random thought

YEAH FOR THIS DAY... that THE LORD HAS MADE!!!!!!!

water, dirt, and sweat... "tri"umphant

so, this past Saturday I participated in my first ever sprint distance triathlon. No, not an Ironman...but at least a personal victory for myself. It was a 1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run. For all of you looking at the distances figuring no big deal... well, try adding them all together in one fun filled race against the clock race...yep, EVEN MORE FUN packed into ONE!!!!

The swim was a breeze... although swimming in a straight line is hard when you have others swimming around you in every possible direction. Plus, it doesn't help when the person in front of you gets disoriented, stops suddenly, and starts treading water right in front of you to figure out where they are. But all in all, it was a quick dip in 60 degree water.

Transition zone: the location where you go between each leg of the race and change equipment...even this is timed, so the key is to transition as fast as you possibly can... Trying to take a wetsuit off, get semi-dry and pop on your bike gear... not the easiest thing to do.

Then, on to the mountain bike portion... I had all kinds of technical difficulties on this portion. Oh, how I missed my road bike. No more mountainbike races for me... first, there was the immense amount of gravel, dirt, and dust. Plus, other bikers who decided to walk their bikes who kept walking them up the left sides of the hill where you are supposed to let others pass you. Then, there was the little incident where my bike chain popped off since I was shifting gears too quickly... and wouldn't you know it, it had to happen at the bottom of one of the steepest hills. Way to lose momentum. I have never been so happy to end a bike ride as I felt coming down Lynch Hill and back to the transition zone... and oh yeah, there was the one little mishap where during the dismount phase where the lady next to me lost her balance and fell over on her bike, probably because we both dismounted our bikes too close to one another.

and last but not least, the nice 2 mile jog over rolling hills...when your legs already feel like jello. All in all, I had a great time. Plus, I was able to see my sister race in the long course... and she did awesome!!!!!!

Highlights of the weekend:

- great weather for camping, hanging out with friends and my sister, seeing some awesome athletes compete, being in awe of the Challenged Atheletes who competed in the longer courses- especially the amputees, seeing the Bachelor, completing my first triathlon, and a really awesome tan.

Now, I'm ready for more... next triathlon... less than 30 days away. Hoping to improve my overall time by about 15 minutes... faster transitions and faster time on the bike ride. woooohooooo... I live to "tri" !!!!

ouch!!! so, I swam with my wetsuit yesterday as a trial run to see how it would feel before the triathlon. plus, I wanted to work on my technique... it's not so easy to swim in a straight line when you don't have lane lines and you can't see more than 3 inches in front of your face.

plus, learning to breathe to either side with the waves crashing into you... yeah, not so much fun.

well... the wetsuit definitely comes in handy to keep you warm when the water is below 60... and it helps you to float.

I came out of the water 35 minutes later... a little colder, disoriented, and yet proud that I had survived my first open water swim.

unfortunately, the wetsuit left its mark... not enough bodyglide and now I understand why people wear rash guards when they surf... so, like I said... OUCH!

but, the feeling after the swim... GREAT!!!! Plus, brunch afterwards...well worth it.

18 days to go...

6 miles today in less than an hour with 2 hill repeats... woooohoooo, adrenalin rush. tomorrow...maybe 20+ miles or hit the water.

have to stay motivated.

OK... so this magazine cover caught my eye at the newsstand this past week. Interesting article. Things to ponder, if the secular classroom is willing to open their curriculum to study the Bible as a historical text... shouldn't we, who claim to be Christians, be even more diligent to study the Word ( the Bible), know it, and understand it... if it is the foundation of our faith?

if you get a chance, read the article... quick read, interesting points, food for thought...