Finished the first tri of the season today can’t believe what a great day it turned out to be. I woke up to a bright and sunny day. Arrived at Lake Sammamish and couldn’t believe how many people were there. This was the first year that I had participated in the Issaquah Triathlon that takes place every year in May and I was not sure what to expect. Made sure to get my transition area set up and then I headed for the water to get warmed up for the swim. I did the friends and family wave with my friends Sean and Elizabeth. Sean was the person who had called my bluff last year and got me into this tri thing. At first I was a little intimidated, but after a little bit I just tried to focus on swimming and not everyone around me. Came out of the water and saw Jaapje there cheering me on….she has been thinking about getting involved with tri’s and wanted to see what it was all about. I then headed for the bike part thinking about a quick transition since Sean had made it out of the water ahead of me and I needed to catch up. Got on the bike, at first legs were a little tired, but about half way through I got past by these two people that had a really good cadence going and figured I could do that. Just before the turn around point there was a guy yelling that I needed to fix my sunglasses, since they were on crooked, at that time least of my worries, but explains some of the pictures that were taken. Made it into the transition area and got ready for the run. I headed out of the transition area and saw my husband who was waiting to cheer me on. I asked if he had seen Sean yet and he let me know that I had beaten him back….stopped for a quick photo opt and headed on my way. About that time I started to try and fix my crooked sunglasses which completely disintegrated in my hands….my poor Maui Jim’s they have been with me on so many runs and bike rides and now sadly they are finished. About this time I saw Teresa, Tina and Joanna cheering me on. I think I asked Teresa to hold my broken shades, but I could have just shoved them at her…thankfully she took them as I headed on my way to the run. It was a little different running on the fields compared to pavement or gravel, but I made it through. As I was heading towards the last 100 yards of the run I saw Patty….first question was whether or not I was ahead of Sean? I let her know I was and she told me to run faster….which I did as I was nearing the finish line I saw all of the Raise the Hope gals along with my husband cheering me on. What a great feeling! What a great day!
