Yesterday I competed in the New Jersey State Sprint Triathlon, the event I have been waiting for and training for since the beginning of this year... and maybe my whole life. Needless to say, it was nothing short of AMAZING! Seriously, I kicked some ass, if I do say so myself. I was so much stronger than I thought I'd be. I woke up at 4:45am after a restless night and dressed for my big day. I was all packed and ready to go and was accompanied by my dad, my sister and her best friend to the race. As I arrived, got body marked (it tickles!) and prepared my transition station, I thought I'd be more nervous, more terrified. But I guess it's true what they say, success is when opportunity meets preparation and damn was I prepared! I then went to the shore of the lake to stretch, BREATHE and take it all in. I waited as they reviewed some course instructions and protocols and still, I felt in control and excited... not fearful. As they began calling the waves to start the race, I was amped up and ready. Long story short, I KILLED the swim portion. In fact, I was lapping people in the wave ahead of me, which started 5 minutes before my wave!! Oh yeah! And my biggest fear was that my nerves and anxiety were going to get the best of me, that I was going to go out guns blazing and then exhaust myself before I even completed the swim. But, even though I had a killer pace, I was in control of my breathing and paced well to finish in a good time. As I finished up the swim, I felt surprisingly good. The roar of the fans kept my blood pumping and a smile on my face. I was already finished a third of my race! However, the good goin' didn't last for long.
The bike ride was a little rough, but more because I was riding a mountain bike and was working twice as hard as everyone else on regular racing bikes. Long story short, mountain bikes are NOT designed for speed. Or for distance for that matter. Ugh. And after all that biking (a whopping 11.5 mile bike) all I could do was think as I approached the dismount line was "Dear God, my legs aren't working properly anymore; I'm totally gonna take out some innocent bystanders!" (Thank goodness I didn't!) Also coursing through my mind was "How the hell am I going to run 3.5 miles after this?"
Even though it was friggin hot and mentally, I was running low on fuel, I did it. I DID IT! And not many people can say that! And best of all, let me tell you - NOTHING beats crossing that finish line. I'm not gonna lie, I cried. Like a baby. I was so friggin excited that I really did it; I finished strong and whooped my goal time by 45 minutes. Yup, I finished the race in about 1:45! Hot damn, I felt like I could conquer the world. Hey, maybe I will. Who knows?
Anyway, what an awesome experience! I don't know if it's that I'm high on endorphins or friggin out of my mind, but I signed up for another race August 28th! Let's see if I can beat my time. By the way, I can now claim that I am officially a TRIATHLETE! Now how many people can say that?!?
STATS: Overall Place: 1234/1366; Swim Time: 11:42 - Swim Rank: 447; T1 Time: 3:37 - T1 Rank; 906; Bike Time: 52:22 - Bike Rank: 1290 (On a Mountain Bike!); Run Time: 39:27 - Run Rank: 1185; Total Time: 1:51:52
