I'll be lining up at the start line (which is really a deep water swim start) on Sunday morning and I wanted to thank all the people who will be swimming, biking and running with me for my first half Iron distance race.
Yes, lots of you will be with me!
Yes, it is a race...a race of me against a clock to finish before the big broom comes out.
When I line up at the swim start I am going to have Archangel Michael and my sister Tracy with me.
I found out that Michael is my protector angel when my sister did an angel reading for me.
You can read the blog about that if you want to here -
This was my vision of Michael when my sister first introduced us....The more masculine (uhm, muscular) Michael is the one that swims with me in the water.
Thank you Tracy for introducing us.
Before every triathlon with an open water swim I write on my left palm in sharpie "MBYS and broom," which stands for Michael bring your sword and broom.
Yep, Michael has a broom, but it isn't to sweep me off course because I am swimming too slow (though I am a slow swimmer.) Michael carries his sword to protect me from fish and little waves that make me nauseous and he carries a broom to sweep away all my negative thoughts about swimming.
Michael's sword and broom are powerful.
I LOVE SWIMMING!
(that's what I right on my right palm).
Once I get out of the water and start my transition I am bringing Rusty Robertson with me. He is a member of my Triathlon Connection club and he is the fastest person in triathlon that I know. And he LOVES Aquaphor. I am going to try to channel Rusty while I am in transition and get out of there ASAP.
All my Triathlon Connection friends and training partners are going to be with me. Though there are too many of you to mention I really want to thank my Tuesday/Thursday ride group - Jeanne, Orietta, Cynthia, Tawny, Robert, Tom, Mary and Dion. We are a small group but there is always someone to ride with and I know you will always push me to ride faster!!!!
Some of my TC girlfriends - all Ironmen at heart!!!!
To keep my TC friends close to me I'll be wearing this hat.
I'll be wearing this hat before the tri, during my run and after the tri. I LOVE this hat.
And in case you don't notice, my hat has the name "Chrissie" on it.
Yep, Chrissie Wellington will be with my at my first half Iron distance.
I met with Chrissie earlier in the year for a CAF fundraiser for Tanya, the founder of GOTRIbal!
There were about 20 of us at the event and we ran 3-miles with Chrissie, then talked to her, took picture, had her sign books and had a great raffle. Tanya is on her CAF bike ride as I am typing this. Go Tanya!
I learned a lot from reading Chrissie's book and if I hit a slump on Sunday I will be thinking of Chrissie winning her last Ironman Championship after having a bike crash and so many injuries....and I only have an infected foot and a cold.
When you looked at the picture of my running hat, I don't know if you noticed but I have my tri-kit underneath it.
Aquaphor!!!!
My Aquaphor tri-friends are AWESOME!
I have only met a few of them in person, but they are the most supportive group of triathlon people an athlete could ask for.
Thank you Aquaphor team mates for all your support and words of knowledge...I will have fun, or at least I will tri!!!
I always have my children with me. I hope I am a good role model for them. I try my best to show them how to exercise and eat healthy.
My secret goal is that one of them will try a tri with me.
My daughter has run a 5-k with me and maybe she will again. My eldest son put down some money not to long ago and bought himself a bike and has been riding with me.
All 3 of my children (15, 20 and 22) are awesome swimmers (so don't ask me about my lack of swimming ability)..and when I say awesome I mean AWESOME!!!
My children will be with me and if it gets tough on Sunday I will think of them!!
Meredith Atwood is going to be with me!
Yep, she is SwimBikeMom.
We have only met once at a spin class in San Diego when she came to visit, but we are friends!
It is amazing the friends you can acquire from triathlon.
Don't ask me exactly WHY we are friends, because I can't explain it. Really we don't have anything in common.
She is younger; I am older. Oh, we both are married to men.
We both have kids, but hers are little and mine are big.
She has weight issues. I don't.
But she tris and overcomes her issues and I tri and overcome my issues.
I may not be wearing her shirt while I tri, but I will have on this.
SwimBikeMom (aka Meredith) sent this to me..
it says swim bike run.
I wear this a lot and when training gets tough I think of her.
If she can do it; I can do it.
She has done a couple of 70.3s and is signed up for an Ironman.
She is an Ironman at heart already!!!!
Well, I am going to finish my first half Iron distance!
I am going to give it my best shot at finishing (without pooping my pants, thank you very much!)
I am bringing my friend Carolyn with me.
This is blame and thanks to her.
She started this whole fitness thing with me when she asked for friends to hike up Mt. Whitney for her 50th birthday.
I was that friend.
When I turned 50, Carolyn reciprocated by running a marathon (both a first for us) in Seattle and spending a wonderful week visiting the area and my dad and his wife.
We finished...but let's NOT talk about how long it took us.
The most important person I am bringing with me to the SOMA Triathlon is my guy, Robert!
I am actually bringing him.
He also is entered in the triathlon.
We had talked about whether we were racing (if you want to call it that) together or separately, and I am not sure what we are doing.
Our swim waves start 16 minutes apart.
All I know is that I am driving from Riverside, California to Tempe, Arizona with him....having a rocking fitness weekend...and then driving home with him!
One way or another we will end up together at the FINISH line!
train-n-tri
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