The Griz has come and gone and all in all it was a great experience. As you all know-I was pretty nervous in the days leading up to the race. I was basically a mess and couldn't focus on much else. In the couple days before the race my friend Bryan (Shout out to a great coach/friend!) spent a lot of time with me "pimping out" my mountain bike as best he could, answering my numerous last minute questions, and attempting to keep me calm (I might have declared I was quitting a few times the night before). Anyway, I made it through the week and before I knew it, it was race day!
Mom drove up for the race the day before and it was great to have her around to take my mind off the race somewhat...I got up super early the day of the race since my heat was at 8:30 and headed over for the pre-race meeting with my friend Emma, who also completed her first triathlon :) Before my heat, I had some time to wait around at the pool by myself. Mom, Cor, and Chris weren't there yet and neither was anyone else I knew. I watched the beginning of the first heat of the day (8:00) and my heart was pounding like crazy! I could not calm down. Thank goodness Bryan walked into the pool shortly! Before I knew it I was in the pool waiting for my start-the first couple of laps went well but I still couldn't seem to calm down. I started having trouble getting my breathing under control because I was breathing too fast so I took a short break and collected myself and finished the swim. All in all, the swim didn't go too bad. Even with the one lap that I struggled with a bit, I completed the swim in 23 minutes (under my estimate).
I got out of the pool and ran outside to the transition area to get dressed for the bike. Pulling on my pants over my wet suit was harder than I thought it was going to be! The transition seemed to take forever but I got through it and on the bike. The bike went alright, a little longer than I would have liked though. During the first part of the bike I kept thinking about my swim, no matter how much I tried not to, so I was a little distracted and I think that hurt me. The second half of the bike went great though-I was really enjoying myself. One of my favorite things about the Tri was that when you would pass people during the bike or run (going the opposite way) everyone would yell "great job" or "looking good" to eachother. I thought that was awesome and sometimes it was exactly what you needed to hear. Very cool. As a guy was passing me at the beginning of the bike (hate to admit this but-he wasn't passing me going the other way unfortunately, just passing me) he yelled out "You go girl!" and gave me a huge smile. Sounds kind of silly but it really boosted my spirits and helped me focus on the bike finally instead of the swim!
Once the bike was over I dismounted (somewhat un-smoothly) and headed out on the run. The run definitely held the two hardest challenges of the whole race. I can't even explain how difficult it was to force my legs to run after getting off the bike at first. That first half mile of the run was killer! It felt like I was going nowhere-frustrating. The next challenge that awaited me was "the hill". Basically, the run course heads straight up Mt. Sentinel for a bit and it was steep! I did not even attempt to run up it and my calves were burning like crazy! Once that hill was over though it was home free-just half of the 5K left and I finally, finally crossed the finish line!
Crossing the finish line was perfect-definitely felt like I would never get there! Mom, Cor, Chris, Coach Bryan and some other friends were all there to celebrate and of course, take pictures! One of the other best things about finishing was the free food! Gotta love bagels :)
Anyway, the race was amazing, I'm so so glad I went through with it and can't wait for the next one. I signed up for a tri in Helena at the end of May that I'm very excited for.
Lastly, I want to say thank you to everyone who helped and supported me during this process. (Promise I won't be so high maintenance before the next race :) Mom-thank you so much for coming up to watch! I'm so glad you could be there and celebrate with me. Cor and Chris-basically, thanks for putting up with me! Bryan-well...where do I start? You helped me a ton and I definitely couldn't/wouldn't have done it without you. Your passion for the sport kept me motivated until the end and I owe you big time. I'm sure we can figure something out ;)
One race down! I week until the Riverbank Run, 2 weeks until Bloomsday, and 6 weeks until the Queen City Triathlon in Helena! Love it :)
