Saturday, August 23, 2008
I Am a Triathlete
Nora, Amber and I raced our triathlon today, and it was so much fun. I think I'm hooked! I love the variety in the race and training. I don't feel that it is as hard on my body as a marathon or half marathon.
Last night we packed up the kids and husbands and spent the night up at Nora's cabin in Kamas, just a few miles from the start of the race. All night the three of us tossed and turned, we each felt as if we were going to vomit in the morning. I had never been so nervous before a race, it was so odd.
Last Saturday when we were swimming in the lake, I was scared to death. I thought for sure I was going to die, there is 0 visibility. When I got to the middle of the lake I started thinking about how nobody would notice if I just sunk, and started wondering how deep it actually was . Had I not swam in the water before the race, I might have chickened out when I saw that EVERYONE had a wet suit on. There were maybe 3 other people besides Nora, Amber, her sister and I without wet suits. But I had a blast during the swim. I wanted to make sure I took it easy so I had energy left for the rest of the race. After I got out of the water, my legs felt like jello, and they didn't feel like they belonged to me. Michael saw the look on my face and was pretty worried.
Once I hopped on my bike, I felt great. The ride was beautiful! Just a note to any of you who may be thinking of doing a triathlon. DON'T, I repeat, DON'T even think about trying to use a $50 Walmart bike like I was about to. I rented a road bike for $30 and it was great, well worth the money. When Nora, Amber and I would ride our bikes on the road (me on my $50 Walmart bike), they would be about a mile ahead of me.
The transition from bike to run was really smooth, but it felt so hard to run. Again, my legs felt like they didn't belong to me and I couldn't get them to move faster. The first half of the run was on the road, the second half was on a trail. It was hot, hilly and rocky. There was a point where I thought if I just stopped and walked, I would still make it to the finish line in under 2 hours which was my goal. I found the strength to push myself through it. Amber's parents were there to take her kids so Jake (her husband) was sweet and ran with her to pace her. When Nora started training just 2 1/2 months ago, she could barely run a mile, and she kicked some buttocks today!
Sprint Distance:
Swim: 750 meters, 1/2 mile
Bike: 13 miles
Run: 5K/ 3.1 miles
My Time
1:41:10
On a side note, Michael had his own triathlon, keeping 1.Reece, 2.Maya and 3.Mason happy for 5 hours without any help. He only lost Maya one time, when I asked her about it, she told me that "Dad just wandered off." He missed my finish because he was getting the kids settled in a spot on the grass so he could video me coming in. I told him to expect me to come in around 2 hours, so he thought he had some more time. He was completely shocked when he saw me walking around looking for him. I'm so grateful for a husband that supports me in all that I want to accomplish. Thanks Michael, I couldn't do it without you!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
19 comments:
You're so hot - I can't wait to do one next season!
I'm so proud of us! And I'm hooked, too. Let's do another one next year!!
yeah!! I can't wait to hear all about it... you all inspire me. I would love to do it...the lake swim with the fishes freaks me out a little but I may be able to overcome it. Great Job !!!!!
wow - well done marisa!
*staring blankly at the screen, like i have no idea how you did that*
Great job!
Way to go Gal!! Thanks for talking me into it and pushing performance out of me.
Congratulations!
I would love to do this...only the lake part scares me (especially Houston area lakes). I can handle the rest. Did you go to a pool to train or what?
You rock! I am so proud of you!
I've loved reading everyone's account of the race. You should be proud of yourself. WooHoo
Chelsea, you should totally do one. You would do so good. I did train in a pool, and did one lake swim before the race. I know what you mean about Houston lakes, there are so many critters in those lakes. You could always do a triathlon that starts in a pool though.
That looks like it was so much fun!! I am so in next year!
You guys did awesome, what a great thing to have accomplished. I don't know that I ever could do that. Way to go!!
For the Transition from bike to run I hear that the reason that it is so hard is because the muscles that you need for running contract on the bike because they are not being used.
I heard that the best way to avoid this is to switch your bike into a much easier gear 1/2 or 3/4 of a mile from the end of the bike portion. In the easier gear you should be able to spin your legs at a much larger rpm. This should stretch the muscles a so that you can start off the run a little easier.
Thanks for the tip Allen!
Wow Marisa that is awesome. A few years back I started training for one and moved or something and never did get to compete. Thanks for the inspiration!
Marissa and Michael:
It's Sunday, and I'm alone in my house and just watched this video. (my kids are at Bush Gardens with their dad) I'm crying like a baby. I don't know why. I can't stop crying. I'm so touched by this. I was a nervous wreck watching it. My stomach got sick and my hands were shaking. I have done enough physical challenges to understand to a degree what an amazing amazing accomplishment this is for someone to do. I am truely just baffled. I'm touched for so many reasons. The first is that you Marissa would set a goal like this and achieve it! Life is incredible a mom of small children with so much going on in her life dares to dream and and take a chance and have the courage to push herself to this level. The other things that touched me were how scarey that swim looked. The swimming is the exact reason I have never tried a Tri-athlon. It terrifies me. I'm a horrible swimmer and it looks so hard. And then reading about the swim, wow, you just overcame your fears and went for it. Another thing that touched me more than all of it was the family aspect. Michael filming it just is sooooo overwhelming. I'm watching it from his perspective and feeling how proud, anxious, and supportive he is. What a thing you guys have going there. A couple that is so committed to each other and is each others biggest fans and biggest supports. I know that is what marriage is SUPPOSED to be and you guys are living it. Then you have the kids watching this the whole time. The message of the way a man supports his wife going into their young minds. The message of a woman,wife, and mother being able to live her dreams and be so strong going into their little heads. The message of family unity going into their little heads....... ect. ect. ect. I believe this is God's plan at its very best. All of it. Marissa and Michael you inspire me on so many levels you don't even know. You are allowing each other to grow and become everything good in this life. You bring out the best in each other. I'm amazed and so touched by the whole thing. I'm so lucky to know you, even if it's far away and limited. It effects me to the core. Thankyou for making this video. Thankyou for sharing your lives. Thankyou for being who you are. All my Love Heather (your Florida cousin)
Thank you everyone for the kind kind words. I don't feel like I deserve it!
Post a Comment