The entire event-day was was a blast. Pete and I were up at the crack of ass to eat and head down to Lake Nokomis. It was such a relief to have walked through the transition area the night before (compare the two pictures above). Just looking around and making a connection to that location before the crowds of people and gear, really helps me sleep at night. The anxiety that I felt last year was simply gone. I was excited to get in the water and when I did, it felt exactly how I remembered.
Doing this event with Pete was meant more to me than I can explain in words. I never imaged that I would ever be with someone that would want to do this kind of crap with me. Pete's last triathlon was more than twelve years ago. How did he do? He rocked, of course. He was 1st in his age group for the swim, and 12th overall... overall means out of all 3,000 amateurs, he was 12th in the swim. I could not have been more proud of him.
(drum roll please) I met my goal! Look back in my blogs and see that I was brave enough to say that I wanted to come in under 3 hours, which I did. You have to understand that it was only two years ago that I quit smoking. That's right folks, I was a smoker. Something I can't even conceive of now. To be able to say that I did my second triathlon is one thing, but its another to be able to set a goal around my time.My swim felt wonderful. I passed more people than I imagined and swam strong from beginning to end. Funny thing about the swim was that on several occasions I thought about Nana, my maternal grandmother. I used to swim with her as a little girl in Cayuga Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Western NY. I can only imagine how proud of me she would be if she could see me out there!
My transition to the bike was smooth. I did not run up the sand and hurt myself (like last year). Along the bike course I actually saw Pete. Bam! Bolt of energy. The bike was great, someday the city might realize the huge crowd that this event draws and will invest some money in the roads. Sadly I saw more flat tires, road rash and broken bones than I did last year. The tight turns of the course are one thing, but to couple that with some serious pot holes is a recipe for disaster. As I've said before, I knew this course pretty well and knew what to expect. The ride kicked ass and I felt like a power house.
I got of the bike, slipped on those lovely running shoes and flew out of the transition area. Between adrenaline, a great training schedule and several songs playing in my head, my legs ran when I wanted them to!
My legs actually felt great. As I turned the first corner, out of transition, I saw Molly and Sue. As soon as I heard Molly scream "Halstead!" I just about cried. I could not have been happier to see her. She bolted up and ran along side me, she told me I looked great and gave me a shot of energy that I used the whole run. There were a few walks along the way, but back up and running every time and quickly getting my stride back. (side note, sadly if you look up my times, the bike and run times are both wrong. I biked faster and ran slower than are listed... but the overall time is what I'm focusing on... so you should too). When I finished the run, there she was, Christine. Like an angel, wings open to catch me, I fell into her arms, or at least I'm pretty sure I did. The whole race I knew I could count on seeing her in that very spot.
As I got out of the finish area I was so happy to see all of the wonderful people that came out to support me. Thank you Robert for being along the course and shooting video... even I'm afraid of what that video looks like. Josh, it was awesome to see you at the beginning of the day and to hang out before the race. Megan, as soon as you put your arms around me I thought I'd fall down crying. It meant so much to have you there. Sue, I'm expecting to see you out there some day! Miss Diane, you always make me feel like a rock star that can do no wrong. Christine, thanks again for volunteering, I'm sure I'm not the only person to fall into your arms! Marie and Zeli along the course, waving me on- was wonderful. And mom, having you there at the beginning, to send me off into the water was wonderful - I knew I was being looked after. I was able to meet one of my all-time favorite people, Mr. Bret Wilson, who took second place in his division. Bret became an inspiration to me last year when I read his amazing story through Team In Training. Bret ran for Team In Training in honor of his daughter Erin. To read more about Bret and his story click HERE. In retrospect, I feel like I couldn't have done any more training. I feel like I was as prepared as I could be. That doesn't mean that I can't keep trying to get better, run faster, ride harder. I could not be happier with my results.
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