I originally wanted to blog about the training process, why I decided to do a triathlon and how I got involved with Team In Training (TNT). That never happened, so I will briefly summarize here:
1. My friend Mindy made me do it. Heee, Heee...that is kind of a joke between us because she was the one that first mentioned doing a triathlon and I said, "OK!"
.JPG)
2. We were introduced to TNT through Mindy's daughter's P.E. coach at her school (Barb). TNT is the fundraising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that trains amature athletes to compete in marathons, half-marathons, triathlons and century (100 mile) bike rides. In the process, you as a participant raise money to fight blood-related cancers.
3. Our neice, Sarah is currently battling leukemia, so it was an easy decision to join TNT.
...it's one week away from race day and I get the creeping crud that seems to be going around. I wanted to freak out, but I trusted my homeopathic remedy regimen and God that I would be ready on race day. Fortunately I was feeling 100% better by Friday (two days before the event). I needed to be mostly packed since we were leaving for Phoenix around 8:00am the next day...
Saturday (one day before race): I was actually pretty organized so I wasn't stressed out until I went to load my bike in the van...flat front tire. No worries though, because I had just purchased two brand new tubes to carry with me during the race in the saddlebag on my bike. I have changed tire tubes several times before, so this was not a big deal...new tube in, tire pumped up, bike in van, now off to Phoenix! Ten minutes later...
Pshhhhhhhhh!!! That terrible sound of a tire quickly deflating...hmmm. I'm concerned, but not overly worried at this point because I still had one spare tube with me and we would be seeing my coach in just a couple of hours. Also, because it was still so early in the day, I knew that if I needed to get to a bike store, I had plenty of time, or so I thought.
Unfortunately, once we got to Phoenix, we had very little time to deal with my bike, so Coach Josh (who is awesome, by the way!) decided that he would go over bike issues after the "Inspiration Dinner" that night, and we all headed out to the Carefree Resort for the pre-race meeting and expo (lots of cool shwag like pom-poms, t-shirts, bells for spectators, and Samantha got to make a "GO MOMMY!" sign to cheer me on--love it!). During the meeting, they went over the course and that is when we learned that the bike AND run portions were very hilly (can I say Sabino Canyon or Old Spanish Trail?). I actually started to panic a bit because even though we had done lots of hill training, I hadn't been on my bike for over a week.
After the meeting, Herb decided to take Samantha back to the hotel to meet up with my mom and stepdad who were coming up for the event. The team headed out to Lake Pleasant for a practice swim in our wetsuits. Ok, so here I could go on, and on, and on, and on...AND ON about how far it is from Carefree to the lake, I mean, really...why so stinkin' far??? And that no one had a good map of the lake so we drove around the stupid thing until we were almost dizzy just trying to find an access road to the water since all the main roads had been blocked in preparation for the race the next day. By the time we found a spindly little sandbar that we practically had to 4-wheel to get to, we were able to get our wetsuits on, swim MAYBE 100m, then back out to get to the hotel in time for dinner...not a huge confidence builder and I was still thinking about my flat tire at 4:30pm...argh! So....
Back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner. Dinner was great and everyone was excited! Samantha sat next to Thera's boyfriend, Roland and practically talked his ear off! He was so sweet about it too.
Mom and Samantha...my cheerleaders!
After dinner, family and friends went off to bed (around 8:00pm) and it was finally time to deal with my bike! Josh demonstrated how to change the tube and in the process checked the tire to see if he could see anything that could be poking through causing the flats. Nothing obvious was noted, so he put my last spare in and filled the tire using a Co2 cartridge (we were wondering if I had just bought a faulty tube and hoped that the other one would hold up for the race). Now it was time for all of us to get some sleep because the team was meeting in the lobby at 5:30am to go to the lake.
Sunday, 4:15am (race day!)...WHAT IS THAT NOISE?...oh, yeah...alarm clock. Mindy (my dear friend, teammate and roommate) and I get our gear together, have a quick breakfast and haul our stuff downstairs. At 5:40am the team was all loaded up and ready to go...off to the lake! Fortunately there was only one wrong turn along the way and we still got to the transition area about 6:15am...
Josh was right, they don't give you much space...
All looks good, I even did my last-minute fill up of my tires. Josh had used Co2 the night before and he said that Co2 does not hold pressure like regular air, so I needed to "top off". After that, some of the team decided to take the advice we got at Saturday's meeting and walk through the transitions, which meant going from the water back to our bikes, then out the bike exit and back to transition, then out to the run exit and back again. This was to get a feel for where things were and to practice finding our spots again. You would be amazed how you can walk right by your bike and not even see it because of how close together they put the transition spaces.
At this point, I'm feeling good because we have some time to hang out and enjoy all the event activity. There was an M.C. who made announcements, but also signaled the start of each wave and controlled the transition area (when you could be in there, when you had to leave, etc.). There was music playing and a general festive atmosphere as more and more athletes showed up. It was fun to look at the professionals and their high-tech gear. When we got back to our transition areas, I heard those dreaded words..."Ericka, your front tire just went flat"...ARGH!!!
How can that be?? Did I just get really crappy tubes? I started to panic, then Mindy grabbed me and we prayed over the situation right away. We knew that God had it handled and if I was meant to race, that everything would be fine. Josh and the Phoenix TNT coach took my tire apart and realized that it wasn't the tube, but that I had a whole in my "rim tape" which was causing the tube to get pulled down into the rim until it burst like a balloon. If that whole wasn't fixed, then every tube that I put in my tire was bound to fail. One of the coaches was able to find some electrical tape to repair the hole in the rim tape.
Now I just needed to find a replacement tube...and here's the rub...Josh was concerned that the only tubes available at a race will be for road bikes, mine's a "hybrid" so the tubes may not fit...great. Well Josh and took my tube to the bike maintenance tent and had a professional put a patch on it. He also gave me one of his spare tubes (just in case) to put in my saddlebag. Everything looked good and Josh put my tire back together and aired it up so I could go down to the water before the race. Actually, I was checking out the steepest boat ramp I had ever seen that we had to climb after our swim to get back to transition.
All the way down and up I was praising God. Not because my tire was fixed, but because I truly felt at peace and felt like I was trusting Him with all things in that moment. With hands raised and getting weird looks from some of the other athletes, I rejoiced in the day the Lord had made...T-minus 15 minutes to our "wave"...time for wetsuits...
Arms are always the hardest... 
Now it's really getting exciting because the professionals are just about to hit the water, then the men's wave goes 5 minutes later, then the women's wave 5 minutes after that. It was something to watch the professionals race. They were coming out of the water before we even got into start positon! Now our turn to get wet...
I'm the one in the green cap... (sorry Min, had to steal your joke!) We just bobbed out in the water as the M.C. counted down. I stayed toward the back since I am still not comfortable with open water swimming and I didn't want anyone trying to swim over me.
5...4...3...2..1... time to swim! I am trying to find someone who got good pictures of the swim course and I will post those later. Swimming is still my weakest event, so I was so happy when I was done!...
I can't believe I actually beat one of the men out of the water! Now off to T1...I decided to take a little extra time because I was actually still dreading all the hills that were waiting for me on the bike course, and I wanted to get some nutrition going (Cliff Mocha Shot...yum!) and to get my heart rate under control.
Time to off-rack and ride! Then I saw it...yup, flat.
I have to admit, that I actually thought that my race was over, that there was no way to recover from a recurring flat. I mean, what if I changed the tube AGAIN and it went flat on a huge downhill? I pictured myself flying off my bike and ending up in the hospial or worse...NOW WHAT?
Well I turned around and saw Herb (my personal photgrapher) and holered for him to go get Josh as I stood there dumbfounded. Then I remembered that I would be disqualified if anyone helped me. I took a deep breath and decided to at least try to figure out the problem. I dug out my tools from my saddlebag and realized that Josh had used 2 of my 3 tire levers to change the tire, and he still had them...grrrr! With my one remaining lever, I was able to get the tire off the rim. I had to take it completely off because my first thought was that the repair to the rim tape had failed...nope, still holding. Then I looked at the tube and there was a tiny hole on the side of the patch where it had not sealed properly...no way to fix that.
So I grabbed the only thing that might get me through the race and that was Josh's tube. I could feel the pressure building and time just ticking away. As I said before, I had changed tubes several times, but in a pressure situation, I was all thumbs and my hands were shaking really badly. Fortunately Josh had arrived and was shouting directions to me from behind the spectator barricades. I got to the point were I HAD to have another tire lever or I was never going to get the tire completely on the rim. I screamed my dilema at Josh and a few seconds later a police officer was handing me some levers. They turned out to be Josh's which I think was probably illegal, but really, I didn't really care. I finally got the tire put back together when the next problem became obvious.
Josh's tubes have a different valve system than mine. Ordinarily that would not be a problem, since my bike pump accomodates both types, however there was one major problem (excuse me as I digress into a rant)...
The problem with buying a bike from Walmart, is that they are made in China. Big deal, you say? Well they design their tires for looks, not function, and because of their design, the tubes have an extra long valve stem to accomodate the extra deep rim. Where can you buy such replacement tubes, you ask? MAINLAND CHINA! They do not sell them in the United States! The problem arises when you go to inflate your tire and if there is not enough of the valve stem coming through the rim, then you can't get the pump nozzel on it to inflate it...brilliant!!! My suggestion for anyone who needs the affodability of a Walmart bike, but plans to put some miles on it, replace both wheels the minute you get it. It will cost about $50 per wheel, but it is really worth saving a ton of aggravation.
Ok, really had to get that out. So the obvious has happened...tire on rim, but can I air it up? I pulled the valve stem as far as I dared without breaking it, got the pump nozzle down enough so that air was going in, but air was leaking out as well because I couldn't get a good seal on the valve. At this point the M.C. came over...
M.C. (off mic, thank goodness): "Are you alright?"
Me: "Yes, almost done"
M.C.: "You know I can't help you."
Me: "Yes, I know" (Me thinking to myself: "your not helping me now by wasting my time!")
M.C.: (walks away)
Me: (pumping furiously to put air in the tire faster than it's leaking out. Get tire on bike)
M.C.: (with cat-like stealth, reappears)
M.C.: "You have one minute to leave transition before I close it (translation: I'm going to disqualify you and your coach is going to go all spider monkey on my ass which will look really bad).
Me: (panic attack!)
M.C.: "Now run to the mount line!"
Me: (running to the mount line)
I mounted my bike and headed out onto the course. In less than half a mile was the first huge hill. Huffing and puffing, I made it out to the main road for the 7+ mile loop (the "fun" about a loop is that once you get back to where you started, you get to do it again). Lots more hills--not as big as the first, but still quite daunting. It took about 15 minutes for me to be completely comfortable that the tire was holding and that I was going to complete the race. I have to admit that I don't think I was pushing as hard as I could have on the hills. I just kept my breathing steady and enjoyed the ride--very beautiful country.
It was during the ride that emotions started crashing over me. I was actually doing this crazy thing and it felt good. I was in last place, but so what? God's word kept coming to me...
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
Phil. 4:13
God gave me a tenacious spirit for a reason; He knew that I would need it to endure the challenges of life. They call a triathlon an "endurance race", but I think that doesn't really describe what's happening. When I think of the word "endure" it seems passive. Somthing happens to you, and you just hang on to get through it. A synonym for "endure" is "survive". Was I surviving this? No, I was DOING this--big difference. I have "survived" a lot of things in my life that I had no control over, but I chose this and I was determined to finish strong. It is hard to describe in words the tremendous sense of peace and joy I had during that bike ride.
1:44:23.3 (1 hour, 44 minutes, 23.3 seconds) later...
Back to transition, getting ready to run (note all the people hanging out in the transition area--pretty aggravating. I had to roll my bike over peoples gear because for all they cared, the race was over. I think they should keep people out of transition until all athletes have completed the course)...
The whole time I trained for the run portion of the event (what I feel is my strength), I envisioned a nice flat 3.2 mile course where I could maybe make up some time...HAHAHAHAHA!!! The first 1.2 miles was the same as the bike course, which meant running (ok, I actually had to walk it) that fist major hill. After that, we were diverted onto a dirt road with more...wait for it...HILLS...argh!!! Everytime I got to the top of one, there was another one waiting for me. I was actually starting to wonder if they forgot I was out on the course and had taken down the "turn around" point. Well, they hadn't and there were smiling volunteers waiting for me at the bottom of the 3rd or 4th hill, really I couldn't keep it straight.
I grabbed a cup of cold water at the turn around, and that's when something really cool happened. Two of the volunteers were packing up for the day and they said that they'd run that first hill back with me--how cool is that? They just poured words of encouragement over me, telling me how great I was doing and that they could never do it themselves. Those guys were awesome! That gave me the extra bit of adrenaline I needed to get to the finish. About a half mile out, I could hear the crowds, music and cheering. As I started to pass people along the side, they were all cheering for me, which was so cool and weird at the same time. Then I saw my sweet Samantha and my mom holding signs and cheering "Go Mommy, Go!" over and over.
When I entered the home stretch to the finish, the crowd got really loud, cheering me on and I broke into a fast run, just shy of an all out sprint...it was crazy! I had done it! The first person to greet me was my wonderful friend, Mindy. I couldn't help bursting into tears as she gave me a huge hug and told me how proud she was. Next thing I knew was Samantha was in my arms and she said, "Mommy, you didn't crash?". Laughing through tears, I said "no, I didn't crash".Standing at the finish line with Mindy, Liza and Samantha...
My official time was 2:56:46.9 (that does NOT include transition times). Dead last and loving it.
Final Thoughts: Words are not enough to describe our incredible team and coaches. The love and support for each other is something I will always cherish. But remember, we didn't do this for ourselves...
Between the Tucson and Phoenix teams (15 people) we raised over $39,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!
On the day we completed this race, my 16 year-old niece took a 10 hour drive back to Memphis, TN and St. Jude's Children's Hospital for a spinal chemotherapy treatment--she's MY hero.
I'm already thinking about my next event and Herb is thinking about training for the 2010 "El Tour de Tucson" with Team In Training...GO TEAM!!!
