Celebration

Hello Followers, I must report that it has been a CRAZY couple of days!

I think I last posted on Friday-my "recovery" day. I spent a great day with my children as neither had school. In the morning we went to the park with a good friend of mine, and then in the afternoon we went to the Red River Exhibition Fair. I was absolutely exhausted but thought-no problem because my Saturday scheduled workout was a 20 min bike followed by a 10 min run so I could taper a bit more for the Olympic Triathlon on Sunday.

Then........as the sun was beating down on me, and my children were nearing the end of their rope from all the excitement of the fair (not to mention the junk food they consumed), I get a SURPRISE text from Mr. P . He informs me, that I should do a 100 k bike ride with a group of cyclists. I laugh and laugh-text him back and said that I would not be falling for his sick joke. He of course indicated it was no joke, and went on to say it would be important for me to get some practice in so I could get comfortable with other riders being close to me.

Of course I freak out a bit (OK maybe a lot) because here it is that the Olympic Triathlon would be the following day-I could potentially drown in the water due to the exhaustion of the 100 k ride the day before. Ultimately I agree and on Saturday morning I meet the 7 cyclists that would assist me in this journey of learning how to ride in a pack along the Trans Canada Highway and draft.

Upon first reflection, I must admit, that I was intimidated by these cyclists. They are a very experienced group of riders, and obviously had been riding bikes much longer than 4 months. But they were all very kind to me, and helped me so much in terms of learning how to draft. I realized very quickly that if you fall out of the draft pack it is almost freaking impossible to catch up. This happened to me, but I managed to get back in the pack (but my my heart beat went up to 180 bpm-obviously something I would not have been able to sustain for any length of time).

I think I did OK until the last 10 miles or so. Then exhaustion hit and I just did not have it in me to do the sprint at the end and I was left in the dust. The group stopped and waited for me, and I felt terrible about this. They reassured me not to feel bad, and were very kind. One of the cyclists-Mr. J shared that he thought I had the capability for the last 10 miles but because my drafting was not the greatest, he thought I was working too hard on the ride.

Speaking of drafting-that was a tad overwhelming, as in order to derive benefit, you have to ride extremely close to the cyclist in front of you. When you get in the draft zone-it is amazing how much easier it is to cycle. But for me, I was worried about clipping someone's wheel and taking out the whole pack! If that were to happen, I would have been horrified-thus my reticence about following really close! I suppose, like anything, the more experience one gets, the easier it becomes.

Following the cycle, I went home and ate, drank lots and took some baths in preparation for Sunday's Triathlon. My legs felt terrible when I was going to bed, so much so that I needed to take drugs! (Advil). Less than 24 hours later at 4am, my alarm was sounding off.

So at 4am, my legs felt better but boy was my butt sore! I was in my usual anxiety ridden panic mode, and picked up Mrs. B who was racing as well and a newbie like me! Following registering, getting my body markings and setting up transition, an announcement was made that just about sent me over the edge. The race officials indicated that wetsuits would not be allowed due to the water temperature reaching a 23 degree's. They also made a second announcement saying for racers to be careful due to the abundance of weeds on the shore line that one could get caught in.

Now followers you can only imagine how a "weak" swimmer competing in her first Olympic Triathlon (with a 1500 m swim) would feel. But I needed to get a grip because panic would not do anything positive. I thought back to words from my Voice of Reason.

When the horn went off in the mass swim start, and legs and arms are flailing everywhere, and weeds are covering your goggles and twirling around your arms and legs, I began to hyperventilate. But then....I remembered to Breathe. And you know what? It worked! I was able to get in a rythym. The cool water on my body felt so good after the 100 k ride the day before, and I have to say that the swim was the best part of the triathlon. Crazy!

Next was the bike, which was absolutely painful. Not in terms of my legs burning, not in terms of having to cycle into the wind that never stops, not in terms of the heat of the sun, but because my butt was on fire! Every bump was agony (and there were lots of them) .

The run was a relief in that I was no longer on my bike, but I felt I was running at a turtle's pace. I crossed the finish line in 3 hours with my tank on empty! I did it!

Today, is a day for celebration in another way too. It is my beautiful daughter's 4th birthday! So Happy Birthday Little one, mommy is so lucky because of all the baby girl's in heaven-I got the best one!