As many of you know I participated in a Triathlon Sprint today! There is no explanation for how challenging this was mentally and physically and I'm still struggling to find the words to explain my sense of achievement, joy and overall satisfaction. That being said I finished! But not only did I finish my first race ever I crushed my personal goals and ended up placing third in my age group, something that I was not expecting. My own personal goal was to complete it in under two hours but I finished all three events in under an hour and a half!
The flood of emotions I had when I crossed that finish line is hard to explain. I was happy, excited, over-joyed, but most important of all I was proud of myself. With the flood of emotions it's hard to explain what you're body will do. I went up to Sharon and gave her a hug and just about broke down crying out of joy. I went around to everyone and was in complete shock and awe that I completed the event (I don't care what anyone says Triathlon's are hard!) There are so many different muscle groups that get used to the brink of complete exhaustion that it seems ridiculous at first. I started out my swim and felt great, outside of a sharp pain that started shortly after my swim right above my groin area, during that but it still needs to be noted that their are two more events that are just as strenuous immediately afterwards, and one of those (the run) I was dreading due to my injury and not wanting to re-injure myself.
I am still amazed at what the body can handle going through even with stress and floods of emotions. Sharon is a great example. Having finished an Ironman 70.3 on Sunday she still turned around with a herniated back, strained foot, having just barely gotten over Pneumonia to participate in this Triathlon sprint not even a week after and she killed it! I got passed on the bike ride by her about half way through and she started three waves after I did. Another man that I would say exemplify this feat is another man involved with the group of people I trained with.
He is an older gentleman that just learned to swim this year and was terrified of the water beforehand. He had never swam in open water without having some kind of safety device with him that he could grab in case he panicked. He took on this Triathlon and ended up completing it. He conquered the water and did very well on the bike ride and the run. When our group saw him coming in we all erupted into applause and cheers because of the journey he has been through!
Now every journey has a beginning middle and an end and I know that this is just the beginning of many more events! Now sitting here with all of my markings from a great event and my age written on my left calf I wonder what is next to come. I still have the Portland Marathon in October that I will be focusing my training around the coming weeks but from there I have no clue. That's all in God's hands. Here is to a great day and to all the pleasures of the world that bring joy each and every day! Until next time.
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