No Better Way to Celebrate!
The Go Fremont County Triathlon was hosted on July 30. My birthday is July 31. This was my golden birthday year as I turned 31 on the 31st. Somehow I knew this was a time to celebrate. I had wonderful people come into my life that week. Ethan's family came to visit; my good friend, Theresa, traveled many hours to come race with me; my sister and her boyfriend came to watch the race.
This is the SWEET camo bucket my husband completed the night before my race. I was exhausted, and ran out of time to make my super cool bucket to match my camo themed race. What a guy! I'm so thankful for such a great and supportive partner. I later found out that he didn't like the white rim at the bottom, so he stayed up even later, and covered the rest of it. It even has a pad on the top for me to sit on!
Race day came, and I was so excited. My first triathlon was full of nerves, but this one was all excitement. Maybe because I knew lots of people :)
I had two goals set for myself. We can't create what we truly want if we don't set the stage to create it!
Swim time, baby! I felt so strong in this swim. It was longer than the Cody Triathlon swim, but it felt good. I look at this, and still can't believe I've done this for myself. It's also cool to think that we all start somewhere, and we each get to decide where we go from that point. I like where I decided to go :)
Transition to the bike. I've learned that pulling on thick bike shorts over my wet legs is just not productive. Time to change that up. Huge bonus this time...I remembered to untie my shoes BEFORE the race. No swear words this time. See, there's always room for improvement.
OMGosh! These bike shorts do nothing for my back side. Glad I decided to buy some thinner tri shorts. I can wear them in the pool. Time to find another race to see how much faster my transition time is (and if my butt looks any better).
This was a HUGE highlight of the race for me. This was the first time Ethan saw me race. It was so cool to see him in the last leg of my run and get that high five. Something I'm starting to understand and be more grateful for is that we have the power to create on our own, but there are VIPs that help us bring our creations to life. I have the drive to train, and I want these awesome experiences for myself, but my husband is a VIP in the formation of these experiences. His support gives me the extra boost I need to be the best person I was put here to be. My sister is the one taking these pictures, and she pretty much rocks my world, too. I have lots to say about her when I blog about the Grand Teton Relay.
Me with my VIP :)
I finished! I'm crying again. Yep, I'm a crier. Why? Because, I met one of my goals, and that was to finish in under an hour and 30 minutes. I finished in 1:27. This was 7 minutes faster than my Cody Tri, and this was a longer swim plus my chain fell off during my uphill climb.
It was so cool to be greeted by my husband, sister, and my dear friend at the finish line.
There she is! Theresa and I sportin' or cool buckets. She rocks :) Who else would travel 17 hours (supposed to be 12, Theresa) to spend a week with our family so we can race together. She's on the VIP list, too. She was my inspiration to start racing tri's. Thanks, Theresa!
Here's another VIP. Brittney and I have been getting up early together and training a couple days a week. She rocked it! It was her first tri. She overcame a huge fear of swimming. So proud to share this day with her. I have more bragging to do about her when I blog about the Grand Teton Relay :)
We're missing a few people in this photo. Kelli Gard (raced pregnant and made me cry when she crossed the finish line with her kids), and Jill Morris (signed up two days before the race because she wanted to do this for herself, and I got to watch her finish). Four of us out of this picture went on to race the Grand Teton Relay. The cool thing is that we're all working toward something. We're all players in each other's goals, dreams, successes. I look at all of these people as inspiration. Thank you!
Time to celebrate. 31 on the 31st. This is my year! What else is in store for me? I can't wait to find out.
Something I read today inspired me to get my blog updated:
"Reality is big, Sarah, but your dreams are bigger. You came first, Sarah." Thanks, TUT!
Your dreams are bigger than your reality, too. Our dreams and the journey to get there becomes our reality. Use this quote, put your name in there, and see what you can create for yourself! Don't forget about your VIPs. Thank them, send them love, and always be grateful that they are exactly where you need them to be, always.
Dream big!
Sarah
