grandpa for Carraba's! The goal was to be in bed between 9:30-10:00 since we had to meet at Mandy's at 5:00 a.m. Of course we couldn't sleep so it really wasn't to hard getting up that early. I was so nervous even my family was awake all night! It was obviously still dark when we arrived at the Expo and boarded the "yellow dogs" to head up to the race site, which added a whole new element of having to use the port o' potty and locating our bikes. We got everything situated stripped down to our bathing suits and waited! The first wave started at 7:00 our wave started at 8:40. By this time we were actually pretty thankful for being in the last wave we figured less people to run us over from behind! We found our friend Robyn and her race buddy Barbara and decided we would get in the water to try it out. By they way, by the time we were dipping our feet in the water at 8:20 the winner was crossing the finish line, she was from the under 19 category! As we start to form the line I finally and thankfully see my family! I was getting pretty anxious they wouldn't make it, and I couldn't imagine leaving without seeing them. But all of a sudden I heard my name and my cousin Andie (wearing a shirt she made that said JANET IS MY HERO) and my Aunt Norma where there! Right behind them my mom, my Aunts Sue and Nise, my cousin Alejandro and my sister carrying the sign she made ( Si, se puede!) I knew I was ready now! We started to make our way down the boat ramp, we started our countdown, one last prayer, one last encouraging word to the women around us and then GOOOOOOO!!!! IT WAS AMAZING! It was like I was swimming on top of the water, there was little bumping but nothing serious, I hit a couple of people, but made sure to apologize, and 26 minutes later I was being yelled for by 20 people holding water noodles in an arch above me. My friend Judy among them, encouraging the loudest!! Then my family on the fence! I get to my bike I dry off, set out and about a quarter mile down the road see Grandma and Grandpa, get an "I love you, go Jani!" from them and smile all the way through the next 2 miles, and then the hills! There were 8 hills, some bigger than others, it was hot by now, I didn't have any water. Going down the hills was AMAZING, at one point Mandy said her odometer read 35mph! It felt like 100 mph! I couldn't stop smiling... then I got to the next hill!
At about mile 6 that no water thing started to wear on me, thank God for a volunteer who asked if I had stopped at a water stop and when I said "No, but it's okay" she rode next to me for half a mile sharing her water and her story with me, I thanked her profusely and started the last 6 miles. I know the hill that has affectionately been dubbed "the bitch" is still to come. I didn't make it, I will next year, mark my words! After two more grueling hills it is the finish! I rack my bike try to eat a granola bar grab Gatorade and head for the run! I get to the start and there is my family screaming and cheering me on while other racers look around to see what all the noise is! I start the 3 mile run, I walked most of it, okay, okay I actually only ran the downhills... IT WAS HOT!! I am pretty sure that is what it would feel like to run on the sun! I drank my Gatorade, I ate my energy jelly beans, I through water in my face and kept moving! I pass the mile markers and know I have to be close then I see my mom, my sister, my grandma, Sadie and Mandy and they start to walk with me to the finish. As I see the finish line, I can hear my family saying " You are doing great, the finish is right there!" I get a shooting pain in my stomach, I can't take a deep breath... and then I cross!! The announcer says my name and there is Judy, again! She is waiting at the finish line to put my medal around my neck, she hugs me... I am a triathlete. I see my Aunt Norma who was my motivation to do the race, she is crying and I quickly followed! HUGS, KISSES, PATS IN THE BACK, CONGRATULATIONS! Sadie and Mandy are there! Sadie not only doesn't beat me up, she lifts my exhausted head to make sure I am looking her in the eye and she says "Thank you for talking me into doing this!"
On one side of our medal it says:
2007 Danskin Women's triathlon Series .75SWIM 20KBIKE 5KRUN
on the other side:
"THE WOMAN WHO STARTS THE RACE IS NOT THE SAME WOMAN WHO FINISHES THE RACE."
How right you are Danskin medal, how right you are!