My office.. my church... is a place of great peace and solace for me. I took advantage of that and spent a few moments sitting in silent gratitude for the amazing day. I'm so glad I did. I felt the anxiety knot loosen and my nervousness shrink.
Contacts in and spirit renewed, I went to Lakewood to register and prepare. There was so much excited energy... it was awesome. Chatting with others as I was preparing my bike and transition area was helpful. There were many who were participating in their very first triathlon. There really is comfort in numbers.
My number was 59. This is me & my friend Holly just before start.
After a brief pre-event gathering, we went into the pool area for the swim. I was in the 3rd heat starting at 8:45 (there were 5 heats in total... starting every 15 minutes... 4 lanes... about 6 or 7 people per lane).
Watching the other heats go was very exciting and heartwarming. There was lots of cheering and encouragement. Many of us were standing along the sidelines in tears as we loudly cheered on two women who were the last out of the water in the first heat. Both of them were older women who were clearly not comfortable in the water but pushed through and made it through to the end. A HUGE accomplishment. One women had another younger woman in the water with her (her daughter, I think)... right by her side.. encouraging her the entire way. They got out of the water to many high fives and hugs. A beautiful moment to witness.
Soon, it was my turn. I was the first to go in my heat. My fear was that I would get caught up in the adrenaline and take off too quickly and tire out before it was over. It wasn't a long swim (200m) though so I was feeling pretty confident as I'd been swimming much further than that during practice.
I was the first out of the pool. That was unexpected.
I was not, however, the first out of the swim-bike transition area.
Running out of the pool and into the cold (-1) air was not pleasant but, surprisingly, not as awful as I thought it was going to be. The first gasp of ice cold air might even have felt refreshing.
So I was the first into the transition area. I found my bike and stuff and started to dry off. It was in the putting on of my shorts that things got tricky. I couldn't seem to get my right leg through the leg hole and almost toppled over... twice. Eventually I figured it out... got my helmet on, my bike off the rack and I was on my way.
As I was running my bike to the mounting area I looked to my left and sitting there was the greatest blessing of all... my daughter Hope. For those of you who don't know Hope... she is 16 and really likes to sleep in on Sundays. I had invited her to come and cheer me on but, to be honest, I really didn't expect her to be there. In fact, I worked hard at letting go of that expectation so I wouldn't be disappointed when she didn't show up. And there she was. Hearing her shout "go Mom" was better than an energy bar. My heart swelled and my body came alive.
3 loops around the bike track to complete the 6km. Throughout the track there were many volunteers pointing us in the right direction, warning us about loose gravel and sharp turns and enthusiastically cheering us on. The volunteers for this event were AMAZING.
I finished my bike, took off of my helmet, had a sip of water and was off on the run. Oddly, my legs felt fine this time around. Must have been adrenaline.
Running was the part that I was the most nervous about... mostly because I have the least amount of experience. One of the highlights for me was running by McClure United Church and seeing my colleague Debra's car parked with it's rear bumper to the road with a big sign in the back window that read "Go Laura Go". Again.. heart swelled and energy perked in gratitude for the love and support. I thought of my faith family who were, at that very moment, gathering to begin worship together.
Twice around the running route to complete 2km. I came around the corner to that finish line and Michelle and MaryAnn... our amazing Just Tri It leaders... and I wanted to explode with happiness. Not because it was finally over but because I was feeling so proud of myself (1) for trying something new (2) for blowing my expectations for myself out of the water and (3) for discovering Just Tri It and this amazingly supportive and caring group of women.
After 38 minutes of swimming, biking and running....I approached the finish line. Michelle was there to greet me with a medal and a hug... followed closely by hugs from MaryAnn and Hope.
By 10:00 I was at the church changing in to my church clothes and preparing for the second service at 11. As folks were leaving the first service many of them admired my medal (which I was still wearing) and congratulated me on my accomplishment. I TOTALLY soaked it in. I was still completely pumped and excited and bursting with energy.
I felt the energy flee my body at around 1:00 as I shared a Mother's Day meal with my wife and daughter. Fortunately, I had nothing else to do that day but rest and bask in gratitude for all of the blessings of this amazing day.
I can't WAIT until the next triathlon... June 1st at the Shaw Centre.
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