Finally, it was 8:48am. That's 20 minutes after my scheduled start time, but again, the entire race was delayed due to the rain. I stood with a large group of women, 30-34, all of us wore dark green swim caps, and most of us were in wetsuits. Nothing really seemed too scary at that point. I knew what I had to do. I wasn't going to quit and (quite possibly most importantly) I knew that I was capable of finishing the entire thing.
As we made our way down to the dock, there was a lot of excitement. We all started joking with each other, clapping, letting out shouts. It was exciting!
I had no fear jumping into the Potomac this time. When the horn/gun/whatever that sound was went off, I just started swimming. There were arms and legs and commotion everywhere. I tried to just keep my stroke strong and remember to site.
The first 400 meters went by so quickly. The course was shaped like the Washington Monument, so it came to a point on one edge. (I really thought it was pretty lame, but the announcer kept pointing it out.) Right before I got to the "point" I swam under Memorial Bridge. I tried to take a minute and look at the underside of the bridge. I remember thinking, how many people don't get to see the bridge from this angle and how many people and cars have crossed that bridge. It was a pretty cool moment.
Once I turned the corner at the 600 meter mark, I started to notice that I was mostly still with the dark green caps. Thank goodness! I started to notice a few orange caps which was the wave ahead of us. However, that group contained women in their 50s or 60s, so I was mostly impressed that they were taking on the challenge of a triathlon. There also started to be a few blue caps around me, being from the wave after me. Oh well, can't beat everyone.
The back stretch wasn't so bad, but I started to get bored. For instance, there was a woman that kept running into me. I nicknamed her "the tank." (To be fair, I might have been running into her, but it's easier to think that I was the one swimming in a straight line.) I did get kicked in the face. It only knocked at my goggles a little and let in some water. Luckily, it was not a big deal.
Here are some photos from the swim, again compliments of Steph.
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| It wasn't nearly as chaotic as it looks. |
When I had gotten into the water, I kind of had to go to the bathroom. I decided that I would follow the advice of more seasoned triathletes and just go in the river. So as I got to the last 100 meters I realized that it was now or never if I was going to wet myself. Sadly, I couldn't do it. I don't know if it was psychological or if it's just too hard to keep kicking your legs and pee at the same time, but I got to the swim out without having relieved myself. (I apologize to my mother for admitting that on the Internet.)
I got out of the water with no problem and was easily able to pull down my wet suit to my waist and start jogging to transition. My cap and goggles didn't want to come off so easily and you can see a great picture of it here: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95140254&FROM=photos&BIB=4530
I swear, I didn't feel as exhausted as I look here: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95154061&FROM=photos&BIB=4530
They had a light sprayer set up. The idea was that it would lightly rinse you off before transition. However, at this point, I think the rain was coming down harder than the mister, so it didn't really matter. It did make for a great photo op that Steph managed to catch.
By this point, transition was mostly a mud field. As I ran to my bike, I think I saw a few men who were already finished. That was a bit disheartening.
I got to my bike, peeled off my wetsuit, and put on my bike helmet. I grabbed my extra towel and started to dry my feet prior to putting on my socks. However, I quickly realized that at that second, there was absolutely nothing in my life that was dry. So instead, I just wiped off the mud and put on my socks and shoes. I decided to skip the sunglasses since 1) it was pretty dark and 2) they would just get rained on and that could make it harder to see. As I was putting on my gloves (because I'm kind of a wimp and can't ride more than 10 miles without them) I realized that I had been in transition for what felt like a really really long time. I grabbed by bike and started jogging out of transition.
This picture http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95178682&FROM=photos&BIB=4530 makes it look like I was walking, but I swear I was jogging!
Before the mount line, I heard someone call my name and saw my former TNT staff person and new colleague at work. It was SO GOOD to see friendly faces.
Once I got on my bike and started pedaling, things went really well. I consistently passed a few people and a few passed me, but I felt like I was keeping a really good pace. My rate of pedaling was steady and I was able to shift with no problem. (Thanks to the guy from the Bike Lane.) Our course was somewhat narrow in some places, which made me really nervous about the no drafting rule and trying to pass. I didn't see any crashes, but apparently there were a few.
We biked to Maryland, almost to 495. It went by so fast! As I was riding, I couldn't tell if it was raining, there was water dripping off of me, off of other people, or if water was being kicked up from other bikers. Needless to say, it was just wet, Wet, WET!
For the parts of the ride in DC, it was so awesome to go through stop lights and ride through the tunnel on the Whitehurst Freeway. Again, I started thinking about how few people had the opportunity to see everything from this angle.
One of the most amusing parts of the bike ride was seeing those riders who had flats. Not the people who were changing their tubes, but rather, the people who were unable to fix their bikes on the course and had resorted to picking up their bikes and running with them back to transition. That's a real triathlete.
During the bike, there were so many great people, just out on the streets, or on walks, that happened to see our race. I loved it when people would stop, clap, and call out "Good job, bikers!" It was so encouraging.
Here are links to two of the photos that the pros took:
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95197724&FROM=photos&BIB=4530
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95207128&FROM=photos&BIB=4530
When I got close to transition, I noticed that everyone was doing stuff. I looked around me and tried to think about what I should be doing. Then I realized that they were all un-clipping and and unfastening their shoes. Seeing as I was too uncoordinated to wear biking shoes and clip in, I really had nothing to be doing.
I was so excited when I got back to transition! I knew that I was done with two-thirds of the race and although I am not a strong runner, I would get through the rest of this. I was even willing to walk the entire 10k. However, I quickly remembered that my socks and shoes were soaked completely through to the skin. I was about to "run" 6 plus miles in wet shoes and socks. Awesome.
I can't lie. The run was a-w-f-u-l. Terrible. I hate it. HATED. IT.
It was within the first mile, that I heard someone call my name and shout out encouragement. It was my old friend Amanda, standing in the rain as a volunteer. Again, it was seeing a familiar face, smiling at me and cheering me on, that really kept me going.
Just after passing mile one, I let myself walk for about 45 seconds. In terms of breathing and overall energy, I felt pretty good. But my shins, ankles, feet...pretty much everything below my knees hurt. Now, I know that some of this was because I need new running shoes. I realized that I needed new shoes about a week before the race. I thought that running with old shoes would be the lesser evil when compared to running with new shoes. I'm not so sure I made the right decision.
There were several things that were great about the course of this run. First, there was water and Gatorade every mile. Even if I didn't need any hydration or nutrition, it made for a fun game trying to get it. If I only took a few sips and dumped the rest on myself, it was still awesome. Next, there are always interesting people on the mall. On Sunday, September 12th, there happened to be a lot of Tea Partiers invading the mall. We ran straight down 14th to Constitution and they stood there and stared at us like some kind of freak show. (The annoying thing about these people and tourists in general is their inability to judge time and space. So as the triathletes ran down 14th and the tourists tried to cross 14th, there was the constant risk of a collision. They crossed the street so slowly and without regard for the fact that people were running a race!)
The course took me down and around Haines Point. I had to pause and tighten my shoe laces in the hopes that it would help the pain in my feet. My socks and shoes were still soaking wet. Haines Point is actually a beautiful run. It's nice and flat. There were a few people here and there, cheering.
I really loved that anytime I passed (which didn't happen often) or was passed (which happened quite frequently) by anyone else wearing a TNT tri suit, there was an automatic greeting of "Go Team!" It was a wonderful distraction and an excellent way to encourage and be encouraged.
Here's a few photos of me on the run.
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95206133&FROM=photos&BIB=4530
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95168151&FROM=photos&BIB=4530
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95203094&FROM=photos&BIB=4530
In these pictures, you can tell as I get closer to the finish line because my smile gets bigger, and bigger and BIGGER.
Right around mile 6, I saw two of our coaches and my TNT staff person. They just started shouting. I got a high five and kept running.
It's hard to describe the scene and the feeling for the last mile. There were a lot of people around. Some were there to cheer us on and others were also racers, who had completed the event and made their way back to cheer on those of us who hadn't finished yet.
As I got closer to the finish line, I could not keep the smile off of my face. Not only was I guaranteed to finish this thing (that I wasn't sure I could,) but there were so many people lining the streets. Even though none of these people knew me, they would make eye contact with me, shout encouragement to me, cheer me on to the finish line. How could I not smile in that circumstance?
As I got to the finish line, I felt like I was going to start crying. (In retrospect, I think I was too dehydrated to cry much.) Here's me crossing the finish line: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95150480&FROM=photos&BIB=4530 and http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&ID=95158807&FROM=photos&BIB=4530.
As I walked from the finish line, I got my bottle of water and more importantly, my finishers medal. I heard shouts to my right and it was my wonderful friends Steph (from earlier) and Amanda. They cheered and hugged me and I thought they might want to cry with me. It was so wonderful that my friends were willing to come out in terrible weather, sit on a wet curb, and cheer me on across the finish line.
I went to walk around the barrier to talk to Steph and Amanda and right in front of me were my coworkers and friends Kelli and Katie. I was shocked! It took a long time to get there and as I mentioned, the weather was terrible, but they made it out. I couldn't have been happier.
It took me some time to make it around the barrier, return my timing chip, getting the shiny plastic stuff that keeps you warm, and get some Gatorade, but when I did, we got these great pictures.
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| I don't look so good, but I was on SUCH a high. |
The rest of the day was a little bit of a blur. I couldn't quite put together full thoughts or kept forgetting names or couldn't think of specific words that I wanted to use. We hung out at the finish celebration for awhile, I got this great picture http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=60074&PWD=&ID=95183338&FROM=photos&BIB=4530 and then Steph and Amanda helped me carry my stuff home so that we could go and enjoy lunch at Lauriol Plaza. Jess even joined us.
The rest of my day and the next day is pretty boring. There was a lot of stretching and napping. I wasn't too sore, but really tired. Almost immediately after I finished the race, I knew that I would be doing another. It's hard to get over a high like that.
I have a few more thoughts that I want to include on this blog, but I'll save that for a final post.
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