Bear Lake Brawl 70.3 in the Books. I did it!!!

 I accomplished my goal! 

I finished a half-ironman distance triathlon, which consists of;
- a 1.2 mile swim
- a 56 mile bike ride
- a 13.1 mile run

I finished in 6:46:14, which is not a fast time, but considering my goal was to finish before the 8 hour deadline I was ecstatic about it!  

I had a great day, I couldn't stop smiling.  I don't know why, but I love the triathlon.  The training, the comradarie, the challenge and adventure.  The variety...it's just fun!  Maybe soon I will post some more pictures (or video...my dad took lots of video).

blogger is not being cooperative, though, and I am a little self-conscious about plastering this post with pictures of me in a tri-suit.

I am so glad I saw this through, and I'm so thankful for friends who helped me get up and train: 

My sisters in law:  We'd been up for three hours and were feeling silly.  These girls would get up at 3:45am and walk with me for hours (and Valerie, too, who is not pictured) - sometimes in the freezing cold rain.  I love them.  They are so, so awesome and I hope we will keep walking.

 A month  before the race, my parents (who live in Bear Lake) took my  kids and I was free to swim,  bike and run to ease my nerves and get ready.  Then, on race day they took over again, and were the best cheerleaders!

My brother Jonny.  Back in November, I told my brother I wanted to do a Half-Ironman.  I asked if he would do it with me, and without hesitation, he said, "Sure!"  "But that means we're really doing it."  He is a die-hard, weekend warrior, signing up for all sorts of crazy races.  When he puts his mind to something, he doesn't give himself an out, and he wouldn't let me, either.

My darling friend Julie.  I saw her at the gym in the winter (she's always at the gym).  We had done a tri together before, and I really wanted to train with her again.  She signed up for the Olympic distance.  This girl is an animal, she can average 17mph on her MOUNTAIN BIKE.  She called me regularly and trained harder than I did.  She went open water swimming with me and helped me get over that fear.  Julie made the whole process fun!

And of course my kids and my Sam.  Sam's office is at home and he willingly spent a lot of time doing double duty with the kids until I could come home from long training mornings.  He never complained and always acted like this race was in the bag.  That I could do it.  That was a huge boost for me.


All in all it was a beautiful day and I had a blast!