Yesterday I added a new title, I am now officially a triathlete! I completed the Philly Women's tri. I have a feeling this race report is going to be along one so bare with me!!!<br><br><b>Pre-race stuff</b><br>
My nerves were kicking before this race, days before!!!! Sat afternoon I met with my coach and he assured me I put the time and training in and would be fine! Sat morning I got up, headed over early and got my body marked. It was about then that it was all really hitting me, what I was about to do! Got my transition area set up and met up with 2 friends who were doing the race as a relay team. Got to jump in the water for alittle warm up and it was my first time in the water in my wetsuit. Not sure that I should have tried it race day for the first time but I think it worked in my favor. Got to the swim start area, ended up meeting up with a lady who used to post on CR and was my motivation to ever even consider a tri! Had a really nice talk with her and she calmed me quite a bit.<br><br><b>The Swim</b><br>
It was my turn to jump in. I was in the second to last wave. For those who don't know me, I am NOT a swimmer, in Jan I could not even swim one lap. Now, in the pool I can bang out some good swims. Open water isa differnet story, I did get to practice in a local lake once so I wasn't totally freaked out. But once that horn blew, yikes! I got kicked, punched, pushed, you name it! And, I freaked, I paniced! At one point I had to roll over on my back and just calm myself. I finally told myself to shut up and do it, there was no other choice! Still alternated breast stroke and free and was getting discouraged. Then I heard my dear friend Auntie Moe's voice in my head, telling my goal was to get from point to point, how it happened no long mattered. I finally saw the turn and was thrilled. The exit was horrible, a huge step up onto a rock. The girl in front of my stumbled, which made me lose my footing, a volunteer had to yank me up and out but not before cracking my foot on the rock. I got out of the water and the first thing I saw or heard was my DH, yelling and screaming and it was the best sights and sounds I ever! My reply to him was "I hate swimming!!!". Farther up the exit I begin to see the rest of my cheering section, my swim buddy Kelly and my inspirational wonderwoman Theia. I get to my transition area to find that someone decided to move my stuff, nice huh? Finally found my sunglasses and head out, as I exit transition, I see some more of my cheering section, my good luck charm Sauconrunner and her daughter!!!<br><br><b>The bike</b><br>
Ok, again for those of you who don't know me, I didn't even own a bike till a month ago. I was terrified to ride on the road and literally could only turn left!!! So teh last month I have hammered it out on the bike, and now it is one of my favorite things to do! So get moving, I am passing people, people are passing me, it's all good. But I still feel a bit out of sorts, I can't get my mind out of the water and on the road. About 3 miles in I settle down. I got to the other side of the river and it was sort of lonely. Then all of a sudden I see on the other side of a wall a sign that says "Go Lori!!" The closer I get I see it is attached to my enthusiastic supported Solar! She yelled "I am on the wrong side" and all I could think was "No you aren't", I needed that boost on that quiet side. It was perfect!!! Get around my first loop and see my cheerleaders, this time joined by my family, it was a little overwhleming to me and I just smiled and rode on. Second loop I am feeling slow, I am getting passed! Then like a lightbulb I realize I am in the wrong gear! I switch it up and BOOM! Everything falls into place. Head around again, again get a boost from Solar on the long lonely ride back to the transition. It really was better than any gel or energy drink I could have had!!!! Make it back to transition and see my friend who was relaying it, her thousand watt smile was a welcomed site!!! I rack my bike, grab some sport beans and realize I now need to run!<br><br><b>The run</b><br>
My legs are not moving, or at least I don't think they are but I am all of a sudden out on the road. Each step is painful, that whacking of the foot is coming back to haunt me. About a half a mile down the road I hear my name, a friend of mine who I didn't expect to see showed up on bike to ride near the race course and give me some support, Jennifer Grace, I love ya!!!! Then I see my husband ride by me and again, his smile was exactly what I needed! I see my relay runner friend and she is feeling the heat but looking strong (she PRed!!!). All of a sudden I am in the sun, it is about 90 with 80% humidity. I hear another vioce in my head now, my NYCrunner saying "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable", so I do!!!! I get to the turn around, a local running club was manning the water station there. They were amazing!!! They cheered, they fueled, they pumped me up!!! Then I see DH, he rides next to me for about a half a mile. He takes my mind off my throbbing foot and the heat. With less than a mile to go he takes off to be at the finish. Now there are a lot of women who already finished on the sides cheering us in! I start talking to the girl next to me, we tough it out together, and I make the turn into the finish. The crowd was awesome!!! The noise was amazing but I look up see signs with my name and hear "There she is!" Next thing I know over the PA system I hear "And here she is! It's Lori....the mad scientist....go Beaker!" At this point I am jumping up and down, my arms are in the air, I am thrilled and I see my loved ones and every ache, pain, ever doubt I had, it's all gone! I am finsihed! I get my medal, have to wait a bit cause they could not get my chip off, but I finally get out. My relay friends are right there, hugs and smiles! I see my DH riding up, and I just hug him!!!! He is the most amazing person, he is so supportive and so inspirational, and I can't even tell him how much it all means to me, I have no words! Then over his shoulder I see my friends. More hugs and smiles and it's all good!<br><br><b>Post race</b><br>
As I am walking with my relay folks to get some food it hits me, and I get emotional, welled up a bit, and realized I had done something I really didn't think I could. What a great feeling!!! Grabbed some grub and headed for home, where my cheering section would be joining me for some R&R in the pool. I got home and decided to check out my foot, took my shoe off and saw a lovely red sock. Got that off and realized I didn't just bang my foot, I ripped a chunk off of it. No matter, threw a bandaid on and heded to the pool. It was an amazing day, lots of fun in the pool, tons of food, and I was surrounded by the best people!!!<br><br><b>The day after</b><br>
My foot is a mess!!! Nice and swollen and cut, but I am proud of it, the mark of hard work. My final time was 2:07:09, I was hoping for under 2 but I'll take it! I learned a lot, I met some fantastic women, I pushed myself beyond what I ever thought I would and most importanly, I enjoyed it!!!!<br><br>
So if you have gotten this far, thank you! I owe a lot of people thankyou's but I couldn't possibly get it all in! I will just say that the people from the 30's board have become my friends, they have inspired me in so many ways, they have shared their ups and downs and I have learned a little something from each story. Each and everyone of you was with me yesterday and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have meant to me!!!<img alt="love7.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/love7.gif">
My nerves were kicking before this race, days before!!!! Sat afternoon I met with my coach and he assured me I put the time and training in and would be fine! Sat morning I got up, headed over early and got my body marked. It was about then that it was all really hitting me, what I was about to do! Got my transition area set up and met up with 2 friends who were doing the race as a relay team. Got to jump in the water for alittle warm up and it was my first time in the water in my wetsuit. Not sure that I should have tried it race day for the first time but I think it worked in my favor. Got to the swim start area, ended up meeting up with a lady who used to post on CR and was my motivation to ever even consider a tri! Had a really nice talk with her and she calmed me quite a bit.<br><br><b>The Swim</b><br>
It was my turn to jump in. I was in the second to last wave. For those who don't know me, I am NOT a swimmer, in Jan I could not even swim one lap. Now, in the pool I can bang out some good swims. Open water isa differnet story, I did get to practice in a local lake once so I wasn't totally freaked out. But once that horn blew, yikes! I got kicked, punched, pushed, you name it! And, I freaked, I paniced! At one point I had to roll over on my back and just calm myself. I finally told myself to shut up and do it, there was no other choice! Still alternated breast stroke and free and was getting discouraged. Then I heard my dear friend Auntie Moe's voice in my head, telling my goal was to get from point to point, how it happened no long mattered. I finally saw the turn and was thrilled. The exit was horrible, a huge step up onto a rock. The girl in front of my stumbled, which made me lose my footing, a volunteer had to yank me up and out but not before cracking my foot on the rock. I got out of the water and the first thing I saw or heard was my DH, yelling and screaming and it was the best sights and sounds I ever! My reply to him was "I hate swimming!!!". Farther up the exit I begin to see the rest of my cheering section, my swim buddy Kelly and my inspirational wonderwoman Theia. I get to my transition area to find that someone decided to move my stuff, nice huh? Finally found my sunglasses and head out, as I exit transition, I see some more of my cheering section, my good luck charm Sauconrunner and her daughter!!!<br><br><b>The bike</b><br>
Ok, again for those of you who don't know me, I didn't even own a bike till a month ago. I was terrified to ride on the road and literally could only turn left!!! So teh last month I have hammered it out on the bike, and now it is one of my favorite things to do! So get moving, I am passing people, people are passing me, it's all good. But I still feel a bit out of sorts, I can't get my mind out of the water and on the road. About 3 miles in I settle down. I got to the other side of the river and it was sort of lonely. Then all of a sudden I see on the other side of a wall a sign that says "Go Lori!!" The closer I get I see it is attached to my enthusiastic supported Solar! She yelled "I am on the wrong side" and all I could think was "No you aren't", I needed that boost on that quiet side. It was perfect!!! Get around my first loop and see my cheerleaders, this time joined by my family, it was a little overwhleming to me and I just smiled and rode on. Second loop I am feeling slow, I am getting passed! Then like a lightbulb I realize I am in the wrong gear! I switch it up and BOOM! Everything falls into place. Head around again, again get a boost from Solar on the long lonely ride back to the transition. It really was better than any gel or energy drink I could have had!!!! Make it back to transition and see my friend who was relaying it, her thousand watt smile was a welcomed site!!! I rack my bike, grab some sport beans and realize I now need to run!<br><br><b>The run</b><br>
My legs are not moving, or at least I don't think they are but I am all of a sudden out on the road. Each step is painful, that whacking of the foot is coming back to haunt me. About a half a mile down the road I hear my name, a friend of mine who I didn't expect to see showed up on bike to ride near the race course and give me some support, Jennifer Grace, I love ya!!!! Then I see my husband ride by me and again, his smile was exactly what I needed! I see my relay runner friend and she is feeling the heat but looking strong (she PRed!!!). All of a sudden I am in the sun, it is about 90 with 80% humidity. I hear another vioce in my head now, my NYCrunner saying "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable", so I do!!!! I get to the turn around, a local running club was manning the water station there. They were amazing!!! They cheered, they fueled, they pumped me up!!! Then I see DH, he rides next to me for about a half a mile. He takes my mind off my throbbing foot and the heat. With less than a mile to go he takes off to be at the finish. Now there are a lot of women who already finished on the sides cheering us in! I start talking to the girl next to me, we tough it out together, and I make the turn into the finish. The crowd was awesome!!! The noise was amazing but I look up see signs with my name and hear "There she is!" Next thing I know over the PA system I hear "And here she is! It's Lori....the mad scientist....go Beaker!" At this point I am jumping up and down, my arms are in the air, I am thrilled and I see my loved ones and every ache, pain, ever doubt I had, it's all gone! I am finsihed! I get my medal, have to wait a bit cause they could not get my chip off, but I finally get out. My relay friends are right there, hugs and smiles! I see my DH riding up, and I just hug him!!!! He is the most amazing person, he is so supportive and so inspirational, and I can't even tell him how much it all means to me, I have no words! Then over his shoulder I see my friends. More hugs and smiles and it's all good!<br><br><b>Post race</b><br>
As I am walking with my relay folks to get some food it hits me, and I get emotional, welled up a bit, and realized I had done something I really didn't think I could. What a great feeling!!! Grabbed some grub and headed for home, where my cheering section would be joining me for some R&R in the pool. I got home and decided to check out my foot, took my shoe off and saw a lovely red sock. Got that off and realized I didn't just bang my foot, I ripped a chunk off of it. No matter, threw a bandaid on and heded to the pool. It was an amazing day, lots of fun in the pool, tons of food, and I was surrounded by the best people!!!<br><br><b>The day after</b><br>
My foot is a mess!!! Nice and swollen and cut, but I am proud of it, the mark of hard work. My final time was 2:07:09, I was hoping for under 2 but I'll take it! I learned a lot, I met some fantastic women, I pushed myself beyond what I ever thought I would and most importanly, I enjoyed it!!!!<br><br>
So if you have gotten this far, thank you! I owe a lot of people thankyou's but I couldn't possibly get it all in! I will just say that the people from the 30's board have become my friends, they have inspired me in so many ways, they have shared their ups and downs and I have learned a little something from each story. Each and everyone of you was with me yesterday and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have meant to me!!!<img alt="love7.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/love7.gif">
