Trying in the Rain (Part 2)

I’m in awe about Saturday.  My last post left off as we were heading to the Pool for the swim portion of the Tri.  I had such a mixed bag of emotions, excitement, scared, nervous, happy, worried, it was so crazy strange. 



Heather and I before the swim, check out that rain :)



We each got our own lanes due to it being such a small group of darning Triathletes which was great.   The swim portion was indoor mile swim which equaled 10 laps in the pool (1 lap is back and forth).   Fitness Pro Spa even had volunteers that counted our laps so we could just concentrate on swimming.  I totally loved the gentlemen that helped me, I would smile and get excited every time I saw him because I knew I was one lap closer to getting out of the pool.  He also tried to help me not hit my head on the end of the pool, I would get so distracted I forgot to count strokes when I saw the flags.  Every time I would finish a lap I would yell the number out, while it did take my energy, it also helped motivate me stay unstoppable.  I’m very proud and excited to share that I swam my 1/3 mile in under 15 minutes.  WHHAAAHOOOOOO!!   I hopped out of the pool, gave Paul a few shouts of encouragement and then headed to the locker room to change, my muscles were so weak and shaking, but I just kept moving forward.

After changing and walking back over to the transition area, we jumped on our bikes.  It was still very rainy, cold and windy.  Nerves started hitting me, for me, this is when the real challenge began.  It was so DARN (I would really like to use another word) windy, rainy and cold.  Paul and I quickly found our place at the end of the pack, but we kept moving forward.  I told Paul he could leave me behind, but he refused.   There was one stretch of road that was brutal, the wind one so bad we barely going 10 miles per hour.   I started doubting my ability to make it and I started to cry.  I also cursed a little at the darn rain.  I kept asking myself why I was putting myself thru this.  Thankfully Pauly was there to help me work thru the emotions.  I thought about all of you out there, how could I come back to blogging and tell you I quit.  I’m Unstoppable Mariah, I DON’T QUIT, I keep moving forward.  There were times that rain came down from my helmet in a steady stream, but I didn’t stop, I kept going, I kept moving forward.  When it was time to make the second loop for the bike, I had to convince myself to not throw the towel in and start the run early.  I told myself the time doesn’t matter, this helps me grow stronger, I gotta do this.  I need to do this, I need to prove it to myself.  As people drove past us, I kept wondering if they thought we were totally off our rockers.  Who the heck bikes in weather like that.  We finished our 12.4 mile bike in 1:06 minutes, 20 minutes longer then my goal, but in all honesty the fact I kept going means more to me than my time. 

We parked our bikes and went off to the 5K.  My legs felt like cold cement and the rain kept coming down.   As Pauly and I made our way, we saw our fellow Triathletes headed back from the run.   I again told Paul he could go forward, I was so tired and beat from the rain.  He had so much more in him and I was drained.  He refused, he told me he was in this with me all the way.  We talked about how our lives have changed and what it means to push yourself in new challenges.  He stuck with me and pushed me the whole way.  I don’t even know how long the 5K took us, but at some point, I stopped caring about time, and started caring about what accomplish this meant to me.  We came in as the last peeps (7 of us total) with a very warm and encouraging welcoming.  The best part about being last, I have the largest cheering crowd.  My Tri family always helps make me feel proud of myself.



Paul and I finishing up the 5K



I learned so much from this Tri, in fact, I came away from this experience with a new outlook.

1-      Every time I’m willing to push myself and challenge myself, I learn something new about myself

2-      Every time I’m willing to push myself and challenge myself, I grow and get stronger

3-      I will let my body decide how far I can push myself, not my mind as my mind holds me back

4-      I have a wonderful group of friends that love me and are crazy cool amazing

5-      My blog readers inspire me to challenge myself

6-      I’m starting to learn to trust myself and my body

7-      While rain my slow me down, I’m still Unstoppable Mariah

8-      I may never be really fast, but I’ll always finish

9-      I am an athlete!

I wish I could package up the feeling I get when I finish a Triathlon and give it as a gift.  I wish I could give someone an ounce of feeling unstoppable because it’s change me to the core.  The way I deal with all things are different because I’m able to see more clearly.  I’m working on organizing a group to do the YWCA Tri next year in August.  My goal is to get 25 women to join me in this event.  This is my way to pay it forward for all of you who have invested in me. 

Unstoppable "even in the rain" Mariah