There's a first time for everything...RAMBLIN ROSE TRI!!

Fear says...NO you can't.
Determination says...YES you can.
Results say...I told you so.

I still can't believe that this happened...2nd in my age group & 28th overall!!!

I sure wish I would have known my first triathlon was going to end up like this because if you were anywhere around me this past week you know that I was a nervous wreck!!!  I just couldn't seem to get past the nervousness of the "unknown"...I couldn't imagine actually being able to jump in that water when it was my turn and swim.  I had entirely too much time on my hands on Saturday morning while Trey was getting his ride in before we headed out to Huntersville-this is all I could think about.

Finally it was time to head out and we went straight to packet pickup.  We had to give our "swim ability" to determine where to place us the next morning for the swim.  Coach Trey and the lady tried to convince me to sign up faster than I was.  It was totally freaking me out to do that - I just couldn't be the girl in the lane that was getting passed because she was too slow.  I decided to stick with my decision of 6 - being a 6 min 250 swim.

Joanna & Todd met us at packet pickup, we then checked into our hotel and headed to dinner.  You would have thought we were doing an Ironman with the amount of food we ate...I just keep blaming everything on being nervous.

Surprisingly enough I slept pretty good that night and was ready to go race day morning.  I was still nervous but suddenly I felt much more calm.  Maybe because the anticipation of my first triathlon was here - IT IS TODAY!  We got there is plenty of time to set up our transition area, get our body marking and head to the pool for a practice swim.

Heading out the great unknown!

Body marking kinda makes you look like a badass!

Ready for our practice swim

This pic totally cracks me up because I realized the pool was 6ft deep in the shallowest part...with me being only 5'6", I sure better be able to make it to the other side because I never learned how to tread water - uh oh - YIKES!!

I feel like the "practice swim" eased my nerves even more...now all we do is wait for the race to start!!

They call us all together for a pre-race meeting and it is time to line up in our "swim ability" corrals.  Spectators are allowed in the pool area which was great for me...Coach Trey came out to let us know that the lanes were already clogging up-apparently people really weren't as fast as they claimed. Great, this should be fun...all I know is they better get out of my way because I HAVE to make it to the other side - ha!  It is finally time for us to enter the pool area and we stand in line chatting with Trey & Todd and watching the lanes continue to clog up...ugh!

I loved having Joanna right there in front of me...it was just us the first few lengths.
That's me in the back.

And then we start gaining on everyone - who would've ever thought I would be passing someone in the water!

WOO-HOO!  I made it!

I still look back at these pics and can't believe that is me....I actually look like I know what I'm doing. I enjoyed the swim!!  I'm not sure if I just completely stepped over the chip mat but my swim time didn't register, but according to Trey it was 5:59!!  Joanna & I high five pool side and head off to transition.  Feeling good and very confident.

Now it's time to head off on the bike...the bike felt great...just a couple of inclines and a hill coming back in to transition.  I averaged 18.1 on the bike.  My Garmin registered the bike course short.

I'm back in my comfort zone here.

Heading back in to transition.

I was enjoying the bike.  I usually do not go that fast on the bike.  I was curious how my legs were going to feel even in just that short distance.  A few steps out on the run let me know real quick!  Let's just say I was very thankful that run was only 2 miles.  I didn't wear my Garmin so I had no idea how fast I was going, but by the sound of my breathing you would have thought I was flying.

See you at the FINISH LINE

I ended up with a 17:54 run!  It hurt...its hard to go fast (or fast for me).

FINISH LINE-54:58

I ABSOLUTELY loved this race!  It was a perfect first tri...not intimidating at all, all shapes & sizes, and very laid back.  A lot of first timers.  I'm so proud of myself and I can't seem to wipe this big ol' smile off my face today:)  I will not be "one and done", I hate that I started this venture at the end of the season...but I'm going to take this winter to work on my swimming and building more confidence in my swimming.   I'm already looking forward to my next TRI!

Now, I've got to take a moment and give Joanna a huge shout out...this girl has never been on a rode bike until we signed up for this tri...she rode my old bike with regular pedals and killed the bike course!!  In fact she said that was her favorite part.  I told her I was happy I would be in a different age group than her next year.

All packed up and looking forward to the next one!

If your day starts at sunrise you may as well end it with a "Sunrise"!  We ended our morning with a delicious brunch and headed home.  It was a PERFECT day - Race, friends & food!

As most of you know, swimming has always kept me away from triathlon...if it scares you, it might be a good thing to TRI.  I'm so glad that I did.

Next goal - swim 1.2 miles!  

SWIMMING...the struggle has been REAL!!

This Sunday marks 1 week to my first triathlon and I'm excited & to put it frankly scared too death!!  I don't/didn't swim...what in the world was I thinking??!!  Over the last couple of months I have definitely realized why I have avoided the sport of swimming for so long!

Growing up in MS we didn't have swim team as kids...yes, I could swim underwater, play pool games at birthday parties, jump off the diving board, etc...but let's face it - that is NOT swimming!  As an adult I had a near drowning experience that scared me so bad I wouldn't even get in the water for years.  Then many years back I realized I wasn't scared of the water, I just didn't have a clue what to do when I got in there.  So with that being said I'm really not sure what made me decide to sign up for swimming lessons a couple of months ago.  I guess I was tired of using the excuse "I can't"...I can no longer say "I can't" but I can tell you it is a struggle every single time I get in the water:)

My swimming instructor, Liz!  She didn't know what she was getting into...LOL!

Swimming is HARD!!  It is so much harder than it looks, when I watch people who really know how to swim - it actually looks relaxing.   I can't even imagine...my head is swimming with so many things before I even push off the wall to start my swim...one day I hope to not have to THINK & just swim:)

At my first swimming lesson I could not make it halfway down the length of the pool..I have been so frustrated almost to the point of tears a few times, I've celebrated because I rocked it out one day, and then left my determination on the bottom of the pool after the next swim...The first time I was able to make it to the other end of the pool - I sounded like I had sprinted a mile.  I remember thinking how in the world am I going to be able to swim 10 lengths by 9/20...I'm telling you-the struggle is REAL!

Way out of my comfort zone

Poor Joanna has seen me on the brink of tears (obviously, not this pic)
A HUGE congrats to this fish - all she needed was a little push to get back in the water:)
SO PROUD OF HER!!

And Jen was lucky enough to see me at all SMILES!
For REAL all smiles - this was the first day I swam a 250 & 300 - this was huge for me!

These last couple of weeks have been AWESOME for my swimming confidence level...I've been able to consistently cover the race distance (250m) and much more!  Trey took over has my Coach once my lessons were over - he has been great & patient!!  I've actually listened to every single thing he has told me to do...BUT rest assured, I told him not to get use to that...LOL!  He even told me to go for 500m straight the other day - I went for it & did it!!!

I know I can do it!!  I gave it a "tri" this morning.  I had my own personal tri at the Life Center this morning.  Just another extra confidence boost...I'm ready for race day and to experience this whole triathlon world.  Who knows - I may love it or be one & done.  BUT either way - I'm so glad I faced my fears and took the plunge into the water...on good days I actually love it!

Stay tuned...race day is next Sunday, 9/20...so if you are up early, please send a few positive vibes to Huntersville, NC for us!

Thanks Friends!

This sounded like a good idea 5 1/2 months ago:-)

I would NEVER discourage anyone from running a marathon...in fact, I would be one of your biggest supporters & even do the training with you...so before you read this race update please know that!  My marathons have been spread out over many years, my last being when I turned 40 (four years ago). I ran that one with Trey-he was coming off of an Ironman and had an endurance base that could keep him going for days-ha!  He pushed me too hard, I bonked, wanted to cry, wanted to quit, hated every step I took, etc...BUT in the end I had my best marathon time.  There were times I seriously thought I may not make it...so my main goal for this marathon was to not feel like that & as you can tell from this pic I accomplished that-ha!

2011/2015

This pic cracks me up!

I LOVED training for this marathon...if you followed my posts on Facebook you know we trained in every weather condition possible, except heat and wind!  I was so confident going into this marathon and was pretty much "giddy" about it - I could not wait!  I made sure to take care of myself, stayed healthy, stretched, even followed all the rules during taper week - I was ready!

Trey had meetings scheduled in Myrtle Beach on Friday so we drove down on Thursday afternoon.  After Trey's meetings on Friday we went to the expo to pick up our race packets and waited for our friends to get there.  There seems to always be some type of race story when it comes to us - somehow Trey signed up twice for this marathon (but I know we were only charged once or I would have caught it) and his nickname on his bib was Viva Myrtle Beach - ha!ha!  We thought for sure Sharon Keiser had played a trick on him when they were signing up last year but she swears she didn't do it!!

I've always loved this race because it starts early...6:30 a.m.  We met in the lobby around 5:55 and walked to the start.  It was very cold but perfect temperature to run!

Sharon was injured so ended up doing the half marathon .

A few race day jitters but we are so ready!

Can you pick out the FL girls:)

We make it to the start with a few minutes to spare and line up!

All smiles & ready to ROCK!

Just in time for a pre-start selfie & we are off!!

Five and a half months of training and 467 miles later we are FINALLY here!!!  The first half of the race goes great...we ditched our Goodwill sweatshirts pretty soon after we started.  Got a few comments on our cute race shirts because if you live in SC you MUST have a monogrammed shirt to wear on race day!!

We saw Todd and the gang at the cut off point where you turn off if you are doing the half or stay straight (& straight & straight) if you are doing the full.  I remember thinking that I can't believe we have already made it to this point.  We ditched the cute long sleeves & gloves and headed out.  Thrilled at the way we felt:)  I made sure to point out to Joanna where I pretty much hit the wall during my last marathon that I ran with Trey and was super confident that I was blazing right through it, mentally & physically-woohoo!  THEN...

Around mile 19 the wind slapped us right in the face.  Wind makes my nose run out of control and it seriously zaps all the energy that I have!  UGH...I turn into such a whiny baby, just ask any of my friends who have been so lucky to experience this:)  For me the race went pretty much downhill (or uphill) from there.  The wind had zapped the fun out of my day.   We actually felt great physically we just couldn't seem to move forward...I thought each step you take was suppose to get you closer to the finish line!!!

It was AWESOME seeing the gang again about mile 21...we complained to them, still smiling the whole time, and told them hopefully we would see them by midnight!  We were running on a paved trail around this time and was surrounded by trees thinking surely this would be a wind blocker - NOPE!  So once we got off the trail, we decided to stop for a minute & try to regroup...I knew Trey would have finished by now and would be looking for us soon...but he wasn't going to be seeing us anytime soon!

For some reason this goofy picture lifted our spirits.

Somehow we FINALLY made it to the FINISH!

You know me, I can't just run like a normal person to the finish line - I must stop to explain!

This is me telling Trey, Keiser & Sharon that we CRACKED!!

My favorite running buddy!!

After looking at these pics, we don't look like we cracked.  I told you we just kept smiling.  We had a cute lady at the end tell us we acted like we were having a blast out there...I'm not sure I would totally agree with her!

Peanut butter cookie, kettle corn & a beer! 

FIVE sounds like a good number to retire from the marathon distance.  I know don't ever say never BUT, I can tell you that it will be many years from now because I need to forget again exactly how far that really is to run.  My marathon times are spread all across the board...I guess at the end of the day it is 26.2 miles and its hard to fully prepare yourself for what can/might happen!

Marathon #1 - 5:17

Marathon #2 - 4:21

Marathon #3 - 4:23

Marathon #4 - 4:09

Marathon #5 - 4:37

These are spread out over at least a 10 year period.  I'm pretty sure I probably said "never again" after each of them.  I know for sure there was a couple of years break between the first and second.   

There was definitely no "Runner's High" during this race...I never felt bad (actually felt pretty good) - we just couldn't seem to find the Finish Line!!

I'm looking forward to taking the next two weeks off from any strenuous exercise and from the looks of the weather it is the perfect time to do it!  Thanks again everyone for all of your support & now go sign up for a MARATHON!!