Four years ago today I was scared, anxious & definitely not able to sleep. Why, you ask? The Clemson Sprint Triathlon was that next morning. This was a huge endeavor for me. In one day I would be overcoming what my family/friends thought I was incapable of doing. That previous fall, I had even had a guy laugh at me when I told him I wanted to do a triathlon & he told me I couldn’t do it. I was in my senior year of college, not doing anything athletic at the time, really didn’t seem to have time for anything & was definitely ‘slightly’ overweight ... I called myself “big boned!” (and still do!) That Saturday morning, I went out there and gave it my all. I swam, biked and ran ... and I crossed that finish line & became an official triathlete. It’s funny, I just read my old race report (posted as a note on my Facebook) from that first Clemson sprint, that was quite a fun day!
"Triathlon, from the outside looking in you can't understand it....From the inside looking out you can't explain it."
After that day at Clemson in 2008, I was hooked. Tomorrow will be my 23rd triathlon since I started and that quote is correct ...
- I can’t explain the pain I feel certain days from training,
- I can’t explain the mental battles that go through my head during training and racing,
- I can’t explain the elation I feel after pushing myself to my far extremes,
- I can’t explain the feeling I get when I cross the finish line,
- I can’t explain my addiction.
As I prepare for tomorrow’s race, I still have nervous jitters, but I am a much calmer than four years ago. Tomorrow is going to be a tough day. Every race is tough it seems. The weather is hot and muggy and there are even possibilities of thunderstorms. I race better in cold weather, but I will survive! There might, well probably there will be throwing up, but I will survive! My muscles will be crying and my mind will tell me to stop, but I won’t stop and I will survive!
Not only will I survive, but I will push through my limits, I will finish & I will have FUN doing it!!
Good luck for tomorrow! Looking forward to read about it!
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