dear darlings: big kahuna

in June 2010 i did my very first triathlon. i trained with club sport and had SO much fun. i love to swim and love to run. and now i love to bike--despite all the flat tires i've had to deal with. at least i'm getting slightly better at changing them!

here's some practice pictures:

here's some pictures from my first triathlon. i made my brother and butters go with me because i was terrified. my first one was actually by myself-not with the team-because i won a raffle. it was a good experience and got me ready for the olympic distance tri with the team.

here's some from the tri with the team.

me and nina

priscilla! she is my best friend and always encouraging me to make the podium! love her.

priscilla's husband brian.

some of the team

okay, so i am feeling nostalgic, that's why i had to include all of this. :) it's also some background that built up to my weird addiction and desire to do a 1/2 iron man! after finishing training for this summer's olympic triathlon, a group from the club got together to train for the big kahuna. i definitely wanted to do it, but was nervous because i had already signed up for the alcatraz swim that was the day before...i also later decided to go to europe for 3 weeks in august--during the major part of training. i would get home 2 weeks before the event. despite these things, i decided to sign up! in fact i think i signed up for this race, another 1/2 marathon (a week after this event) and booked my trip to europe in the same week. i was in a spontaneous mood!

anyway, i trained as much as time would allow before europe. of course, while in europe i ate as much nutella, crepes, gelato, and pizza as possible and didn't workout once. well, besides walking 10 miles a day, but that doesn't count. i think it was actually worse because i made me calves super tight. a week before the race i went with several others to swim around the pier we would be swimming for the event. it was cold. so, so cold. there were so many sea lions. i was terrified and honestly doubted a little bit if i was way in over my head. as the swim went on, it got better. i warmed up and felt better which helped me mentally. and that is 1/2 the battle!

finally, the weekend came. first alcatraz. it was an awesome success! i was actually more nervous for that event than the 1/2 iron man. after swimming and surviving alcatraz, i honestly felt that i could do anything! i got as much rest as i could the rest of saturday knowing how long sunday would be! we woke up bright and early to drive to santa cruz (my parents and i). by the way, my parents are AWESOME. they were certainly sacrificing a lot by coming to these events with me. :) mostly sleep. i met with other team members when i arrived and started to get a little more excited.

my wave finally started and i had a pretty good swim. i felt really good most of the bike ride until about three quarters of the way through, my body crashed. could have been the fact that the longest bike ride i'd ever done was 26 miles and this was 56 miles long. oops. i also missed out on the important nutrition part of training--figuring out what your body needs in terms of food and water during this kind of extended activity. i struggled the last part of the ride and could not believe i had to run 13.1 miles. my legs were shot. i felt so tired. i quickly realized that this run is going to be tough and that i needed to have a good attitude in order to get through it. like i said, it's half mental with these events. a negative attitude can bring you down. i started to cheer on other people on around me to help me be more positive. it worked! i felt like i was stumbling through this run but i finally made it to the last quarter mile. there was a lady right before that who was directing us to run onto the beach. she complimented me on how perky and energized i looked, but i was just SO excited it was almost over, i sped up!

a quarter mile is so much longer after a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 12.85 run! seemed like the finish was so far away! i had to dodge beach-goers, frisby games (hilarious picture below), but saw my parents cheering me on and it kept me going. cheesy, yes i know, but its true. their support means so much to me and i was so grateful they were there. of course the very last part up to the finish line was UP HILL. on the SAND. torture! all i could think was, HOW RUDE! those race coordinators are cruel! haha...but i finally went through the finish, got my medal, water, and headed straight to the ocean hoping to make my aching legs feel better. it worked a little but they've never ached so bad!

all in all, it was a great race. even with all the torture and pain, i look back and remember the great feelings i had for finishing it. the feeling of accomplishment. i also learned a lot. the main lesson? don't do a 1/2 iron man without training EVER again. ever. seriously. i won't do it. promise. it really was a great race and i plan to do one again when i have time to properly train for one.

my dad documented a lot of the race (including some really cute sea lions) so here's some pictures!