Ass: Kicked it.

I DID IT!!!  Sorry for keeping you hanging for a day, but I spent most of yesterday eating pork products and watching football.  And cake.  I ate a lot of cake.

My title for this entry is a bit of an exaggeration (shocking, I know).  The results by the numbers: 118 minutes total time, 73rd finisher out of 191 (37 dq's), 7th in age group (out of 20).  It was a really small field of participants.  My swim placement is the funniest: 155 out of 191.  My bike placement the best: 17th out of 191.  I'm very proud of my run pace 9:30.  Anything under a ten minute mile for me is SMOKIN' FAST.  When I ran relays at 26 I think I averaged 11 minute miles.  One of my biggest opportunities for improving my time is my transition.  I could have gotten in a manicure with how long it took me.

The thing I'm most proud of is meeting my personal goals of not stopping to rest/walk and push through.  There were moments in the swim I had to talk myself off the ledge.  I'm very grateful to the trainer I had in Portland who helped me learn to relax more in the water.  

I got a calf cramp immediately when I started the run and thought I was going to have to walk it.  I concentrated on running heel/toe and that really helped.  The woman who was at least 15 years older than me that BLEW BY MY SLOW ASS also really helped.  The bottom line is that anytime I started to freak out, I went back to what I'd learned and practiced in training.  Made all the difference for me.

And I learned so much through this experience.  Here's just a sampling:  Having a great partner is key (I think this holds true for life as well).  Even if you don't train together all the time, having someone else there to hold your toes to the fire (or make you go to bed) helps incredibly.  If you're reading this partner - love you!  Another thing is what we make up about ourselves that we can or cannot do.  Just go back to some of my first posts about how I "can't run" anymore or "can't swim".  Yes, some things are hard.  Some things are really, fucking hard.  But that doesn't mean we can't do them or learn to do them at any age.  I also learned that I am strong.  I've always felt fairly strong physically but now I can add mentally.  It was my mind that got me through that race when I was struggling, not my body.

I'm looking forward to taking a little break this week and doing some yoga, relaxation and boozin'.  But I'm also looking forward to the next challenge, or the next race whenever that may be.

NEVER SURRENDER!