The Final Results are officially posted and it turns out that I finished 8th place in my division!  I completed the race in 1:48:27.5.  See FULL RESULTS.

This has been one of the most invigorating adrenaline rushes I’ve ever experienced... especially the Swim Leg to begin with.  I know my weaknesses and I’ll be the first person to firmly state that I’m not a strong swimmer.  After we had set up our gear in the transition area and walked out to see the course in Clear Lake, it looked like a manageable length from shore.  Apparently I was in for a shocker once I entered the murky, choppy waters along with about 32 other women fighting to swim ahead towards the first buoy.

I immediately felt my heart pumping faster as I started to quickly lose my breathe.  I wasn’t even 50 yards out at that point.  Survival mode kicked in and I started switching between treading and swimming on my back so I could regulate my breathe and hopefully start freestyling. (By the way, “Clear” Lake water does not taste like water.)  All of a sudden I noticed that a few swimmers had stopped to yell, “Help... HELP!!”  One of us was having trouble staying above water, and I was having a panic attack watching this happen.  As I saw a rescue kayak approach, I continued on and tried to calm myself down.  My mind was screaming, “Oh my god...I don’t know if I’m going to make this!”  But there must’ve been a small bit of belief that pushed me through all the overwhelming fear and doubt.  I somehow regained rhythm in my breathing and found a manageable cadence in my breathe-stroke to get me back to shore...

My new raging appreciation for being back on LAND lit a fire in me to make up lots of ground on the Bike course, then Run.  My traumatic experience in the water truly made everything else seem like a walk in the park.  After finishing second to last in the Swim, I was third fastest in the Bike, and 6th in the Run (respectively in my age division).

I’m now looking forward to my next race, which will be a Fleet Feet Sports Supersprint Triathlon in Chicago on Aug. 29, 2009!  I’m excited for this one in particular since it’s so short!  Most importantly, I’ll feel a bit more comfortable with a shorter swim!

    * a 375 meter (.25 mile) Swim in Lake Michigan parallel to the beach

    * a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) Bike

    * a 2.5 kilometer (1.55 mile) Run

Wish me luck!