Lake Geneva Triathlon Ride Report....By Roshelle!
So I survived on Saturday~~barely!!!!!!! Actually, it was one of the best experiences in my life and I can't wait to do it again with Renee on the 24th, but I will DEFINITELY be thankful that there is no swimming. I honestly thought I was going to die!!!!! Ok, it wasn't THAT bad.
So we got there the night before to pickup our registration packets and eat the pasta dinner they provide. My nerves were not getting to me yet because I knew my hubby and our friend Dieter were doing the tri with me. They were also going to be in the same wave as me, which made me feel alot better too. We took the RV, so tried to sleep as much as possible, then woke up at 3:30 am, yikes!!!! But I'm glad we woke up that early because it gave me time to eat and let my nerves settle. We got up, got ready and headed towards the transition station to setup. Well, we got there at 4:30, as soon as it opened to get a closer transition spot, and I'm glad because by 5:30 the entire place was jammed packed. So, we are anxiously waiting for the event to start~~ did I mention it was only 50 degrees when we got there!!!! The half iron man group was suppose to start at 6:45, well because there were so many people that were registering that a.m., they didn't start until 7:30. Well, by then it was a beautiful 60 degrees!!! So our group finally got to go about 8:15 and we were in the second wave. Holy crap, it was my turn!!!! I'm freezing my butt off and did I mention there was a 10 mph wind, so the waves were actually cresting and there were white caps!! huh??? what?? get in that freezing cold water and swim, no way!!!!
So Jeff looks at me and says "I'm going to tell you something, you are going to get out there and you may want to quit, you are going to get tired and scared and may just want to stop and call for help, but whatever you do, just keep going, no matter how much it hurts and no matter how scared you are, just keep going, you can do it! you can do this Roshelle!". Thank the Lord he said this to me, because I didn't even get a quarter of the way out there and the waves were crashing all over me. I tried again and again to get my freestyle going and breathing pattern going, but every time I tried, I'd get beat down by another wave. A big honking wave hit me and I swallowed a bunch of water, then another big one hit me and went up my nose, and at the same time a guy on my left side was yelling for help to the organizers and I feared for my life that he was going to grab onto me to keep his head above water. At this point, I was so close to calling for help myself, but then all of a sudden I heard Jeff's voice in my head. I turned around and saw him right behind me and he just gave me this look a reassurement that I could do this, that made me realize, I CAN DO THIS!!!! So I just kept on going!!!!! I can't believe it, people were quitting all around me and I just kept going!!!!! I got to the buoy, and thought that the honking waves would help push me back to shore, well, yeah, they didn't :-) It was just as hard going in as it was going out. The feeling when my feet were able to touch ground as I got to shore is indescribable!!! It felt like 2 hours, but it was only 18 minutes that I was actually in the water. Wow!!!! And I still had a bike ride and a run to go!!! Oh yeah, I have to mention, I beat Jeff out of the water, woohoo!!!!
I got to transition, pulled off my wetsuit, put on my cycling gear and I was off!!! I started going and within no time I saw a black blur to my left.... it was Jeff :-) He was gone and I didn't see him again until the end. I was told the bike ride was a 17 mile rolling hill course. Yeah right!!!!! The first hill was a mile long climb (rolling hills, my butt) and I felt like I was pulling sandbags behind me because I still had water legs. I prayed to the heavens that I wouldn't let myself get off and walk because I wanted to sooooo bad!!! Finally got through that hill, and oh, how nice, another and another and another. And did I mention the 10 mph winds!!! So I had an awful headwind all the way until about mile 15 when it started to flatten out, and I saw hope at the end of the tunnel because I knew I only had 2 miles to go. NOPE!!!!! The next thing I know, I'm back to those original hills I hit at the start and I'm just dying. Then, my gps shows 17 miles and I know I'm not close to the finish....18 miles.... 19 miles... 20 miles... I finally asked one of the people riding by me if we went the right way and her gps also said 20 miles. Finally we see the transition area at 21 freaking miles!!! Yikes again!!!! So I get off my bike, throw on my shoes, stumble my way through the transition area as I don't have my running legs yet (and suck in my tummy and stand up tall as I run past the camera guy!!) and there is Jeff and Dieter, my fan club cheering me on!!!!! They ran with me for a little bit, then said they'll see me at the finish line.
Yeah, I'm almost done... then I see the hill!!!! Oh geez, is this almost over I say to myself. I said screw it, walked up the hill, ran down, walked up the next hill, then ran down, as I was approaching the finish line, I almost started to cry with enjoyment. The pain I was feeling in my legs, arms, chest, neck, everywhere, suddenly disappeared and all I cared about was that I did it!!!! I finished!!!! I crossed the finish line and I got my medal!!!! Ok, EVERYONE, got a medal, but I wore that damn thing all day!!!!! About 99.9% of the time during the tri, I was swearing at Jeff and saying how the hell did he talk me into this~I'm NEVER doing this again, but within 5 minutes of crossing the finish line, I was already looking forward to tri-girl on the 24th with Renee.
I ended up finishing in a little under 2 hours and placed 102nd out of 200. 5th out of the 20 in my age group. It is an awesome feeling and I can't wait to do it again!!! Thank you all for your support and help with training over the past months. You guys have been the best support system a girl could have!!!!!! Without Jeff and you gals, I couldn't have gotten through it!!!!
So we got there the night before to pickup our registration packets and eat the pasta dinner they provide. My nerves were not getting to me yet because I knew my hubby and our friend Dieter were doing the tri with me. They were also going to be in the same wave as me, which made me feel alot better too. We took the RV, so tried to sleep as much as possible, then woke up at 3:30 am, yikes!!!! But I'm glad we woke up that early because it gave me time to eat and let my nerves settle. We got up, got ready and headed towards the transition station to setup. Well, we got there at 4:30, as soon as it opened to get a closer transition spot, and I'm glad because by 5:30 the entire place was jammed packed. So, we are anxiously waiting for the event to start~~ did I mention it was only 50 degrees when we got there!!!! The half iron man group was suppose to start at 6:45, well because there were so many people that were registering that a.m., they didn't start until 7:30. Well, by then it was a beautiful 60 degrees!!! So our group finally got to go about 8:15 and we were in the second wave. Holy crap, it was my turn!!!! I'm freezing my butt off and did I mention there was a 10 mph wind, so the waves were actually cresting and there were white caps!! huh??? what?? get in that freezing cold water and swim, no way!!!!
So Jeff looks at me and says "I'm going to tell you something, you are going to get out there and you may want to quit, you are going to get tired and scared and may just want to stop and call for help, but whatever you do, just keep going, no matter how much it hurts and no matter how scared you are, just keep going, you can do it! you can do this Roshelle!". Thank the Lord he said this to me, because I didn't even get a quarter of the way out there and the waves were crashing all over me. I tried again and again to get my freestyle going and breathing pattern going, but every time I tried, I'd get beat down by another wave. A big honking wave hit me and I swallowed a bunch of water, then another big one hit me and went up my nose, and at the same time a guy on my left side was yelling for help to the organizers and I feared for my life that he was going to grab onto me to keep his head above water. At this point, I was so close to calling for help myself, but then all of a sudden I heard Jeff's voice in my head. I turned around and saw him right behind me and he just gave me this look a reassurement that I could do this, that made me realize, I CAN DO THIS!!!! So I just kept on going!!!!! I can't believe it, people were quitting all around me and I just kept going!!!!! I got to the buoy, and thought that the honking waves would help push me back to shore, well, yeah, they didn't :-) It was just as hard going in as it was going out. The feeling when my feet were able to touch ground as I got to shore is indescribable!!! It felt like 2 hours, but it was only 18 minutes that I was actually in the water. Wow!!!! And I still had a bike ride and a run to go!!! Oh yeah, I have to mention, I beat Jeff out of the water, woohoo!!!!
I got to transition, pulled off my wetsuit, put on my cycling gear and I was off!!! I started going and within no time I saw a black blur to my left.... it was Jeff :-) He was gone and I didn't see him again until the end. I was told the bike ride was a 17 mile rolling hill course. Yeah right!!!!! The first hill was a mile long climb (rolling hills, my butt) and I felt like I was pulling sandbags behind me because I still had water legs. I prayed to the heavens that I wouldn't let myself get off and walk because I wanted to sooooo bad!!! Finally got through that hill, and oh, how nice, another and another and another. And did I mention the 10 mph winds!!! So I had an awful headwind all the way until about mile 15 when it started to flatten out, and I saw hope at the end of the tunnel because I knew I only had 2 miles to go. NOPE!!!!! The next thing I know, I'm back to those original hills I hit at the start and I'm just dying. Then, my gps shows 17 miles and I know I'm not close to the finish....18 miles.... 19 miles... 20 miles... I finally asked one of the people riding by me if we went the right way and her gps also said 20 miles. Finally we see the transition area at 21 freaking miles!!! Yikes again!!!! So I get off my bike, throw on my shoes, stumble my way through the transition area as I don't have my running legs yet (and suck in my tummy and stand up tall as I run past the camera guy!!) and there is Jeff and Dieter, my fan club cheering me on!!!!! They ran with me for a little bit, then said they'll see me at the finish line.
Yeah, I'm almost done... then I see the hill!!!! Oh geez, is this almost over I say to myself. I said screw it, walked up the hill, ran down, walked up the next hill, then ran down, as I was approaching the finish line, I almost started to cry with enjoyment. The pain I was feeling in my legs, arms, chest, neck, everywhere, suddenly disappeared and all I cared about was that I did it!!!! I finished!!!! I crossed the finish line and I got my medal!!!! Ok, EVERYONE, got a medal, but I wore that damn thing all day!!!!! About 99.9% of the time during the tri, I was swearing at Jeff and saying how the hell did he talk me into this~I'm NEVER doing this again, but within 5 minutes of crossing the finish line, I was already looking forward to tri-girl on the 24th with Renee.
I ended up finishing in a little under 2 hours and placed 102nd out of 200. 5th out of the 20 in my age group. It is an awesome feeling and I can't wait to do it again!!! Thank you all for your support and help with training over the past months. You guys have been the best support system a girl could have!!!!!! Without Jeff and you gals, I couldn't have gotten through it!!!!
posted by VenusdeVelo @ 9:29 AM
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