As for the race itself, we fell to the back of our "wave" of swimmers to have some space, but just a few hundred yards from the shore Dan was kicked in the head and took on a bunch of water. It took us a bit to get his lungs cleared, and for him to get a good pace again. One of the volunteer lifeguards even tossed a frog floaty for us to share back and forth as we swam. We kept that for the duration of the swim leg. Yep, we were THAT bad at the race. But it was so funny! Dan and I were just laughing and swimming and enjoying every second.
From the swim we transitioned to the bike. It took a bit for me to get my rash guard, helmet, socks and shoes on, but once we both rehydrated we took off up the hill. The bike felt really weird though, and right as I pumped up to the top, my tire popped off. No joke! I called to the spectators and said, "Help, I think my chain or something fell off!" A guy came running and then another guy and all of a sudden it felt like I was in a Nascar pitstop, power tools whizzing, within (I swear) two minutes I was back on the saddle headed away. Rolling away I was low fiving spectators and hollering thank yous. I could hear Dan behind me chuckling.
The bike ride was probably the most fun; Dan pulled up the rear and let me set the pace. There were water stations along the way and I would roll up slow and tease to tell them I was coming through the car wash, then they would spray me with a hose, or bottled water. It felt so good! There's nothing better to wake you up than being doused with icy water on a hundred degree day. Quite shocking, but it'll certainly cool you off.
When we transitioned from biking to running, we racked our bikes, drank some more water and started running, but almost immediately people started hollering because we were running the wrong direction. Ha! We are the worst triathletes! We might as well have been Abbott and Costello. The run was a little tough because the heat had really climbed. The route was out along the highway, the heat swirling up from the asphalt. There were a few times when I worried I might be in seizure danger zone, but Dan helped me take my rash guard off, doused it with cold water, then draped it over my shoulders. My icy cool cape really did save the day.
You'll see below that my mom took lots of pictures. My parents are so wonderful. They came with us to the race, and cheered us on during every leg. It was just shy of a hundred degrees very quickly and to have my parents there cheering, and laughing with us, was a lot of fun. The day was one of my favorites, one that will go down in the record books.
I can't believe we did it. I can't believe how hard we laughed (mostly at ourselves). It just goes to show that everything in life is really fun, even when you don't know what you're doing. Even if there are literal obstacles. Dan was legitimately kicked in the head. My tire popped off. We ran off in the wrong direction, and yet it was one of the most fun days of my life.
 |
| The Pit Crew: My Parents |
 |
