It was so foggy and then the sun started coming up and that along with the heavy fog made for close to 0 visibility. I changed my goggles at the last minute to the ones I use in the pool. The others I left behind were tinted and meant to be worn in open water swims. I definitely made a big mistake there. I was swimming blind and kept getting off course because I couldn't see the buoys. The only reason I did that was because I had never worn the new tinted goggles before and I thought better to stick with what I know. Big mistake. Huge. Another and the most major factor was the fact that I just wasn't ready to swim the 1500 M. Seriously, I've been swimming since May 1st. Just a couple months and it takes a long time to become a good swimmer. At least it seems that way for me. I went with the novice group which meant we were surrounded by kayaks and spotters. I rested on their boats every chance I got. There were a few moments I didn't think I was going to be able to make it. But I did. So super slow and I'm ashamed of my time but I did complete it. Jake is lining up a swim coach for me so that this won't happen again. There is no novice wave in the half ironman and the swim is closer to 2100 M. Anyways, the rest of our group killed it..the entire race. I think Jake and Jinny came out of the water after about 28-30 minutes and my parents did the sprint came out in about 11-14 minutes.
Offical photos of the biking portion...
After I survived the swim portion we ran to our transition area to put on socks, bike shoes, helmet, gloves and sunglasses. This whole transition took about 3-5 minutes for everyone. Mine could've been faster but I was coming out of a comatose state of euphoria knowing the swim was over. Because my swim took so long I was behind my group and biked the 24 miles pretty much alone. Especially the second half. After the bike, we ran to transition to remove helmets, rack bike and change into running shoes. I was pretty happy with my transition time here. I didn't mess around. I knew I was behind and honestly ready to be done with it all.
But first, I had to run 6.2 miles....yeah. Gag me. It was so hot too. Anyways, off I go only to start walking before I even ran the first mile. I knew at that point that the rest of it was going to be extremely difficult to get back into a groove. I set small goals for myself...run .25 mile, walk .10 mile, run .35 mile, walk .10 mile... etc. That went on forever it seemed but eventually I made it to the half way point. They filled my water bottle with ice, gave me a freezing cold towel to put on my head and then I let the little kids blast me with their water guns. It felt amazing and I was a little refreshed so I took off to finish..again I had to set small goals but I knew as long as I was moving forward I was getting closer to the finish line.
I was in the home stretch...with only about .75 miles to go ..I see a familiar body running towards me. I could spot his run from a mile away. It was a flat course so you could see for awhile. There he was holding water bottles and dripping wet cloths. My hero, my big brother. He had already finished long ago and came back to get me. He squirted cold water on my head and wrapped my neck with the cloths. I got a good drink and we set off to finish. I needed him at that moment and I am so happy he came to see me at that time. I finished and felt so happy. The only sadness I felt was not being able to share the moment in person with Justin and the babes. They were home rooting us on from Bentonville. The moment I heard his voice on the phone I broke down. I've never done that before after a race. I don't know what came over me but hearing his voice and remembering how hard everything was and how shitty I did in the swim and all the training I still have left to do just overcame me. I felt depleted and I definitely was emotionally and physically. But I was happy. I was so proud.
A well deserved cold beer.. never tasted so good...
Jake came in 2nd in his age group..absolutely killed it. Jinny came in FIRST in our age group. I came in 2nd..and tha'ts only because there were only 3 of us in our age group. So I did beat someone but Jinnys times were way faster in all events. My mom came in 2nd in her age group so we all placed except my sweet Dad. You wouldn't think but there were like 12 or more men in his age group and they can run like the wind.
Amazing experience. My very first triathlon. I learned a lot from this and can't wait to compete again. Next time...HALF IRONMAN! And what's even more awesome is I get to race with the most amazing, beautiful people in the world. My family. Blessed.
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