Hyalite Triathlon

Dear Hyalite Triathlon,
You were my first. I learned a lot. The swim sucked. I finished.
Love,
Jeni
P.S. I will be back next year!

On Sunday, I completed my first triathlon. It has been a long time since I have been that nervous. I was terrified of the swim. I have been training most of the summer and dedicated a decent chunk of time to swimming, so I knew I could do the distance and had done enough open water swimming to know I would be ok with that. But the combination of the cold water, competition, open water, and nerves was a lot. I had decided to hang to the back for the swim because I am not a fast swimmer. Not only did I survive, but I ended up not being last (I actually finished the swim at the tail end of the middle group). I guess my dad was first muttering for me to hurry up and get in the water, then muttering for me to get my face in the water. All in due time!

Here I am being crazy nervous before the start.

And the start. . . I waited and got in the water at the back of the pack. . . the very back!

The water was 60 degrees and it took me awhile to get the confidence to get my face in the water.

Finally hitting my stride on the home stretch (short sleeve with the blue)!

Coming out the water (alive!)

Heading out on my bike (the bike was definately my favorite portion):

Hyat got to play in the water during the in-between times when I was off on my bike and running!

And the finish!

It was really fun to accomplish something new. I learned so much and am excited to do it again next year. I am even considering trying to find another triathlon to do this summer, but we will see. More than anything this was an opportunity for me to be reminded how incredibly blessed I am. My sweet husband and kids have supported me through my training, which on occassion caused a little craziness in our lives. And when race day came around he was still right there helping the kids cheer me on (even though we all knew I wasn't going to be in the running for a top finish)... Hyat was acutally quite excited about Mommy's race (which explained why I would go swimming without him, the runs pushing the stroller and me jumping in the lake). Then to top it all off, it wasn't just Buck that was a huge support... My parents took me up to the race since I had to be there so early and hung out with a very nervous Jeni while we waited for the start. Enid and James also made it up and I had friends come to cheer me on as well. I certainly enjoyed the race and the accomplishment of finishing, but I was also very blessed to be supported and surrounded by friends and family!