72.3 miles later...

The battle wound!

The awesome shirt Clark made me!

I survived! I can't believe that after 4+ months of intense training, I finished my first (and maybe my last...we'll see :)) Half Ironman Triathlon!!! Clark was a wonderful support crew for me and followed me for most of the race which was great. I finished in about 8 hrs including the transitions from swim-bike and bike-run. Clark was at both transitions with the camera, taking tons of pictures as I came through.

The swim was super scary for me. I had never done an open swim before, and the freezing water temp wasn't much help. There were several different heats with hundreds of swimmers looking very tough. I knew I was in over my head, but I couldn't back out! The swim was definitely the hardest leg of the race which is kind of funny because its only 1.2 miles in comparison to the 58 mile bike and the 13.1 mile run. I had several other swimmers smack me pretty hard as they swam by, and there were a few times that I wanted to just quit and get rescued by the support staff. I had difficulty spotting the buoys and found out the hard way that I'm not that great at swimming in a straight line without lane lines ;) Clark said I probably swam close to 2 miles because I kept zigzagging back and forth. Finally, an hour after the start of the race, I finally made it out of the water. I was shaking because it was so cold! I was so thrilled to be done with the swim. I honestly felt like I could have drowned, so it was a relief to finish that leg!

The bike was a bit long, but it was so so beautiful! I wish I would have had my camera as I rode by some amazing glacier lakes and rivers. I finished the 58 mile bike ride in a little under 4 hrs. The bike had a really tough climb up to Mt. Bachelor with over 6 miles of climbing without any flats. Luckily, the last 10 miles or so were pretty flat. I did get a bit lonely out on the road though! I'm used to having Clark ride with me!

Once I made it through the bike, I knew I only had a few hours left! I wasn't sure how my legs would be feeling, but I was very surprised that my shins and IT band did not hurt at all. I was truly blessed. The altitude in Sunriver, OR is about 4000-5000 ft and I could definitely tell that I was not at sea level! I felt like I had asthma for most of the run, but I took it slow and was able to finish in about 2.5 hrs. Clark was awesome throughout the day and somehow tracked me down during the run and cheered me on alot. He even ran the final mile or so with me which was super helpful. I really wanted to just walk, but Clark kept me going. The last three miles or so were not so fun, but seeing the finish line was the best feeling ever! I just started crying!

Finishing the triathlon felt awesome. Luckily I didn't hurt as much as I did when I ran the marathon, but I felt exhausted! Overall, it was a fun experience. The swim was scary, but the bike and run were great. I got a nasty blood blister on my foot that just won't go away, but that is my only battle wound! Hopefully Clark will do a triathlon or duathlon with me in the future! He just started his third year of dental school, so we are hoping that he will have a bit more free time!

Costa Rica pictures to be posted next!!!