Mini Triathalon

So in case you didn't know, I've been training for a mini triathalon with a bunch of people from church. It was put on up at Barnes Lake, about an hour north of us, by another church group, and all proceeds went to benefit a Haiti Mission Fund for this church. There was something special about 3 months of hard training coming to a crescendo. Here's the play-by-play:

Pre-race: Don't mistake kindness and an easy nature for weakness--a competitive beast lies within!!!

The crew from MCC, hopes are high before the grueling trek.

Brolan, flexing the guns. Unfortunately, this isn't a gun show,  it's a race! All that lead might slow you down.

Yeah, that's me, 31st out of the water (out of 35 contestants) after 8:49 for the 300Meter swiim!!! But at least I didn't drown, right?

Transition #1, swimming to bike. At this point, I know I gotta make up time. I'm planning on making it burn for the whole 13.4 miles.

The whole bike ride, there was someone right in front of me, which was a great thing. I kept telling myself, "Just pass the person in front of you." It really helped to keep me giving my all, even when I wanted to ease up. That strategy paid off, and my bike time was 16th best overall, considerably better than my swim, with a time of 55:48.

My run was what kept me competitive. I ran the 3.4 miles in 25:49, which was 5th best overall, being just over a 7 1/2 minute per mile pace. Usually I can adjust my pace throughout the run, but I was so wiped from the bike (which was my fastest time ever for that distance), I was just trying to keep my body in motion. 

I ended up ending 10th place overall with a final time of 1 hour, 30 minutes and 26 seconds, which surprised me given my swim and average bike. It was a great feeling to finish--the cheering gauntlet, Erica and Isabelle's smiling faces to greet me, knowing I'd left it ALL on the course, the sense of accomplishment, the honor, the glory... oh, and the best thing about finishing-- WATER!!! On my head, in my mouth, I could drink for days--glorious water. Reminds me of a 70's classic rock song, "give me some water, cause i shot a man on the Mexican border, cool cool water." 

I must say, looking back on the race is a lot more enjoyable than the actual (excruciating) moments within the race. Ecclesiastes 7:8 says, "The end of a matter is better than its beginning..." Indeed, Solomon, indeed. It was fun training for this triathalon, but man was I glad when I crossed that finish line. 

APK