My First Triathlon Ever!!

On June 25th, 2006 I competed in my first triathlon ever. I was in the Subaru US Women's Triathlon Series in Naperville, Illinois. I swam 1/2 mile, biked just under 15 miles and ran a 5K. It was such a neat accomplishment and it was something that I never thought that I would ever be able to do. I love how healthy I am becoming in every area of my life.

Here I am on June 24th. I picked up my racing packet and got my numbers put on. I had butterflies in my stomach on and off all day. I had planned to do this Triathlon for about a year and I couldn't belive that the day had finally come. There were lots of vendors and speakers that day that really helped get me prepared for race day.

Here I am on June 25th, race day, after setting up my transition area with my bike. I found that everyone was very helpful and kind to us trinewbies and didn't mind answering questions. It was raining all morning and we were hoping it would stop by our wave start, but we had no such luck. It would be a cold and wet day for the race. I guess that is better than hot and humid.

Darlene is my friend of 20 years and we decided to begin our healthy lifestyle makeover together. It was her idea for us to do a triathlon, so here we are after setting up our transition area. We then had an hour to wait before our wave would start. It was really fun to watch the elite athletes. Also, because the triathlon was for Ovarian Cancer awareness the 2nd wave was cancer survivors. That was really moving to see.

Here I am coming out of the swim. The swim for me is the toughest part. I have a problem with claustrophobia and have been known to have a couple of panic attacks here and there, so my goal was to get through the swim without panicing. I did great right up until the last 5 minutes. I started to panic a little bit and another swimmer noticed and swam with me telling me I could do it. I focused on the finish line and focused on my breathing and was able to pull myself out of it. I was very proud of myself. I was able to complete my swim in 21 minutes, which was the best time I had ever had in a swim. Go Me!!

Here I am sprinting across the finish line. I was so tired and I had walked most of my 5K to that point, but when I knew I was close I just sprinted my heart out. It was so hard, but I was really proud of myself when I had finished. It is a feeling that is hard to describe. It really proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to and that is a good feeling for me.

Here we are after we finished our first ever triathlon. Notice our cool finisher medals. Our next adventure together will be doing a century ride in October.

Here is a picture of Darlene and I a few years back. It is amazing to me that I ever let myself get to that point. We have come so far together and are very excited about our journey ahead. We are excited to see where God leads us and how He will use our journey to help, encourage and inspire others to better themselves. Darlene, thanks for being such a good friend through thick and thin. I could not make it through life without you. I have loved the first 20 years of our friendship. Here's to the next 20. You go girl!!

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength-Philippians 4:13