The older girls are tough. My Tri to beat Cancer recap.
A couple of weekends ago, I competed in the Tri to beat Cancer. Life’s been so crazy I never did a race report — so here we go.
This was a sprint. The swim was 400 meters. Bike was 14 miles and then we finished with a 5K run. It was also my 10th triathlon but my first in four summers. I was excited but also wondered if I would be competitive. Or rather — not embarrassed.
And the answer was neither. I really wasn’t all that competitive but I certainly wasn’t embarrassed and most importantly, I had a lot of fun.
I really did.
I took photos with my phone but you can’t really take them of yourself so most of the pictures are after the fact. Except this one.
Here we are on the beach getting ready to start. Actually the race had started by this point. If you look on the left hand part of photo, you can see the speedy swimmers going out first to the right of the kayaks.
I always like to get chatty with somebody while waiting to jump in the water. Especially this race because I knew the weather had been unseasonably cold and rainy for a few days. That meant the water was going to be a little on the colder side. I hate cold water.
So if truth be told, I was dreading the swim. Then dreading getting out of the water and getting on the bike to get even colder in the wind.
So I met Lynn who is to my left in the pink top. Her hubby took this pic and I harassed her till she sent one to me. Joke. But never underestimate the persistence of a blogger trying to get a photo for a post. Lynn was a youngun’ who was competing in her first triathlon getting in shape after her second child. Hurrah! Then Jacky is there too. She was also talking with us making me not think about being nervous. She was really a baby at 25. I was 25 when I got married. Twenty-five years ago this December.
See in triathlons you know how old every body is because you are marked. Branded really with your age.
Have to admit it was a little surreal to look down and see that 5 – 0 and have a man with a 5 – 2 pass me on the bike with a “let’s hear it for the 50 year olds” but I’m getting more comfortable with it.
Why not wear it in black sharpie on my forehead.
Or better yet, you know how those Ironmen people get a tattoo on their ankle . . .
Oh bother. That was me with Lee Abney after the race. Lee is a lawyer in Madison. He did great in this race but get this . . . the night before he had ran a half marathon in Roswell, Georgia that started at 7 p.m.
Good grief. That is being in shape.
Me. I just was happy to have had a fun race.
Another post race pic with another Madisonite Tom Greenfield.
Yeah for Madison!
Yeah. I think I look better without the 50 on my forehead. I did get a comment from a women handing out water on the run that I had the best shoes she had seen so far.
So I had that going for me.
This was transition in the dark. But thankfully, not in the rain. The rain stayed away which was awesome.
Me in goofy picture standing solo before race.
Kind of got that super nova halo thing going.
A few more pics.
And the t-shirts. 🙂
All in all, it was a lot of fun.
I was dreading it — the weather anyway. Kept thinking about my dear friend Rick Spence who was taken too soon from this life. Rick and his wife Karen were the ones who were the ones who introduced me to triathlons a while ago. Who thought when I signed up a month ago that on August 18th it would be raining and 66 degrees?
I bet Rick was up in heaven laughing his head off.
That’s what I kept thinking. Rick would tell me just to go enjoy it, whatever the day brought.
How did I do?
Well, of 19 in my age group 50 – 54, I placed 10th. Which is okay.
But the thing I really thought was really funny, was in my old age group of 45 – 49, my time would have put me 7th.
So the older girls are pretty tough.
Me not so much. But I had fun.
And look forward do it again. Someday.
Linking up with Greta @Gfunkified and Sarah @Sunday Spill for:
