Bear Lake Triathlon

After we finished our half marathon training and race, a friend of mine got this crazy idea to do the Bear Lake Triathlon. She'd done it before, and thought that it would be fun if we trained together and did it together. The training was fun, but without a bike and not much of a swimmer, I was way out of my league.

The Brooke let me borrow one of her bikes and I tried to swim a couple times a week in order to be somewhat ready for the swim. The thought of being in open water with no possibility of rescue was more than I could handle. The swim proved to be a source of constant stress for me. I had dreams about drowning, I worried that I would sink to the bottom of Bear Lake never to be seen again.

On a Friday night Christian and I met our friends at the Hunsaker's Bear Lake house to socialize, spend the night, and be ready bright and early in the morning. We had a f un night eating and playing games with friends, but I spent a restless night worrying about the swim. I even thought about changing my registration to the dual, even though it would be a much longer bike ride and run.

That morning we got up super early, Christian was a really great sport about the whole thing and offered to help us get our gear ready and spend time in the freezing cold being a support person. Deep down I think he thought I was really going to die, but he kept pretty cool about it. He's never been to a race that I've run in, usually he has the kids, so it was nice to have him there. He was cheering and supporting and making sure that I was ok, which I wasn't.

The nerves were too much, I thought that maybe if I started crying I'd feel better, but Christian told me not to cry and that I'd be fine. I really didn't want to leave my kids motherless! After spending some time in the 48 degree morning air, the 68 degree water felt warm. Before we knew it, it was time to start, and we waded out into the water. There was no turning back, so when they said GO, I went.

I swam hard and not very fast. I wasn't efficient, but I didn't die. I wasn't first, but I wasn't even close to being last. The water was clear and almost warm. The sun was beautiful and the water almost shallow in some places. The swim ended up being my favorite part of the entire experience.

Dizzy and a little disoriented, I emerged from the water and ran (or staggered) toward the shore and the transition area. I got on the bike, and took off. I was able to pass some other riders, but about half way through I determined that I need my very own road bike (probably more on that at a later time). Of all the things, the run ended up being the worst for me. My feet were so cold, and legs so tired, a three mile run seemed impossible. However, I made it, I did it, and I'll do it again. I should rephrase, I didn't do it on my own, there were a lot of prayers involved and I couldn't have done it without Christian.

Just a few minutes before we had to head down to the water.

The moment when I realized that I was going to live.

It was a fun weekend with friends and a challenging adventure. When we returned to Rock Springs, we were greeted by a beautiful drawing that Cali created for us.