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| Sunday September 23rd, 2018 |
11 weeks of training and my race is finally here, I can't believe how fast it has gone by. I started my weight loss journey back in March when I began my first round of Whole30 and I have not looked back since. I knew I needed to sign up for a race to keep me on my journey and I was ready to put myself back out there again. It's been over 3 years since I have competed in a triathlon and now that I'm gaining my confidence back I wanted to really push myself again. I looked at a few different races and found the Disco triathlon, it looked like so much fun and was rated one of their top races of the year but I couldn't get myself to sign up right away. It took me a good week to make the decision as I was so nervous, I first thought about signing up for the sprint distance but I really wanted to challenge myself and with all that I have learned from my new nutritional plan I decided to sign up for the Olympic distance which would consist of a 1 mile open water swim at Lake Ray Roberts, 23 mile bike ride and then a 10K (6.2) mile run. After I signed up for it I thought what the heck did I just do and did I take on too much???
Well I made it to RACE DAY!!! It's been a long 11 weeks of training but I'm so proud of myself for giving it all I had to get me to this point. I had good and bad training day's but I never gave up and kept reminding myself why I was doing this. I packed all my stuff in my tri bag the night before and set up my breakfast before going to bed as I knew I probably wouldn't get much sleep. I went to bed around 9:30pm, it as a long night as I tossed and turned most of the night. Only getting about 2 hours of sleep my alarm went off at 4:40am which I hit snooze one time as I was feeling pretty exhausted. I finally got up just before 5am gathered myself and got ready, it was a little chilly out and drizzling which was expected. I knew it was going to be a tough day with the weather as it's been raining for a few days now and today was no different, I was extremely nervous the whole morning getting ready as I have never raced in any other weather but sunshine or wind. Rich and the girls all got up around the same time as me and go ready for the day, my bike was put in the back of our truck covered with a trash bag to help from getting too wet and we all piled into our truck and left the house around 5:25am. I tried to stay calm on the way as Rich drove but as usual I stressed myself out and started to panic as if I had anything to worry about. The hardest part for me on any race is the "unknown" factor the things I don't have control over it's also the scariest thing for me. It's always very emotional before I start as I work so hard to get to this point and I want to leave it all out on the course that's the competitiveness in me.
We arrived at Lake Ray Roberts around 6:20am found a parking spot close to transition which was nice, once we parked we all got out of the truck and felt the cold and rain that is when I began to shake from being cold and wondering what the heck was I about to do and was this going to safe. Then I looked around and saw all these other athletes who parked and piled out of their vehicles to do the same thing I was doing....so I wasn't the only crazy one then. Before entering into the transition area to get my stuff set up I had to get body marked which was fun as me and every other person were all doing this at the same time you can imagine how fun that was..hahaha. Once I entered I found a spot that was as close to the spectators as possible so Rich and the girls could help me find my bike and running stuff. I set up my (Rich's) good luck blue towel along with all my bike stuff and running stuff as I wanted to be ready. The weather was just not cooperating that is when the race director announced that the water was not safe for the longer swim distances and that they would need to shorten the swim for those racing the Olympic distance and X-50 distance. Instead of us swimming 1 mile they reduced it to a sprint distance of 500 meters, I was so happy when I heard that announcement as that was the scariest part for me even though I have done a few open water races I still was very nervous. This also pushed our start times back which meant instead of me going into the water at around 7:45am I would enter around 8:15am or 8:20am which was not fun considering I was shivering from the cold but there was nothing I could do about that.
Once transition closed we all headed down to the water to prepare the wave starts, that is when my friends showed up with awesome signs and lots of hugs and encouragement. I could not tell you how excited I was to have such amazing people in my life who came to support me in the rain on a rather chilly day. Once I got to the starting line my stomach sank and the nerves set in once again, I got in the water to test out my goggles and I surprised how warm the temperature of the water really was someone said it was above 80's which was so wonderful. I spent several minutes just hanging out in the water to stay warm before my wave went off. After watching everyone go off in their wave it was finally my turn and I was so ready to get this race going. We all walked to our starting po
sition which was standing on the beach ready to run into the water and start swimming, the best part is my daughter Lindsey was the one who got to blow the horn for our wave since I was racing that made me so proud and lucky to see that. Once she blew that horn we were all off and running like crazy people into the lake and off we went for the swim. It was horrible as the waves were so high and hard to get into a grove, then I swallowed a bunch of water which made me almost throw up 2 times on top of getting kicked in the face and tugging on my arms and legs. Oh yes it was so much fun..lol. I really struggled getting into a grove all I kept doing was looking for points like the buoys to get me through. Once I turned to head to land I felt so much better and mentally pushed my self to just finish up strong. I came out of the water around 12 mins
which was not a good time for me but considering the water conditions and 3 year gap of racing I was glad to have just finished that swim. My support crew was standing by the water cheering me on as I came out and began to run up the hill to transition, I found my bike put on my socks, bike shoes, helmet and glasses and away I went for a 23 mile bike ride. Rich was running all over the place coaching me of what to do next and what I needed to do to get my self on that podium, to some people it seemed like he was crazy and who was this guy yelling at me but to me it my motivation and encouragement to push myself to my goal.
Once on the bike I was off and going, I felt cold for most of the ride and the weather was horrible. The clouds were thick which made it that much harder to see, I had my dark lenses on which is good for riding with the sun but not when it's cloudy out, I should have changed them out to my yellow or clear lenses. I needed to wear them due to the rain and avoid getting bugs or rocks in my eyes...note to self for next rainy race change out lenses. I felt good on the bike but I did ride more cautiously due to the weather, I also saw many people with flats on the side of the road which scared me as I didn't want to have to change a flat in these conditions. I kept myself calm and just kept riding, it was an up and down
course which is what I was use to training on so that was no surprise. At one point I hit a hill and looked down thinking I just need to hold on for dear life and hope I don't crash or die I hit 29 mph going down that hill and I made it safe and sound. It was so scary but so much fun, Rich always told me to leave everything I have on the course well I sure did that. As I came around my last corner I saw my support crew holding their signs and screaming my name as I finished up my bike and headed to transition. It made me feel so good and really helped push me for my run. I found my stuff racked my bike took off my helmet, changed shoes put on my visor, grabbed my water bottle and away I went for my next sport.
Once again Rich was coaching me as I left transition to my run of a 10K the last leg of my race. I had been working so hard on my running so I was hoping for a good run, well I'm sad to say that's not what happen. I messed up my nutrition on my bike due to the weather so I ended up playing catch up which was not a smart thing to do and that really affected me on my run. I got around mile 2 and started to feel sick so I kept drinking water as I wasn't sure what was wrong, at this point the rain had stopped and the humidity set in so now I was wet and sweaty with
stomach issues....perfect! This is when I had to mentally push and coach my way through this, I started to come around to the half way point for my second loop and heard my crew cheering people on until they saw me and started to scream and jump up and down and told me to keep going and that I was doing such a great job....that meant the world to me and it was exactly what I needed to hear at that time. Rich also told me I was about 3 minutes behind from the possible leader and that I needed to step it up if I wanted to get on that podium. The next 3 miles I struggled more than I should have, I wanted so bad to go faster I just could not breath and my stomach was still not right at that point I was doing a walk/jog just to keep me going. I did a lot of those on the up hills and then ran on the down hills. I came around the same last corner and heard my crew cheering me on, that is when I saw my girls waiting for me to help run with me down to the final stretch to the finish line. I finished the race and I was so proud of myself, I worked 11 hard weeks to get me here and the joy of sharing that finish with my daughters and husband meant everything to me. My total over all time was 3 hours and 1 minute, I was extremely proud of my time and finishing that race I just wasn't sure if it was enough to place me in the top 3 for Athena 39 and Under.
After the race I went and gave Rich a big hug and cried it out for a minute and thanked him for all his support along with my kids. I then found my friends who came over and gave me lots of hugs and congratulated me for finishing. I thanked them a million times for all their support and cheering that is what truly made me finish today. Now it was time to wait and see the final results of where I placed, when they announced Athena 39 and Under they called my name as second place...I was shocked and yet so happy that I did it. I stood on that podium as a very proud and accomplished person it reminded me of why I worked so hard and how bad I wanted it. Not only did I get a
finishers medal for the race but also go a trophy for 2nd place, it was a tough day with crazy conditions but I made it through by pushing myself and concorded what I set out to do and that was finish an Olympic triathlon after not racing for over 3 years. I set out on this journey to get myself back into shape and do what I love doing which is competing and I got so much more out of it. I got my confidence back, my drive to work hard and my will to push myself, including losing weight and getting healthy. I now have the triathlon racing bug again and it feels amazing, since this season is almost over its time to step up my off season training so I'm ready for next year. I have 6 races already picked out that I'm so excited for...let the off season training begin!!!
MY FAMILY AND SUPPORT CREW!
GO TEAM WEISS!
