I Did It!

Drum roll please... ladies and gentlemen, I completed my first triathlon! I can't believe what an amazing, inspiring weekend this was!

We got to LA around 9pm on Friday night. Checked into the hotel, watched some TV, went to bed. On Saturday we woke up and went to the expo. This is where you check in, get your bib number (and race number - 506 for me!) and get a bunch of free goodies. Here's Kristen and I at the Expo:


The night before the race (Saturday night) we had to prep. The first big thing was to write our numbers in sharpie on our arms and legs. This was so that the photographers and people running the race knew who we were at all times. We also had to put on special ankle chips that were the timing devices used during the race. You would run or bike across these big carpets that have sensors in them and read your chip. Here's my ankle chip:

The morning of the race we got up at 4:30am, ate some cereal and got dressed. We left the hotel at 4:45am and headed over to the course. Here's Kristen and I upon arrival at the park:The transition area (that's the place where you keep you bike, towel, shoes, etc) opened at 5am and you want to be there right away to get a good spot. I had prime real estate - right on the end! Here's a picture of Kristen and I in the transition area before the race:
My final time was 01:57:38. Pretty darn good for a first timer! Here's how the splits broke down:
Swim: 00:17:06 (59 out of 619!!!)
Swim to Bike Transition: 00:03:38
Bike: 01:03:38 (396 out of 619)
Bike to Run Transition: 00:01:13
Run: 00:32:02 (216 out of 619)

The race itself was a lot of fun. They sent the groups off in waves (mine had purple swim caps) and before your swim wave went, they had you stand about waist deep in the water. Sally Edwards, a woman who has not only competed in the Masters Ironman (2 mile swim, 120 mile bike, marathon run), but held the record in it, waded out in front of us an pumped us up. It was really inspiring to have her tell us little tricks that help her race. And then, they counted down and off we went. The first hundred yards or so of the swim were absolutely terrifying for me. I'm not an open water swimmer, so this was VERY new to me. It was completely disorienting - when I looked down it was nothing but green, when I looked up it was hard to sight the buoy and I was surrounded by women who had no issue kicking or swimming over me. Once I got into my rhythm and stopped freaking out, I was fine. I am so proud of that swim... my time put me 59th out of the 619 competitors! As the swim ended, we had to run back to the transition area - which meant up a sandy beach and then a concrete hill. The whole way there were crowds of people cheering - they don't know your name, but they call out your number to keep encouraging you. It was awesome! I dried my feet, put on my shoes, socks, helmet and sunglasses and hopped on my bike. You sort of had to run it out of the transition area because they wouldn't let you ride so that you didn't run the other people in the area over. The ride was gorgeous - two laps around the lake. I was really nervous about the bike part - since my accident I've been worried about speed. I feel like I was pretty cautious the first time around the loop and then once I hit the second time I just went with it. I had to talk myself (literally) through some of the tough spots, but again, there were people cheering everywhere. I saw a pretty bad crash - it looked like two girls hit each other and there were fire trucks there, but all I saw was some skinned up knees. At the end of the bike circuit you have to jump off your bike and jog it back into the transition area. Those first few steps were scary. After an hour of hard peddling, your legs literally feel like noodles when you try to walk. I actually thought I was going to fall and take my bike with me. I dumped the bike and helmet, took a sip of water and headed out for the run. My legs still felt like jello and it was really hard for me to find my running rhythm, especially my breathing. There were a few very challenging hills and I never saw the 2 mile marker, which made those last 2 miles feel like forever. The coolest part was the water stops - it's just like you see on TV! I ran by and grabbed my cup of water, took a sip and dumped the rest over my head to cool myself off. Then you get to just toss it to the side of the path. It was awesome! Finally, the end was near. I knew because I could hear music. The finish line was in the middle of the park - you had to run through a long corridor to get there. They had set up these huge speakers and had music blasting. As I made the turn into the corridor I suddenly got all misty eyed. Those of you who know me well know that I'm not really a crier... but this was just really overwhelming. It hit me that not only was I nearing the end of my first triathlon, but I had achieved the goals I set for myself - to finish, not to walk on the run, to really try not to be scared on the bike... the icing on the cake was that as I crossed the finish line, they said:

"From Roseville, California, Miss Anna Smithson!"

It was the coolest thing ever - there were people all over the place cheering - the cool thing about this race is that everyone just wants everyone else to do it - so they all cheer. They simultaneously cut off my chip, put a medal around my neck, handed me a bottle of water and wooshed me away from the finish line. I couldn't help but cry - the whole thing was so overwhelming!
Here's Kristen and I after the race:

Note the awesome medals around our necks - they look a lot like the Olympic medals and say the distances we competed (.75k swim, 20k bike, 5k run). On the back they say "The woman who starts the race is not the same woman that finishes the race".
I saw so many things that were really, genuinely inspiring during this race. Girls getting off their bikes to help other ones with flat tires or messed up chains, women encouraging other women to keep going during the race, and (this one really hit me) a woman with a prosthetic leg on the run portion of the race. There were women from 14 all the way up into their 60s that completed this course. There was a whole wave of survivors - women who have beat or are fighting breast cancer. Talk about inspiration! AND, to make things even better, Sally Edwards finds that last person and bikes and runs with them. She makes sure that she is the last person to cross the finish line, to prove that for some, it's not about the time, but just finishing! It was absolutely amazing!!!

I have way more pictures - if you want to see them, send me an email!