SW Valley Thanksgiving Day Tri

Started the day off early - up at 4am, for the SW Valley T Day Tri with my sister, Vicki.  All tri's are early and every time I find myself saying, why am I doing this?  I was so tired and not motivated to run 2 miles, bike 12 miles, and swim 400 meters.  I totally wanted to sleep in, but I didn't.

Had to get at the venue early for packet pick-up.  We arrived at 5:15am. It was dark and cold and I kept asking myself, why am I doing this? 

We got our bodies marked, set-up our transition area, and then had to wait hours before we were to start.  The kids race was first, at 7am, then Men, then Women. It was cold, I was tired, I so needed a coffee, and I kept asking myself, why am I doing this?

This was a reverse tri so the run was first, then bike, then swim.  This is good for me because I am not a strong runner at all.  It was now 8am, I was tired.  I knew this would part would be painful and I kept asking myself, why am I doing this?

The run was actually pretty good. I kept pace with 3 ladies.  We chatted while we ran, trash talking each other because my team Arizona State Sun Devils is going to whip ass on their team Arizona Wildcats tomorrow night.  We completed the 2 miles in 27 mins, which is much faster than I was expecting.  I was thinking 30-35 mins.

On to the bike.  3 laps of 4 miles each. The first mile was a gradual uphill, but I had no problem keeping my speed up.  Next mile was downhill, and the other 2 in the lap were flat.  The 1st lap  still had some of the super fast competitors, but the last two had people like me - it's all about the fun. 

Then it was to my favorite event - the swim.  I was tired, really tired after the bike, but I jumped in and swam my eight laps of 50 meters each (I train in a 25 yrd pool, so it's nice to swim in the 50 meter pool). The sun was shining, people were cheering us on, and I was almost done with the tri. I approach the stairs, got out of the pool, and ran across the finish line!  My sister had finished just a few mins before me and had my towel ready for me.

Then the high sets in... the feeling of accomplishment - I can still do this despite my weight gain over the years.  It's pushing yourself past your limits - getting out of that comfort zone.  But it is also fun - totally not intimidating at all!  Every tri I have done, I have met men and women just like me. We smile and high five each other during the event and when it is over.  So, why am I doing this?  Because I freaking LOVE it!