Mental Battle

Yes. It was a mental battle. I had to keep telling myself "At the bottom of the hill you can walk." Or "At the end of the street you can walk." And then finally, "At the finish line you can lie down and never get back up." :)

August 18th was the the Rexburg Rush Sprint Triathlon. 

I had one goal... Finish.

I woke up bright and early to pick up my Uncle Mark in Rexburg at 6 AM.

He showed me how to set up my gear at the different stations.

 Minutes before the race I was a little flustered finding out the boys and girls were going to start together. (Last year the girls started 10 minutes behind the boys)

At 8:00 AM we were off.
(Photo below taken here)

Doesn't it look chaotic? 

If I ever start with boys again, I'll start more in the middle, a few guys went right over top of me.

 Next was the 14.2 mile bike ride. 

I'm not sure what happened but I fell while getting on the bike. I was already clipped in, so I left with some major bruises, (like a softball size bruise on my hip). The hills were a killer, I laughed and told Pat I was grateful for the two Missionaries (volunteers) cheering me on at the top of the biggest hill, because if they hadn't of been there, I might have gotten off to rest.

 Finally a 3.1 mile run...with a hill.

My legs were dead, and it was the hardest part for me.
And with all my mental games going on, I only walked once going up the dirt hill. I was happy to hear most of the others did as well.

 

   I was sooo happy to see my Uncle (Who was awesome and took 4th overall!) waiting for me in the parking lot, he ran with me to the track. I passed a girl right before the finish line to take second in my age division.

Hallelujah I finished!

 Ledger and I both had nasty colds.

Pat, Ledger, Kyla, Dustin, Sophie, Mark, Charlize

Pat certainly made it fun, he was so nervous/excited for me that he didn't sleep the night before either. He was my number one fan. I'm grateful for him, and all the time he put in watching Ledger so I could train.  

 

I wanted to come in under two hours, and I did. :)

My favorite part was doing it with my Uncle Mark. He pretty much let me follow him around like a little lost puppy, (I was terrified) and I couldn't have done it without him.

Also my friend Jeni, we kept passing each other the entire race, and finished seconds apart.

I've been asked many times if it was worth it... YES!

I'm already looking for ways to improve, and will work out a lot harder next year. I'll actually stack my workouts more than a few times.
Thank you to all who came to support me, I definitely felt loved.

I think I might just be hooked.