I am a slacker and have not updated this since before I left so here is a rundown of the Nation's Triathlon. Saturday Team Oklahoma showed up to the event to prepare our bikes and get them setup on our transition area. The transition area was 42,000 sq. feet and had 4,500 spots. I got everything setup and ready to go and went on my way. That night we had a pasta dinner with multiple speakers one of which had Leukemia and it was a very well done and touching speech.
Race Day
The alarm went off at 4:30 am and I was excited to get up and get after it. I prepared all my stuff the night before so all I had to do was fill my water bottles and head out the door. We took a team Oklahoma pic before we left the hotel.
It was a little chilly in the morning but I could tell it was going to be a great day. We arrived at the transition area with plenty of time to get ready and setup my bike, bike shoes, run shoes, etc. My only complaint was the 75 port-a-potties for 4,500 racers and its early so everyone had to go.
I got in the water at 7:27 and I was off. It took me 37 minutes to complete the swim and it would have been faster if I would have been smarter and stayed more on the inside but drifted to the out side and then had to make up all that space once i turned. I was tired but not really winded like i thought i would have been at the end of the swim.
I got on my bike and was off for a 1 hour 22 minute ride. My legs above my knees were stiff the whole time which was frustrating but i got through it. The course was beautiful and loved the scenic views of DC and Maryland. When I returned a large group had formed and it was fun to go through all the people cheering and yelling "Go Team". I racked my bike switched my shoes and was off running.
The run was great, kinda. My legs were still stiff from the bike until mile 3. But by that time i was halfway done and told myself. I was just going to do my typical 3 mile loop i always run and then I was done. So i powered through and stiffness and finished strong for my honored heroes, Leo and Austin.
Upon the finish I was pretty sure I had achieved my goal of under 3 hours but wasn't sure until i went to the results tent and got a print out. Sure enough I finished 49 seconds ahead of my goal, 2:59:11. I found my parents and hugged them before going back to the course to cheer on Tina and my other Team Oklahoma teammates.
Overall it was a great day and I loved every minute of it even though there were a few parts that I was thinking "why am I doing this" then i reminded my self that I was doing it for Leo and Austin. My final fundraising total was $5,306. Thanks for all the support and I am now planning my next triathlon or some other event with Team In Training.
