Built for comfort, not speed...

Skinny jeans versus sweat pants.  A Ferrari versus a mini van.  Ladies and gentlemen after Sunday's triathlon I have discovered that I am built for comfort and not speed.  I would love to tell you that I'm totally accepting of this new self realization but I would be lying to you and to my ego too.  Regardless of whether I'm in denial it's plainly obvious that my natural talents do not lie in the realm of athletics, but I am a darn fine encourage-er and cheerleader.  :) 

Run to the bike Katie Murray!

After the Smile Train triathlon in June I decided I was not going to wallow in annoyance with how frustrated and discouraged I felt in the water.  Just FYI everybody, I do have an ego and I'm guilty of the sin of pride... I decided it was time for me to get over my pride, be an adult, and yep...take a few swimming lessons.  My swim instructor is very encouraging and she actually spends the majority of her time with children so she totally gets my mentality also.  :) After several lessons and lots of practice, I felt ready for Sunday's "short" swim.  I signed up to go at the back of the pack again.  I had no desire to 1.) Embarrass myself... 2.) Hold someone else up because I swim slower than molasses rolling up hill... 3.) Did I mention embarrassing myself? The pool swims are seeded and with 400+ people I knew it would be awhile before my turn in the water.  I spent 30 minutes talking to a lady whose husband was a competitive swimmer but could not bike or run well.  She had wanted to do the triathlon with him but had reservations.  She told me what her fears were and I told her some of mine....it felt good to confess so close to crunch time.  I felt convinced when she left me that she would likely do a sprint triathlon in the next year.  I had a very similar experience when we did the Smile Train.  In the water I took on all 10 laps just trying to stay calm.  Some dude almost knocked me into a wall because he was going the wrong way in MY swim lane.  That's what I get for going at the back with all of the other people (like myself) who do not know what they're doing. 

My Em always says swim like a fish Lendy!

I'll be riding dirty.

Following the swim I had a rather uneventful bike ride.  The course was fairly hilly compared to the flat, smooth greenway that boo and I ride every week.  I passed a girl going up one of the hills and she yelled, "Go on...these hills are going to catch up with you!!" I made sure to wave at her as I passed her on my return back to the transition area.  I honestly couldn't help but laugh.  Neither one of us were setting the world on fire with fabulous speeds...Why be a jerk about it? 

Heather going out on the bike.

 

Number One "clean riding"

Back in the transition area for my run I totally ran by my bike rack and had almost made it to the other side of the area before I realized it.  I felt like a total goob turning around and almost taking people out as I ran back toward my assigned rack.  Smooth...real smooth.  

Again, the run was uneventful.  A guy that I followed on the bike ride...I called him yellow jersey....ran with me most of the way.  Yellow jersey made me think of the Tour de France so I joked the whole way that he should take the lead and run for a little bit while I drafted him.  I finally left yellow jersey and came up on a girl my age that had been walking ahead of us for awhile.  At the base of the hill before the finish I told her I was tired of running in wet socks and she responded back me too.  We ran together to the finish.  I could have out sprinted her at the end...I'm good at picking the pace up at the end... but I just cruised in behind her as her family and friends snapped pictures and cheered her on.  I made sure to smile although I'm hoping they photo shop me out.  I finished in 1 hour and 27 minutes.  Not too shabby for someone who hasn't been working at this for too awful long.    



The real story of the day was my boo and her magically getting seeded as the number 1 swimmer for the triathlon.  She inadvertently entered the correct swim time for the wrong distance.  She didn't lead the race but she still got to be number one for the day.  Number one ended up finishing 3rd overall in our age group which is an excellent accomplishment and I was so excited and proud to be her paparazzi for the day.  Like I said... I'm a much better cheerleader than an athlete.          

3rd overall in 25-29 GET IT

My number one boo haha :)