Since the inception of this blog, I think I have only posted once on it - even though I am a regular reader. However, after this weekend I feel I need to say a few things to everyone.
First: Even though the words do not seem to be worthy of the commitment and passion exemplified by all 10 of the athletes racing with us yesterday (and the families and friends who came to lend their support), I must say "THANK YOU"!!! From the bottom of my heart, my most sincere gratitude goes out to you. You are all truly AMAZING! Matt and I are so blessed to have you in our lives. It was both an honor and a pleasure to host all of you up at "the farm" (our NH house). Did everyone get enough to eat? :-) I know that Matt's mom was smiling down at the house full of laughter and good friends.
Second: We still have donations coming in on the fundraiser page! It looks like we will be able to break $16,000...all of which will go directly to Dr.Guinan's research. How cool is that? Again, thank you to all who helped in the campaigning efforts. Knowing that the money is going to help Nathan's wish of helping kids with cancer come true, makes all of the pain from yesterday worth it.
Third: Now for a recap of my first time race experience! After arriving early, Team Bloomies (listed as The Killer B's in the results postings) set up "our" transition area. We took a quick walk around the race site so I can show Esther and Adam the in/out and the relay "exchange pen" for our time chip hand-off between each leg. Then we head to the beach to show Esther the swim course, or so we thought. The fog was so thick that you could not see more than a few feet off the beach. Yikes! Well, as Matt posted, the swim start was delayed and the course re-routed/shortened due to the foggy conditions. At that point we didn't have a good idea by how much though. Adam and I waited on the beach by the swim start to to cheer on Esther and our other racers as they began their swim. We then began our walk back to transition at the other end of the beach so I could get my bike shoes on, helmet, etc to be ready to meet Esther in the exchange pen. About half way down the beach, I began to hear the first wave of swimmers being announced as they came out of the water. Wow, that was alot faster than I thought! I better get a move on it. I get to the entrance of transition that was open prior to the race to find it now closed! Where to go?? I quickly walk to the end by the swim entrance to find out from a race volunteer that I have to go all the way to the opposite side to get in by the bike in/out!! Holy crap!! I run through the crowd gathered to watch the swimmers coming in to the other end. Only to find the first bikers heading out so I have to wait to cross the path to get in to transition. What if Esther finishes before I get there??? Finally there is a break, so I dart across the bike path and sprint into transition waving the number on my hand to the race volunteer yelling at me, "Hey, wait!! Are you an athlete??" I strip my long pants off, put on my bike shoes and run to the relay pen (cheering for Matt as I hear his name announced coming out of the water!), Ok, I am here and ready! Until I soon realize that I forgot to put on my helmet! I run back to my spot grab my helmet and run back to the pen. Within a minute or 2, Esther come out of the water, I put on the time chip, get my bike and begin my leg of the race! My HR is racing...starting out in the 180's which is extremely high for me. (It never really did calm down to my norm). I began to remind myself to relax. After about the first mile, I thought I should have the GU that Matt taped to my bike for me, since I gave him the one I had planned on having prior to my bike due to the hour delay in the swim start. This is the first time I have ever experienced GU. What a perfect time to start, right? All I can say is...yuck! But it seemed to prove to be helpful. I focused on staying to the right and out of everyone's way, as I was convinced that I was going to cause someone on a "fast bike" to crash if I got in the way! Although, I have to say that I held my own on my trusty hybrid! :-) There was a group of 3 guys that I seemed to pass on the uphills and then have them pass me on the downhills thru the last half of the course. As I was chugging by the one guy on an uphill, he shouts out, "You're kicking butt on that bike!" I replied, "Thanks! I'm doing the best I can with what I got!" Several other people cheering along the course also shouted words of encouragement related to my bike! Very funny! Shawn passed me at one point (about 2/3 of the way thru). It was nice to see a familiar face! I was able to hang behind him for a mile or 2 until we hit some rolling hills and he was off like a shot!
Aside from some minor toe cramping and pain in my right groin/hamstring, I felt really good out there. When my mind would start to wander, I would start to think of my inten-sati training and recite some of the affirmations. "Negative thoughts STOP right now - I move with ease- I am strong NOW! - I am confident NOW!" As silly as it may sound, it actually helped to focus me back to the moment. And whenever I felt tired going up a hill or the when the pain started, I thought of the battles that Nathan, Judy and Dan fought and I kept moving forward with conviction. I came into the finish feeling tired, but pumped up as I met Adam in the exchange pen to start him on his run. Team Bloomies finished 18 out 26 relay teams with a time of 2:56:32. My bike was 1:47:14 (15.2mph).
All in all, this weekend, and the journey leading up to it, has been a life changing experience for me. So many thoughts and emotions. Not the least of which is...I want a faster bike!! :-)
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