We won 3rd place for our division! Crossing the finishing line is amazing and somehow out of nowhere - you get an extra boost to run over the line. Now at peace with a big smile that I finished my 2nd triathlon - all 800 meter swim, 11.3 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run/walk is now over. We competed in the Mixed Friends 99 and over category which had 4 teams and 1 team didn't finish. All experienced triathletes will say that it is an accomplishment to just finish your first triathlon. Guess what? My really good 67 year young friend FINISHED his first triathlon and that is what counts. Also, I feel healthier and stronger with the nearly 2 months of training for this triathlon and it showed. My first triathlon was May 17, 2009 with 433 Finishers. It took me 02hrs39min59sec to finish. Nearly 2 months later and similar courses, I was able to finish the course in 02:00:38! The difference was that I borrowed my friend's road bike and actually trained nearly 90 minutes almost every day leading up to the race. My training focus was to improve my swim time and transition times and was able to save nearly 13 minutes and I surprised myself by improving 3 MPH faster on the bike and 2.75 MPH faster on my run/walk. However, I know I can still get better and will keep training to be healthier and look forward to being able to run the whole 3.1 miles. Not too bad from the formerly Fat Girl who couldn't walk with a straight back almost 2 years ago! What was the most nervous thing in the race for me? Before the race started, Roger told me to go as fast as I could through the course. While doing the entire race was at each of our paces, I went off course during the swim and ended up swimming an extra distance - thinking Roger was ahead of me. So when I got to the first transition (swim to run), I was really nervous when I saw Roger's bike still on the rack and didn't transition as fast as I could hoping to see him behind me. During practice, Roger always biked faster than I did and hoped to see him catch up with me. However, I was so RELIEVED when I got to the 2nd transition (bike to run) and saw that his bike was gone. Therefore, I did the run/walk at my pace and ran out to complete the last stretch when I saw Roger approaching the finish line. He was walking up the hill and I grabbed my good friend's arm and we both were able to cross the finish line together. Afterwards, I found out that he fell off his bike during the course but he got back on despite the scrapes and finished! For those interested in the results: Click here and scroll down to the bottom.

    Roger and I at the start before the swim.      Roger and I just realizing we got 3rd place!