We Did It!

After weeks and weeks of working out 5-6 times/week, we are finally done!! What an AMAZING experience.

I want to start off by thanking Katrina. Even after a long days at work and the last thing you want to do is bike 8 miles and run 2, she was always there pushing me. Through the sweat, bike crashes (and almost bike crashes that I somehow managed to recover from), tears, laughter, muscle aches, hard work and determination, we were always there for each other which made it so much more than just a race. So Thank You!

This event absolutely blew my mind. It was such an amazing day. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and probably will!

We started off with a half-mile swim in Lake Washington. It was craziness! Our wave had about 150 women. The first 7 mins. or so was spent weaving in between people to try and get a clear route. I was getting kicked and bumped all around. It was chaos! Once I got out past the large group, it was much easier to keep pace. The water felt amazing! We made great time considering the fact that there were a few hundred people in the water at the same time going the same direction! By the end of the swim I was definitely winded and as soon as I got out of the water, my muscles were all wobbly and I was a bit dizzy (which is something they told us would happen). It was interesting getting out of the water and running to the transition area to change into bike gear. As soon as I saw my family there cheering me on though, I got a huge bolt of energy that carried me all the way through!

Next was a 12/13 mile bike ride. We rode from Seattle to Mercer Island and back. It was fairly easy. In hindsight I wish I would have pushed myself a little harder. I was trying to pace myself and conserve some energy for the run. Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20! There were some major hills though that definitely pushed my quads to their limit! Wow!

And finally, the run! It was about 3.2 miles and boy was it interesting getting off a bike and onto the ground to try to run. Your legs feel like tree stumps. Just exhausted! I started the run off pretty slow, drinking some water and trying to pace myself. I started to pick up the pace and was feeling pretty good about it. I was thinking that I had to be about half-way done and feeling rather good about myself. I saw a Danskin volunteer and decided to ask her how far along I was (thinking she would say about 2), she looked at me with this huge smile and said, "You're at .8 of a mile! Good job!" I looked at her like, "Are you kidding me????" LOL. I thought I was almost done! But yet again, my family was all there cheering for me so I luckily got a burst of energy that carried me through the run in a rather quick time! I was pretty much sprinting the last mile as I figured the faster I went, the sooner it would be over! LOL. You can see a pic below of me crossing the finish line. I was full speed! LOL.

I feel really good today. Not sore at all! I am a little shocked considering the big event. I guess all that training paid off!

Katrina and I were SO LUCKY to have our friends and family there to support us through every event. We had 11 people total waiting for us at the finish line!! The cheering squad definitely helped push us and it felt really great to have all those people there just for us! So thank you family, you are wonderful!!!! We REALLY appreciate your support.

I also want to thank our husbands. Wes and Dag Rune have been our BIGGEST fans through all of this. Thank you, husbands, for cooking us many, many dinners, massaging our aching muscles, bringing us Advil, asking us about our workouts, taking tons of pics at the events, cheering us on, and for being there at the end not minding that we jumped all over you while dripping with sweat! You are amazing. Thank you for the flowers, too. That was a wonderful surprise!

Final Results:

Swim (half mile)- 20 minutes and 32 seconds

Bike (12/13 miles)- 42 minutes and 56 seconds (about 16.7 MPH)

Run (3.2 miles)- 29 minutes and 53 seconds (9:38 minute mile)

(Note: More pics to come. There are professional photographers along all of the routes taking pics. I will post those when I get them!)

Before the swim!

Finished the swim and on my way to the transition area to start the bike ride.

Finishing the bike ride!

This is me celebrating the end of the bike as I hear my family cheering for me!!!

Katrina's strong finish!

The finish line!!!!

These were on our doorstep when we got home. Thanks babe! I love you!