First off, thank you so, so much for all of your kind words!  I am still over the moon about yesterday.  Still feeling like this!

I spent the rest of the day relaxing.  Took a nap for a while after we got home,  watched some Tour de France, then we went out to dinner (let’s just say that I ignored calories yesterday).  After that it was a nice walk in the park.  I wanted to stay a little active so that my muscles would feel good this morning.  I went to bed around 10:30 and slept for a little over 8 hours, which is a really long time for me.  Normally I am around 6 to 6.5  (not by choice).  That was awesome.    I moved my legs around in bed to test the water so to speak, and they felt absolutely fine.  How about that?  In fact, I got up and John and I went for a brisk walk for about 40 minutes.  Active recovery!

Came back to banana oats.

I was going to have pumpkin oats, but I found out the hard way that you can’t freeze canned pumpkin.  It comes out as a fibrous mass that is like orange felt.  Blech.  So, banana it was.

Regarding the tri,  I would probably do another one (pretty sure I will do the same one next year).  Possibly this year, as there are several more sprint ones.  However, the swim really is the sticking point.  I’m just not very fast, and didn’t really enjoy that.  Lessons would help, I’m sure, but I don’t want to shell out the $$ right now for that, and I doubt I would improve drastically in the next month or so.

I can certainly improve my running speed and biking speed.  Biking will be a little harder, as I don’t have a road bike.  Mine is a hybrid since we do some road riding and some path riding.  I couldn’t take a road bike to my favorite destinations.  And I love my old bike!  Running can always be improved.  I did 3.25 miles in 36 minutes, which I was pretty happy about.  I would have been faster if it wasn’t for that darn 1/4 mile hill at the end!

Was I nervous?  Hell yes!  And also a little (okay, a lot) intimidated by the other competitors.  There were a lot of serious people there, along with the average, everyday people.  But I had every right to be there, just like the person that finished in under an hour!

I am a little glad to get back to weight loss mode, though.  I did gain some weight during training, which I was mildly okay with (kinda, sorta).  I was not really trying to lose during training, since I wanted to build strength and endurance.    And the training paid off.  I finished the triathlon comfortably.  Yes, it was really hard – but I was not finishing it with my last ounce of strength, but finished strong and happy (my goal).  However, that training also ate up a lot of time, probably 10 hours a week.  On top of a full time job, that’s a lot of time.  I am so lucky to have the most supportive hubby.

And I need to give John a shout-out for getting up really early on a Sunday, driving a long way, bringing his bike, and going around trying to catch us on various legs of the triathlon to cheer and take pictures.  Now *that* is true love!

Now my goal is to get to goal at some point this year LOL!

Athletic goals?  Back to lifting this week.  I have missed it!  I also am thinking about a couple longer races.  I might commit to a half marathon in September.  That was a race I did last year that had both a 5K and a half, and we did the 5K.  Since I know I can do at least 6 miles now, I have a couple months to build up to 13.  I could probably do it, the question is do I want to run for 2.5 hours??  Maybe just a 10K.  I will be doing a couple more 5Ks this summer, the next one coming up at the beginning of  August.  Silk & Satins, which was the very first 5K I ever did.  Maybe I will beat my time of 45 minutes 😛

But, all that is in the future.  For today and tomorrow at least, I am going to just bask in my triathlon good feelings.

Grab a cup of coffee, this is a long recap!  It’s done!  And my sister and I had a fabulous time (nerves and all).  Went to bed last night somewhere around 10:30 with a 4:15 am wake up call (ugh??).  At around 1 am – big thunderstorms rolled in, which woke me up and kept me awake for a while, so I was not the most chipper of people at 4:15.

Had my standby breakfast of oatbran + banana+ protein powder, which I cooked last night.  I also ‘borrowed’ some nutty PB and Nutella for the top.  This is an amazing fuel to eat a couple hours prior to an event.

We got there plenty early, it was chilly and windy!  We checked in and got marked with numbers (#8 here!) and found out that we were both in the first heat.  Good thing there is that I knew I wouldn’t finish last LOL!  Not with 8 heats or so to go.  There were somewhere around 450 people?

Picture of the reservoir we swam in:

This is from the bike transition area.  I couldn’t take my camera to the swim area!  Not waterproof.  That hole in the fence is the chute we came out to.

Here we are all racked up:

My sister and fellow triathlete!

Wearing my jacket, did I mention it was chilly?  We were there early, so the racks weren’t crowded – but then it looked like this:

Then it was swim time!  First heat was women age 40-45 and there were 23 of us.  I was so nervous at first, but I looked at the distance and thought “This isn’t so far”.  Haha.   The water was surprisingly warm, I was pleased because once I got in, I didn’t think of the temperature again. We did an “L” shape in the water and I was okay until I got around the first turn and realized it was farther than it seemed.  Not to mention that 3 minutes into the swim, the siren sounded for the next heat.  I knew I was slow and would be overtaken by a good chunk of the heat behind me, and sure enough I was.  Someone actually swam over me!  They were on their back and didn’t see me, and of course I didn’t see them coming.  The worst part of the swim was about 3/4 of the way through.  There was all this seaweed and when I would bring my arm around I pulled all this seaweed with it and had to yank my arm out.  I fought a little bit of panic there, because that was never in my mind’s scenario.  And the bottom was nowhere to be found, so I don’t know how long that stuff grew (ewwww).  Finally made it to the end and got out of the water feeling very off-balance.  That was weird, so I stayed in the transition spot for  a bit to get my bearings and adjust.

Then hopped on the bike.  This is where I was in my element.  I chugged along, although a lot of people were passing me.  That’s what happens when you are in the first heat and all the pros start after you – they pass you!  But that’s okay.  There were some hills and I am so glad I do a lot of hill riding.  I really enjoyed the ride, pushed it pretty well, while conscious that I had a 3.25 mile run after it. John caught me on video early on! Shiny gold helmet!

There was a stiff headwind for most of the ride, which made it really tough. I love my thighs, they had to work hard today! I had coconut water in my water bottle, and let me tell you – this stuff is awesome!  It’s not sweet like Gatorade, so I could drink it easily and I swear I felt the hit from it right away (more potassium than a banana!).  Hit the bike transition chute, and decided to snap a picture as I was running my bike to the rack (we had to dismount):

Slugged a Stonyfield yogurt smoothie at the bike, then made the mistake of grabbing some water – which put too much liquid in my tummy. Run time! John got me as I just started the run.  I actually look like I am going fast until someone blew right by me LOL!

There was a down hill run at first, which was really hard and jostled my stomach way more than I was comfortable with. I had some concerns about the yogurt staying down, but once I got down the hill it was fine. It was probably 1/4 mile hill, which I realized that I would have to run *up* right at the end of the race. I did not have a watch on, so I had no idea of where I was at all, but I knew that the run would have a turn around half way out and we would come back the same route. I settled into a comfortable pace, which I knew was slower, but decided to take the pace my body told me to. My legs felt fine for the transition, which shocked me. Guess rest days work after all!

I ran the whole thing. I tried to go faster once I hit the turn around, but just couldn’t get a whole lot faster. Then I hit the hill and managed to run the whole way up. The crowd was getting loud there and people were cheering us on, some kids came out and slapped my hand as I ran by. Top of the hill into the finish!

I cried when I got to the end! I finished in 1:46:01, and my goal was to be under 2 hours. I am so thrilled and exhausted, but not as tired as I thought. All that training did me well and I never felt at any point that I would not make it or have trouble, even though it was really hard.

Flexing our triathlete muscles!

I’ll have more thoughts tomorrow. Thanks so much for all your support!

Long post ahead!  Tomorrow is the big day and I am starting to get really excited! I can’t believe the day is almost here, it feels like it has been forever.

Spent some time working on my bike a bit, cleaning the chain and decided to do something fun with my helmet.

Old helmet:

After some Krylon!

I have a golden helmet now (I’ve got a golden ticket…..).  I love it!!!  Plus, it will make it easier to recognize my bike amongst all the others with this hanging on the handlebars!

The happy, makeupless biker!

Before assembling my transitions stuff, I had a yummy lunch of a whole wheat pita spread with homemade pesto, grilled chicken and fresh mozzarella, with strawberries, of course!

Getting the gear together:

For the swim (note swim cap provided tomorrow).

Transition from swim to bike to run. Some of this stuff will be in my front bike bag, as we don’t start and stop in the same place for the bike leg.

Coconut water, yogurt smoothie (really good for refuel), plus a tiny ice pack to keep said items cold in my bag. Sunscreen – I need to take time to put it on or I will burn for sure (sun predicted!). Riding gloves.  I am going to write a sticky note to remember to take off my helmet before the run!  I might just run with the gloves on because they are a little hard to get off quickly.  Missing is the Co2 canister spare fillup for my tires, which I will be getting today.

Extremely important post race items:

It’s very important that I triple check everything this afternoon, as I am going down to my sister’s to spend the night so I can knock 1/2 hour off of travel time.   It will be too late at that point if I forget something. We need to be there at 6:00 am tomorrow eeeek!!  That is flipping early!   I am so glad Colleen is doing this with me as well.

I am  going to cook an oatbran/banana/protein powder breakfast tonight and just heat it up in the morning.  That was my super fuel before my 5K PR race earlier this year, so I know it’s good fuel.

I have been having the funniest thoughts about this race:

• “What if I am the heaviest one there?”
• “What if I freak out in the water?”
• “What if someone kicks me in the face in the water?”
• “What if I lose a contact lens?”
• “What if I finish last?”
• “What happens if I throw up, do I finish?”

None of which matter one wit!  I know that none of these things is important at all, but it is funny how the mind works 😀

It’s going to take  less than 2 hours to finish (I hope!!) for all that work.  I am as ready as I can be.

I am really looking forward to seeing just what this 41-year-old body can do.

I will see you all on the flip side tomorrow night, with hopefully some pictures!

Okay, first is the workout and breakfast – then my suit arrived!

Woke up early again (on my day off grrr……).  The Y was pretty empty today, probably because the pool was closed for repairs, or because it was Friday!

Anyway,  jogged for 30 minutes, then NROLW:

• Barbell deadlifts:  1 x 10 75 pounds, 1 x 10 85 pounds

• Bulgarian split squat:  2 x 10 with 25 pound plate

• Underhand lat pulldown:  1 x 10 55 pounds, 1 x 10 60 pounds

• Reverse lunge with forward reach:  2 x 10 with 10# dumbbells

• Prone cuban snatch:  2 x 10 with 10# dumbbells

• Swiss ball crunch:  2 x 10

• Reverse crunch:   2 x 10

• Lateral flexion:    2 x 10

• Prone cobra:    2 x 60 second holds

Then some stretching (very important, and I don’t always remember).  I actually showered at the Y because I was meeting my mom for breakfast and thought I would be presentable.  We went to a little local place called Boston Candy Kitchen.  It’s very old, and they have just inexpensive home cooking.  It also is an old fashioned ice cream soda fountain!

Got a cheese omelet with wheat toast.  Not pictured are some home fries that were ordered by my mom, which I proceeded to eat 1/2 of!

It was a very flat omelet, but very, very good.  Especially after a workout!

Anyway, I got home and John said “You got a package.”   I danced around because I knew it was my trisuit!  I ripped open the package, shed clothes and put it on right then and there (hello neighbors!).  I love it!!!

John said “Oh my god, I married an athlete”  – then he went and got the camera LOL!

It definitely accentuates the curves, I have to say.  It is so comfy, though.   I was expecting it to feel like a wetsuit, but it doesn’t at all.  Has good compression (which I need), but not too much.  The legs come down far enough and have a gripper band that is not too tight, but stayed in place while I tested it out.   I think the top is supportive enough, I was a little concerned about that getting a larger size, because my top was really a medium.  Seemed to be okay.  I jogged in place and it was quite comfortable.  Will have to see how it does after getting wet.  I wanted to run outside and take my bike for a spin, but it is pouring rain right now.  I am a little self conscious – there is no hiding anything in this suit.   So, must get used to that.

I get to test it out in water tomorrow!

And it is officially named:  Triscuit!

Rainy day today, and I thought the Y would be packed, but it was really empty, including the pool.  That meant I had a lane all to myself so I could swim slow and drift around all I wanted LOL!  I did a swim/bike brick today.

Swim:  750 yards (sounds better than 30 laps!)

Bike:  45 minutes at 13.5 mph.

Felt pretty good, although the stationary bike is so much more different than my road bike.  Since I am a shorty, I sit very upright on the stationary bike because the seat has to be low enough to reach the pedals.  On my bike, which is made for shorter people, I lean slightly forward and can actually bend right over the handle bars to reduce drag if I want.  Oh, and the irritating thing on the stationary today? I haven’t used the bike since my birthday last week, and I had to remember to input 41 as my age instead of 40!

I’m definitely ready for the triatholon.  I will work some on speed this week and a couple more bricks.  I need to remember to start tapering in a few weeks.  The triatholon is about a month away now!  Eeeek!  I am excited and scared at the same time.

Not sure if the workout today was extra tiring (didn’t seem to be), but I actually had to lay down and nap for a while this afternoon.  I could not keep my eyes open while I was working, so I had to take a break.

Best meal pic of the day included a food that MizFit was talking about today:  Strawberries!

This delicious mixture is Fage greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey, chopped strawberries,  and Kashi GoLean cereal.  Packed full of calcium, fiber and protein.  Love it!

I eat about 2 pounds of strawberries a week, and the flavor of this week’s boxes are soooo good!  I can’t decide if my favorite berry is strawberry or blueberry.

Question:  What is your favorite berry?