FUCK LUPUS TRI

Yesterday, I woke up and shortly started having the runs and puking.  I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get out of bed to greet my visiting family, let alone compete today.  I woke up and went to packet pick-up and the newbie meeting.  The energy in the air was incredible.  It made me want to do it so badly.  After a nap, my family started arriving.  It was various degrees of cousins.  Last night there was a lot of bike talk and switching pedals.  Plus, for three of us it was our second tri and our first with some really distance.  We also did a lot gear getting together for the youngest in the group who doesn't have gear and didn't train.  He is a college athlete and just went for it.

This morning we woke up at O'Dark Thirty, assembled the troops, and were at the transition area by 5:30am.  I brought a bucket to carry my stuff and to sit on during the transitions.  I had decided that I was going to take my time and be relaxed through the whole event, especially since I was so sick yesterday.  It was quite cold this morning.  My toes were numb.  The water temp was really nice so no wetsuits allowed.  As soon as I got in I started wiggling my toes to warm them up.  The men had an in-water start at 7:30 and we joined them  on the course at 7:35.  The water was calm with little/ to no current.  My swim time was 26:12 for 750 meters.

The bike was really hilly.  It started off rough but then got really fun.  At first I was paranoid because there weren't other bikers near me.  I thought I had gone off course.  Once we turned into the back roads and I knew that I was on the right course, I started to have some fun.  The downhill parts were great and the ups weren't too bad.  I was able to drink from my water bottle for the first time on the bike.  I did it three times.  I also got out of the saddle for some of the hills.  My bike time was 1:18:36 for 17.7mile ride.

When I got off my bike I couldn't feel my feet at all.  I got off and started running and almost fell over, so I walked the rest of the way into the transition area. The run out was spotty, I did a lot of walking but I ran most of the way back in.  My run time was 31:58 for a 5k.

My overall time was 2:21:41.  The three men in my family all placed in their age groups and the woman finished with smiles.  It was a great day.  We had six other family members in support and then had a great cook out afterwards.

After a few burgers and beers I'm getting ready to drink a cup of tea and relax into the evening.