THE BIG DAY?
More than four days have passed since the "triathlon" and I am still having a hard time digesting all that went down! I woke to thunder and lightning storms very early Sunday morning...and my first thought was that they were going to cancel the swim portion of the triathlon for safety reasons. It was raining and storming as we were driving down to Philly, but, surprisingly, when we arrived to the race area, the ground was dry there! But, that didn't last for long---we promptly got stormed on as we arrived in the transition area. The first heavy rainfall stopped pretty quickly, but left all of our gear pretty wet (I did bring some garbage bags along with me, which helped a little.) I was wet and freezing cold as I stood around listening to announcements about whether the race was going as planned. Another rainfall dumped on us again, and the official start time came and went while we were still waiting to hear whether we would be swimmng that morning. Since there was lightning in the sky for quite some time, I had no doubt in my mind they would cancel it, but it took a long time before the decision came. They would cancel the swim and replace it with a 1.5 mile run....so, it would be a run, bike, run. It seemed to take another "forever" before they started the first wave of runners onto the course (I was in the 7th wave)---and each wave left 6 minutes after the previous wave. My first run was fine, despite having to go to the bathroom so badly that I was sure each step would bring down the floodgates all over myself and the sidewalk! I ran the first 1.5 miles in 12 minutes, 28 seconds. Back to the transition area (a VERY LONG way from the run ending point) and straight to the porta-potties (yuck; don't ask!) and then on to get my helmet, and bike. We had to walk our bikes out of the transition area (another long walk!) before we mounted at a certain spot. I took off as fast as my heavy mountain bike could carry me. The first loop of the bike was uneventful. I had a great feeling of speed as I was coming down a hill and looked at my odometer---oh my gosh 28 and 29 miles per hour were registering!! During the second, the rain came down in floods, and rain was shooting off my tire into my eyes...and soon there were race officials at every corner telling everyone to slow down because of dangerous conditions on the course. I rode by two serious injuries, where ambulance staff were loading girls on, strapped to boards and with collars around their necks. Scary stuff, and sobering to all who were riding by!
My bike time was 58 minutes 36 seconds--really not bad for a mountain bike, and for the road conditions, where we were warned to slow down at every turn! (Since my mountain bike has fatter tires than regular bikes, it rode really well in those conditions, but I still had to obey race officials.)

My legs were pretty stiff at this point, but I was ready to run my bike back to the rack, strap on my running number, and hit the pavement again. The rain was letting up a little at this point, but I decided I was going to take it easy and let my legs relax a little! It wasn't raining that hard for most of my run---but it was muggy and I was tired! I knew my pace was a little slow, but I got to the finish line in 30 minutes 44 seconds--which is my slowest 5K time ever (although, the others didn't come after a run and a bike race!). My total time, with transitions of almost five minutes (!) and 2 1/2 minutes, was one hour 48 minutes, 11 seconds. Overall not too bad!

Shortly after I crossed the finish line and greeted some friends, I saw Kurt and the kids....we spent about 2 minutes together before the skies LET LOOSE like I've never seen. Rain! Thunder! Lightning!! The announcers told all spectators to go to their cars....and all cars were parked at least 10 minutes away, some much more! It was chaos! I told Kurt to get out of there with the kids, and I ran to get my gear and find my ride home! I was wandering around for at least 10 minutes in the torrential rain, walking in mud and streams up to my knees, and I was alone and didn't know whether my ride was even there, or if she had assumed that I was going home with Kurt and left me in this mess! There were four of us who came down together, and I finally found my friend Erin, who told me she was in the middle of the run when the race was called by the officials, but she ran the rest of it anyway, because it was the fastest way to get out of there! I left my stuff with her for a minute (rain continued to torrent) and went to look for our other friends we came with. I found a miserable Deb a few minutes later. She called me the next day to tell me that the bright spot of her entire day was when she saw my face in the transition area. We all walked up through the storm to the car, where our friend Diane, the driver, was waiting for us in her van. We were soaked and shivering...and had no change of clothes because all of the "stuff" we had brought with us in our backpacks was soaked also. To add insult to injury, the Schuylkill Expressway, the major route out of Philly, was shut down because the weather caused floods and mudslides! It took a while for us to get moving, but we were lucky that we took an alternate route home. Some people were stuck there for HOURS!

A day to remember. I told my friends I didn't think I would do this again, and they have all pretty much convinced me that I had to---after all, could it be any WORSE than what happened on this day? And so, I am technically not a triathlete; they called it a duathlon when the swim was canceled and a second run was added. I was pretty let down the rest of the day. I learned how to swim for this race, and I felt like I needed to conquer an open water swim! The after-party later that night wasn't the huge celebration I thought it would be!

The day after the race, I signed up for a local triathlon....scheduled for September 20th. It is shorter than sheROX---it will be only 1/4 mile swim, a 12.5 mile bike (although apparently VERY hilly) and a 2-mile run. Since it is shorter than what I was prepared to do, I feel like I need to do the sheROX again next year. But, if I wake to storms that day? I will roll over and go back to sleep.

And so, training for a tri continues...

THE DAY BEFORE
I thought I wasn't stressed last night, but I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep and tossed and turned for the longest time! I have a lot to write about from today, but it's already past the time I should be asleep, so for now, I will say that I am nervous but excited, and I am looking forward to being at the finish line! I will write more about it in a few days---someone has already planned the post-triathlon party, so tomorrow night will be busy, whether I'm happy with the outcome or not!

THE DAY BEFORE THE DAY BEFORE
Apparently, my countdown was a little off, so we're approaching it from another angle right now!
I'm not feeling particularly stressed right now, nor have I been all day. It is what it is at this point! I have been cramming zinc lozenges down my throat (supposedly shortens the length and severity of colds) even though they make my stomach so upset that I am sure my face is close to turning green and copious amounts of vomit are about to empty out of my stoach and onto the floor with every lozenge. I have been taking Airborne (again supposed to shorten the length and severity of a cold) and I have been drinking pure pomegranate juice because a friend told me that the antioxidants in it are a cold-prevention method for her. I will try anything at this point! But, guess what. Today my cold was not so bad at all! I am going to keep doing what I'm doing in the hopes that all is well on race day.

I didn't taper again today---36 laps with wetsuit, then a spinning class. Then 500 stomach crunches. Still can't decide whether I will be using the wetsuit on race day. It definitely makes my arm muscles tire more easily because I am pushing hard against it...but I can still go the distance...and then I don't really need to use my arms after that for the rest of the race, so does it matter whether they are sore? I don't know!

The weather has been stormy lately, and the Schuylkill has been "red," which means swimming is not recommended. There are no storms predicted for tomorrow, so we'll see whether it goes to yellow or green. I am not at all prepared for the run-bike-run if the swim is canceled!

Tomorrow is the triathlon expo and packet pick-up in Philly. A group of us are going down together, and I am looking forward to a fun day without exercise!

THREE
My nerves were running a little higher today when I woke up and realized that I don't have too far to go! I settled down, though, and I've been fine all day, except when I realized that I really was coming down with a cold. I can't believe it, I have been so healthy all summer and now this. And when I get a cold, it does not come lightly. I am congested and can't breathe and up all night, and constantly with a tissue to my nose. Not ideal conditions for doing a triathlon! I am trying to fight it as much as I can, and hope for the best.

Today I did a boxing class at the gym, then did my laps, this time with wetsuit. I am still really torn about whether I will wear it in the swim; it does keep me up, but it really restricts my shoulders from reaching! I am thinking maybe one more swim without it and then I will decide.

I received an email today from the Danskin Sherox powers that be, telling me that I can sign up now for next year's triathlon, already slated for August 1, 2010, for the bargain 2009 rates. The wheels are turning...

FOUR...
Still feeling pretty good about this whole thing today, although I did wake up in the middle of the night with some strange dreams (having nothing to do with running, biking or swimming) and I was up for a while. Sleep is not usually elusive for me, so I have to figure that something's going on in my brain!

I just did a pretty intense spinning class today, riding just under the point where one little turn to increase the intensity makes the pedals stop rotating, and they won't start again no matter how hard you push against them! I was tempted to take a run after that, but I know this is supposed to be "taper" week so I took it easy.

This entire triathlon preparation has been a great experience, no matter what happens on race day. I am lucky to know, or have met, about 20 other girls who are also participating in this triathlon. They come in all shapes and sizes and levels of athletic ability. They range in age from 33 years old to about 50 (surprisingly very few are even in their 30's!) and two of the girls are having birthdays on triathlon day---48th and 50th birthdays! Our "organizer" (who had that seed planted in her head way back last August) has also planned a post-triathlon party later on race day.

I have learned new vocabulary words during this process, like "drafting" and "Body Glide" and "bike-run bonk" (that's my personal favorite). I have learned how to swim! I have not learned how to run better, but some time in the future I will read up on that. I have set a goal for race day; well two goals actually. I will try to not drown in the Schuylkill, and I will try not to embarrass myself. Other than that, I am going to just show up and GO!

FIVE...
Feeling pretty good right now, and not particularly worried about race day. I think I have a little bit of a cold coming on, but I am HOPING that it doesn't get bad. This is suposed to be "taper" week---you're supposed to taper down your work outs and conserve your energy. I don't know whether I can do that!

I took a step class this morning (hoping, the whole hour, that I didn't land wrong and twist an ankle or develop some other injury) then I headed to the pool and banged out 36 laps in 25 minutes---no wetsuit---no stopping! I can do this.

SIX DAYS
Starting to count down now. Six days before go time. Today I ran 3.1 miles (my head still won't go past that distance) and I swam 36 laps in my wetsuit again. I was still struggling to reach my arms out as far as I could, and I need another swim in the wetsuit (and one without) to see whether I will wear it on race day. On that point, I should note that there is a possibility, on race day, that the swim portion of the triathlon will be canceled due to poor water quality. If it continues to rain all week like it is predicted, the water may be too dangerous to swim in. They make the call race morning. I am quite surprised with myself at my reaction to this possibility---I am actually really BUMMED at the thought of it being canceled! I want to go for the swim! If they do cancel the water, they will add a 2 mile run, so it will end up being a 2 mile run first, then 15.5 mile bike, then a 3.1 mile run. Have I ever said that I've thought that running is a form of mild torture? So there you have it!