the story of my 2nd sprint triathlon

this will be long.
and there are no results.
i'll post those once i get them...i had NO watch or anything on and i have NO idea what my times were for ANYTHING...

i did it!
finished my 2nd sprint triathlon.
i'll just say it wasn't what i was expecting...

i had done 1 of these almost 2 years ago now...so i thought i knew what to expect a lot better.
there are so many details involved in a triathlon...you have to "transition" two time (change from being a swimmer to a biker...and then a biker to a runner...and it all happens outside on a street next to tons of other people...)
i wasn't nervous about that part.
since i had done it before.

anyways...i did everything i could have going into this to be prepared.
ran.
swam.
bikes {actually, i wouldn't have liked to bike a few more times...but everyone knows how to ride a bike, right??}
ate decent yesterday.
drank TONS of water yesterday.
didn't exercise fri or sat.
got plenty of rest.
i was SET!

woke up this morning.
nursed sawyer and then i got dressed and left.
i woke up LATER than normal! 6 am! yay for triathlons IN my neighborhood!!!
great temperature...but THICK FOG!
i rode my bike to the triathlon {it started at the pool about a mile from my house}.
it was less trouble to just ride my bike than load it on the car.
but i was nervous riding my bike in the fog.

got there safely.
got all my "stuff" set up by my bike {this is where you can tell the "real" triathletes from the "just out here" triathletes...kind of funny...you should see how serious some of them are at setting their stuff up JUST RIGHT! but if i could swim/bike/run as fast as them...i would do the same. for me, a few seconds isn't going to make a difference :-)}
and went to line up at the pool.

i knew the water was going to be cold.
BUT I WAS NOT EXPECTING IT TO BE THAT COLD!
oh.my.gosh.
so basically this is how it works.
you start one at a time. 15 seconds apart.
you are lined up in order fastest to slowest.
after the person ahead of you is told to "GO!" you have 15 seconds to jump in, get your goggles on and then they count down..."5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!"
i jumped in.
and went.
and couldn't catch my breath for the first 50 meters.
after that i was ok.
it was in a 50 meter pool {i normally swim in a 25 meter pool} so that was different.
i was not expecting it to make such a difference to me.
and you swim down and back in the same lane.
so when you are swimming, someone is coming back in the same lane...you're pretty close.
i knew that.
did it last time.
lots of water splashing. can get tricky.
but about 400 meters into it...i put my face up for air and breath in the ENTIRE wall of water from someone's kick...in my mouth, nose...i start choking but keep swimming.
i swim often.
and have choked often...and have gotten pretty good at swimming through my choking {maybe kind of like running through a side cramp?}
but this was BAD.
i never stopped.
but it definitely was NOT a fun last 400 meters.
and but by the time i got out of the pool...i had an AWFUL headache.
NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING.

but...moving on!
transition to the bike...no issues {although i REALLY wanted some water..WHY didn't i put a water bottle on my bike??}
i was kind of dreading the bike part.
didn't feel strong at it.
didn't train as much as i wanted on it.
but i actually REALLY enjoyed it and felt GREAT!
passed a few people {and got passed by LOTS of people}
pat and the kids saw me twice on the bike route...
this was the first time {can you tell it's foggy??} - around mile 5 {of 12 very hilly miles}

my cheerleaders!

the second time...the sun was coming out and the fog was lifting a little...around mile 10
like i said, the bike felt great...but i did still have a headache..and started seeing "spots"...this "thing" happens to me sometimes.
when i tell pat, "the thing happened", he knows what it means.
it hasn't happened in a LONG time...it used to happen very frequently...but it happened today...more on that later...NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING!

the transition from bike to run is WAY easier than from swim to bike.
you basically just leave your bike and trade your helmet for a hat (unless you're fancy and have those bike shoes and then you have to change your shoes).
i start the run.
it was pretty flat.
which was nice after all those hills on the bike.
and i run these trails EVERY MORNING.
i was pretty much in automatic.
because i could hardly see through the spots in my eyes.
and the sun came out full force...it got HOT and HUMID quickly!

saw pat and the kids again...gave them all hugs. :-)
it was HARD to get going again after stopping!!!

his nose is looking MUCH better :-)

and i finished.

relief!
i loved it...even with all the unexpected stuff.
i love showing my kids that i love to exercise.
i love being around other people that love to exercise.
the "triathlon people" are a really nice group of people...friendly...gracious...very enjoyable!

so...back to "the thing".
this is normally what happens...
i start seeing spots in my eyes, it lasts for awhile (30 minutes to a couple hours), it finally goes away and i am left with a KILLER headache (where i can't really even open my eyes) and am nauseous til the headache goes away. the whole "thing" can last like 4 hours! i don't have TIME for things like that!

but it's NEVER happened WHILE i was exercising. sometimes after i exercise. and i have always assumed it's low blood sugar or something like that. but that doesn't make sense for this morning. i ate well yesterday. and ate this morning. i think it must have been the lack of oxygen while i was choking for so long.

so...we get home.
pat and rebekah and joshua leave right away.
they are going to a Nationals baseball game with Joshua's tball team.

i am left with bailey {who doesn't stop talking} and sawyer {who thankfully at this point is sleeping} and spots in my eyes. i need a shower. i need to take advil for the headache that i know is coming. and i need to eat and drink.

i drink.
and eat.
then take a shower.
by the time i'm done with my shower...the headache has come on FULL FORCE and i feel SO sick to my stomach.
i literally thought my brain was going to explode.
i called pat and told him to call me every 15 minutes.
i told him if i didn't answer to COME HOME because i had an aneurism or something.
i turned a show on for bailey.
whispered to her to NOT TALK.
and laid on the couch with her...for 2 hours...{i got sawyer up at some point...}
that's how long it took for the headache to start letting up.

once i could open my eyes...i got up...fed them lunch...and we played a couple games and read some books before we ALL took a nap.
my head feels totally normal now.
and i feel fine.
i really wish that whole thing didn't happen so i could see how i felt after the triathlon.
i was hoping to not feel so tired...since i trained so much...but the whole "thing" threw me off.

so...not what i was expecting.
but i still loved it and am so glad i did it!
thanks for all your thoughts and encouragement!!!

i think i'm headed to the pool once bailey and sawyer wake up!
it'll be a BREEZE with just the 2 of them! :-)