I did it!

For the past about eight or nine months I have been training for a triathlon. I have had this goal for quite some time but I had never got enough gumption to do it (mostly because I had never swam competitively and I didn't have a road bike). Once I made the decision I was pretty much religious about training regularly. It helps when you don't have a job and don't have many friends where you live. Last Saturday, August 30th I competed in the Lake Las Vegas Triathlon. It was a lot of fun and I am so glad I did it!! The course was set in a REALLY nice part of Henderson, Nevada (right outside of Las Vegas) in a resort/ritzy neighborhood/location. The course I ran, which was a sprint triathlon, was a 500 meter swim, 10.6 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run. Here is me signing in-

The swim was interesting because I had only open water swam once before this. I tend to swim to the right instead of in a straight line which made me go a little off course. Its pretty crazy to be swimming with 30 others and getting kicked in the face, flailing into other peoples stroke and almost running into the next wave of swimmers. I swam it in 11:39. Next was the transition to the bike which was really crazy. I had to make sure I had everything (helmet, water, race number, shoes, socks) and what not before jumping on my bike. The bike course was not what I was use to. We started out on a hill that just kept getting steeper and steeper (kinda hard when you don't have any momentum leading into it). Once at the top of the hill it is an extremely fast and scary ride down. I got going 35 mph and people were passing me and I was passing others. One dude biffed it at the bottom and got pretty messed up. Then it was another grueling hill climb (traffic was still allowed on the streets too), and another shot down a hill. It was pretty intense being so close to other bikers who would weave for no reason and all of the sudden slam on their breaks. Then we road a moderate incline back to the transition area and repeated for 3 full laps. I did it in 44:08.

The run was pretty hard too.  There aren't very many hills here in Scottsdale so I never had the chance to train on them.  The run when back into the desert and we had to run on two HUGE and steep hills.  There was only a handful of people running around me during this part of the race.  Most everyone walked up the hills.  I am proud to say I never walked!!  Once we made it out of the desert it was a slight run downhill to the finish at the Ritz Carleton.  The finish line was way out of sight so  I never really kicked into my higher gear because I thought I still had a ways to go.  It kinda bummed me out because I was saving some energy for the last 1/2 mile.  So I came around the corner and there was the finish and i wasn't even that exhausted!  I think it was because I trained so long and regularly.  But boy were my calves sore from all those hills!  I finished the run in 28:05.  I feel like I could have easily shaved 2 or 3 minutes off of my run...but crap, I finished!  And I did have the fastest run in my division which I didn't think was possible.  Here is a pic of me and my boys at the finish line--

Here are the results in my age group.  I came in 6th with a time of 1:26:57!!  I came in 92nd out of all the men and women in the race which was about 230 people.

FEMALE AGE GROUP:  25 - 29

Place Name                     City                    Sta   Swim    Trans#1     Bike     Trans#2     Run     Time  

1 EMILY WILLIAMS           HENDERSON  NV        14:38    1:18   37:18    1:16   28:15 1:22:44  

2 SARAH RINGER                LAS VEGAS  NV           10:56    2:07   39:35    0:46   30:31 1:23:54  

3 LETA ROSE                        HENDERSON  NM      9:44    1:08   43:19    1:17   29:59 1:25:26    

4 KEIRA WALLAND             HENDERSON  NV      9:55    2:04   42:30    1:55   29:56 1:26:19   

5 AMBER RAMIREZ             LAS VEGAS  NV         12:10    1:17   40:51    1:28   31:01 1:26:45 

6 KRISTEN D.                 SCOTTSDALE AZ    11:39    2:19   44:08    0:48   28:05  1:26:57  

7 MICHELLE O'BRIEN       HENDERSON  NV    11:33    2:04   43:19    1:10   30:21 1:28:25    

8 BRITTANY POLLOCK      LAS VEGAS  NV    10:55    1:44   43:08    0:23   34:14 1:30:23    

9 JENNIFER KALE             LAS VEGAS  NV    11:03    3:17   44:25    2:07   30:39 1:31:30   

10 REGAN STOKES            LAS VEGAS  NV    14:10    1:58   42:29    0:58   32:24 1:31:58   

11 KATRINA DORTON         LEHI       UT    12:57    3:06   44:57    2:08   29:48 1:32:55   

12 AMANDA MAPES         LAS VEGAS  NV    11:58    3:16   41:22    2:13   34:40 1:33:27   

13 JENNIFER SIMMS       LAS VEGAS  NV    11:17    2:03   43:33    1:25   38:15 1:36:32   

14 LINDSAY BAUER         HENDERSON  NV    14:04    2:45   46:13    2:00   33:31 1:38:32   

15 LISA SKIFTON              LAS VEGAS  NV    13:00    3:21   42:35    2:50   38:05 1:39:49   

16 KELLY OLMSTEAD      LAS VEGAS  NV    12:45    2:07   43:32    0:48   42:00 1:41:10   

17 ELISA ARNOLD           LAS VEGAS  NV    12:41    2:13   51:59    1:32   33:29 1:41:53   

18 HEATHER CROCKET SALT LAKE  UT    13:59    1:19   45:12    1:46   40:58 1:43:12   

19 FRANCESCA BACA    HENDERSON  NV    15:01    1:03   52:50    0:50   36:23 1:46:06   

20 JOELLEN GIANI        LAS VEGAS  NV    14:16    2:35   51:47    1:26   36:51 1:46:54   

21 ANNE NICKSICK        LAS VEGAS  NV    16:16    2:02   57:20    1:40   37:31 1:54:48    

22 KRISTIN HUBBARD  HENDERSON  NV    18:06    3:47   49:25    4:18   39:59 1:55:33    

23 SHANNON RICHARD HENDERSON  NV   11:34    3:54 1:00:04    1:31   39:07 1:56:09   

24 NATALIE MONSEN    LAS VEGAS  NV    13:50    2:03 1:01:16    0:53   48:36 2:06:37 

So since we were in Vegas and I had never been...we have to do the Vegas thing which for a Mormon consists of people watching, eating, riding the New York, New York roller coaster, watching a Cirque De Sole show, and playing penny slots (I lost 50 cents). We also saw the fountains at the Bellagio (Saweet). So Zac and I went to get some lunch after the race and we left Jaitz in the hotel room. We roped him off in a section of the room so he wouldn't have free reign to chew on stuff. So when we got back from lunch and I came in the hotel room and called for him thinking he'd be in his section of the room...this is what I saw....

Somehow he got on the bed and I have no idea how. He can't even jump up onto our small couch yet and this thing was WAY off the ground. He is a magician.

This is Zac and me at the Bellagio waiting for the fountains and stuff.

You guessed it...the fountains!! All in all it was fantastic and I am so glad I did it! I have to thank my one and only Zac for being there to cheer me along. Thank you for coming with me and spending all this money on me and caring so much for me. You made me feel like I was the best one out there. I love you. This is the longest post of my life....