TRI-Done!

Goal #1 for 2009, 3M Half Marathon....Done

Goal #2 for 2009, Pflugerville Tri.....DONE..

Wow, what a day I had on Sunday, finally Tri time, and what a Tri it was. This was my first Tri, but definetly not my last. I was very nervous going into the weekend, but a good buddy of mine told me to "Enjoy the moment" and that I did. Wow, what an event.

I got to the Tri at 6:15 Am and there were already over 200 people there. The Tri started at 7:30 and my wave started at 7:45. I was mostly nervous about the swim, and for some reason the swim was the easiest of all. I was expecting to swim my 500 Meters in 15 minutes and ended up swimming in 13:42..

As soon as I got out of the water, off to the bike I went, I got out of the water around 7:58ish and was dressed and ready to go on the bike around 8:03 Am..got on the bike and got my momentum going. It was an exhilirating experience passing up people and unfortunately getting passed up. Once I got around the corner at mile 14, I began standing a bit more and stretching out my legs for the final round.. The 5K run. As soon as I got to my final transition, I got my running shoes on, hat and was off. The transition area is about 1 minute away from where my bike was.
As soon as I passed the starting line for the run, my legs were extremely heavy, and I honestly did not think I could go on. I kept mentally telling myself I could and to push through the pain. It was at this moment that I began to think of how "cool" it was going to be to knock out my run and finish what I set out to accomplish.

Around mile 2-3 I was passed by a younger girl who began to slow down when she passed me, then I passed her and so forth. We actually started chit chatting and it was good because it took my mind off things towards the end. Towards the end we both put in on overdrive and finished the race. Not only was I pushing myself, but I kept thinking of how awesome crossing the line would be and also to see my wife and daughter.. Sure enough, I finished the race, and the first person I saw was my wife. I then looked down and there was my Kendall Belle.. Oh what a day and what a finish. I have to admit, I got emotional at the end.

My goal was 1:30 and I finished right at 1:30:16 seconds... However, if it was not for my transitions, I would have been in the low 1:2XX's.. It took me about 4-6 minutes while getting dressed (which adds up to your time).

What did I learn from this: The first thing is that I can honestly accomplish anything I set my mind to. Second, it is a lot of work to get ready for a Tri, and my hat goes off to the IRONman folks. That is nothing but heart, just to finish is somethign else.

I look forward to my next TRI in 2010. For the remainder of the year, I will continue to train as if I was training for a TRI, but will focus on my Marathon on November 15, 2009 at the SAn Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon.