Florida International Triathlon

This past Saturday, Eric & I competed in the Florida International Triathlon! The last tri I did was in October of 2008, right before I found out I was pregnant with Siena. I really couldn't wait to do another one... I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think about it ALL the time! I mean, I LOVE running... the 5K will always be my first love... but there is something about triathlons that really excites me. It's a huge challenge to train for 3 sports at once, and there's so much to think about, equipment to arrange, and little things, like the transitions, to master. I like being pushed to the limit and find out what I'm really capable of.

Lately I've been reading through Donald Miller's books, which I highly recommend (as well as his blog that I've linked to on the right) and there's a quote from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years that I love. I'm going to have to paraphrase it, because now I can't find it... but he says, "I want to live my life in tears and pain." I know that sounds terrible, but when I read that I thought, "YES!" That's exactly how I feel. I don't want to sit on the couch, I don't want to do what's easy and safe and boring. Getting out and living life to the fullest may involve taking risks and it may hurt sometimes, but it's always worth it in the end. For me, this has everything to do with triathlons. After swimming and biking, the run is TOUGH, but for me, it's a good kind of pain.... the kind I need in order to feel really alive.

So, anyways, it was so much fun! Siesta Key is simply beautiful, with some of the whitest, softest sand you've ever seen. Of course, I was a little nervous about the swim, as usual. Swimming is definitely my weakness since I didn't grow up on a swim team like my husband and his family of fish. But I'm proud to say that I've worked hard at it, waking up early in the morning and going to the pool whenever I can. When I started, it was tough for me to even swim more than 2 laps without taking a break. This morning I swam 40! And I felt like I could have kept going... if I didn't need to get home and help with getting the kids' breakfast!

It was Eric's very first triathlon and he was awesome, just like I knew he would be! It was fun to start the race together and see each other on the course... we even got to high five on the run!
Here are our results:

Eric    1:12:47  7:09  3:23  37:54  0:47  23:36   

Shannon 1:16:52  9:30  2:32  41:58  0:49  22:05

Here is what the times are for, in this order: overall, swim (1/4 mile), transition 1, bike (13 miles), transition 2, and run (5K). So Eric got 4th in his age group, and he was the fastest swimmer! I got 1st in my age group and I was the fastest runner! Not too shabby!!

My parents took lots of great pictures...

We got there super early... it was still dark out! But the kids did so well!

Before the race on the beach:



The guys start (Eric's in there somewhere!)


The girls start:
Eric running out of the water:
Me (I'm always euphoric at this point for having survived the swim... can you tell?!)

Me, on the bike:
Chase, cheering us on!
Me on the run! Okay, my mom loves Eric, seriously, but she said he was too fast and she couldn't get her camera in time for the bike and run and he flew right past her!


At the finish line! Can't wait for the next one... June 20th in St. Augustine!!