Yes Ladies and Gentlemen - I'm talking about the St. George Triathlon. It could be yours next year!!!
And so my story begins... It's 6:45 on a beautiful, but apparently windy, day. My friend, Summer and I are full of hope. We haven't yet touched the water of course... but I'm already glad to be wearing a wetsuit.
I have left out the pictures of me looking like I'm being stabbed by ice cold daggers on purpose. Instead, I give you this one. Triumph! I can't feel my face! Yes!!!
As most of you know. I'm a swimmer. I have never worried about the swimming portion of a triathlon - I just show up, and for the most part do pretty well. Well God was ready to smite whatever pride I had - and give me a run for my money. (OK, I know God didn't smite me, but He sure did let me remember that I need Him). You see, there was A LOT of wind. So much so, that there were whitecaps crashing over (and into) my head. I've swam in the ocean, and been fine. This was no ocean. This was a lake of fury. As Summer put it, we were swimming vertically. Unfortunately I literally almost did drown. I got to experience my first panic in water. This didn't really lead to the wave pool "fun" that others may have enjoyed - but left me scared and praying. I finished my swim in 35 minutes. 35 minutes!!! This means that I was swimming at a 2:20 pace per 100 yds. To put this in perspective, I warm up usually swimming around a 1:30 pace. I can do elementary backstroke faster than this! Really... I should time that tomorrow. Anyhow, I was all over the place - but luckily I was also given another quality from my Heavenly Father - determination. I didn't quit! This is me coming into the finish area (which is surrounded by docks - and calmer than the rest of the lake) ... I'm the one on the right. You can't see any limbs because of that wave I'm about to suck into my lungs. 
Oh, incidentally - they cancelled the swim portion of the race for everyone after us. Apparently they were worried that people actually might drown... and too many people had to be rescued from our heat already.
Usually there's running after I get out of the water... immediately. This time, I was trying to figure out if I should hop into that Ambulance. Summer was right there with me, and I think I was saying "What the heck just happened?" or "Oh good, you didn't drown either!"
A few seconds later and we had the strength to start running... I love our hair here - we both look like fuzzy chicks. 
This is the last smile I had on my bike! It was one of the only times on the bike that I didn't have a severe headwind or crosswind. In 3.3 miles I hit a 6% grade with a headwind. That's when Summer past me, and I realized I needed to start praying again.
The entire bike ride was plagued with the question of whether my knee was holding out. I kept giving myself little markers to make it to, and then I would keep going. My knee really hurt after the hill- and I thought for sure I was done when I had to keep peddling downhill because of the wind. But I did keep going - for another 1:40 minutes... at a measly 15 miles per hour. Again, that's my usual warm-up speed. But I did finish the bike! I made it... despite the two times I was literally blown off the road by the wind. When I came into the bike to run transition - I told Jaren "I think I'm done - my knee is really hurting". Then I got off my bike, and my knee pain wasn't there... so I put on my shoes and said, "can't hurt in trying."
This is my face at the beginning of the run. I look like I'm ready to kill someone.
This is my face when I have completed one loop of the run, and realize for the first time that day, that I will finish the race! I really was happy here. Happy that I only had to run in sand for 3 more miles. Happy that I would only have to empty my shoes from sand one more time - and happy that my blisteringly slow pace would someday still get me to the finish line.
This is me at the finish line. I'm well over a 30 minutes past my projected pace. I'm tired, and I'm positive that this is the last triathlon that I will ever do.
I have purposefully left out all of my ugly pictures for a reason - I don't like to show you how ugly I can look. But this one describes my pain perfectly - so here you are. An ugly pic of me immediately after crossing the line. Next time I need to remember to smile here.
know it. Summer told me right before we left the start line - "It's complete, not compete!" If there were ever a mantra that I needed. I beat myself up the whole race, and the beating didn't end on the 5 hour ride home, or the throughout the night. The beating finally ended today in writing this blog. I am just realizing how proud of myself I really am. I didn't do as great as I had hoped with my time - but I did so much better than I could have hoped with my determination. Next time, I hope that my attitude during the race will be more positive. That I will remember that I'm doing these things for fun. And that, as my friend Rob said, "I'm not Lance Armstrong, so who really cares how well I do!" 
And maybe, there will be another triathlon in my future. Today I made it to maybe - and that's way better than yesterday!
