Officially a triathlete.

In the wee hours of the morning yesterday, my husband and myself stirred out of bed and did what no man has willingly done before-- put on our tri suits. For those of you who have never done this, a women's triathlon top is a spandex mastectomy, eliminating any and all curves in an attempt to make you more hydrodynamic (or something). I was sleepy, flat chested, and in a very cold car, preparing myself mentally for the 400 meter swim that was to take place outdoors in roughly 60 degree weather, followed by the 9 mile bike ride and the 3 mile run.

When we got in line for the swim, we were spaced apart according to how quickly we thought we could do the swim. Bobby got in the 11 minute part of the line, and I got in the 14 minute line. The race started at 8 a.m., but my feet didn't touch the water until 8:35. I watched Bobby as he swam through his group, and it was apparent that he was in the wrong swim group. He ended up swimming it in eight and a half minutes. I knew I was in the wrong group when I passed the guy in front of me before the first leg of the first lap. I completed the swim in ten and a half minutes.

After the swim, we had to scurry to the parking lot to transition to the bike. My lovely sense of direction induced a slight panic attack, because where I swore up and down I left my bike, it was not there. Before I required the paper sack to breathe into, I discovered my bike was one row over, and quickly changed into my biking attire. My husband assured me that the ride and the run would be on a flat course. Oh, silly Bobby. The ride started with a very long, moderately steep climb, and because it was a lap course, it was a climb we would have to complete twice. It didn't help that my impeccable sense of direction also sent me going the opposite way the race required, and I had to turn around. Ah, well.

When I finished the ride, I was pulling into the transition area when I saw Bobby. He had already finished the race, and met me while I was pulling on my tennis shoes. The prince charming he is, he ran the first half of the 3 miles with me. We don't have fuel belts (yet), so I was pretty dependent on the water the race staff was handing out after the giant hill in the run. When I got there, however, the water was all gone and instead, there was a cup of ice handed to me. Boo. After the first lap, Bobby complained of feeling sick to his stomach and "tired" (whatever), so I was left on my own for the last lap. We discovered yesterday that people pushed to the brink of death are very friendly, so I had no problem finding people to talk to on the run. I spent a good leg of that lap discussing century bike rides with a lady who had just completed the Ulcer earlier this year, and she gave me some helpful tips on the century we're scheduled to complete later this month (a century is a 100 mile bike ride). She got very tired, though, and I still felt pretty energetic, so I scurried over to the finish line. I finished my first triathlon without feeling like I was going to die, which was my goal after only 2 weeks of training for it.

Bobby ended up taking 2nd for his division, and naturally, because they give medals to the top three finishers in each division, I took 4th. I took 4th out of 8 in my division, though, and it was my first tri, so I'm pretty satisfied. In addition to Bobby's medal, we also took home a couple collapsable coolers, a protein shaker, and a Spoon Me gift card, because we're greedy and patient and stayed after everyone was leaving to take the raffle stuff no one picked up. Bwahaha!

On a slightly different note, I got a call Friday afternoon and was offered the job at the women's shelter that sounds like a dream come true. On Tuesday, I'll begin training to become their Aftercare Coordinator. Three cheers for helping to save the world (and for getting a pay check again). Hip, hip, HOORAY!