I did it!!!!

Well, I did my first Olympic! I was slow and did not even wear a watch (I know, I know), so I do not know my run time or my final time. It's not posted yet. But really, I'm not that worried about it, I finished and had fun. It was hot! About 3o degrees at the end, as per my truck.

First the swim, the part I was so worried about. I met Keith and a friend of his (sorry, I forgot her name - race jitters). Keith helped me to put on my wetsuit and offered some good cheer. I was slow on the swim, 41 minutes. :) However, I truly enjoyed every second of it. I love, love, love my new wetsuit. :) The sun was shining; the water was warm and pretty calm. I even got into a rhythm after a while. I got kicked in the face and did not even care. Although I did not kick once, arms only. :) Got to work on that!

The bike was good too, I really enjoyed it. I did not push too hard as this was not my big race. But I was surprised by the hill. There was this HUGE hill we climbed 5 times. It was good though, I loved it. The time on my bike for the ride was 1:30. My chip time was 1:38. This was because of my poor transitions! lol My transitions took 8 minutes obviously. So I'm thinking that I need to work on that a bit. :) Also, I need to cut out the chatter. I'm always talking to a fellow racer. :)

The run was my challenge today, how strange is that? For the first loop I had a heck of a time settling into a groove. Maybe as it was so hot, not sure. The second loop was better but I was very hungry by then. I did not prepare near enough food, I think. As I mentioned, I have no idea of my time. I was planning on 5:45 per km, but I seriously doubt that happened.

Anyway, I had a blast! Shannon (my daughter) made a sign that she held up every time I passed. She also met me at the finish line and ran across with me. :)

Thanks to coach Greg for the swim tips and schedule. That schedule keeps me honest. Thanks to Keith for the wetsuit help and good cheer. More thanks to Iain and Shannon for driving all that way to watch my race. And lastly, thanks to all the Lake Chaparral home owners that helped to keep us cool on the run. Several of them sat outside with their hoses and sprayed us. :)

Best wishes to coach Greg and all the other athletes racing this coming weekend in Penticton. :)

On cloud nine,

Leaha