Molly's Musings

Wow. It's been a while since my last post. Just goes to show how busy you can get.
I completed by very first Olympic distance triathlon last Sunday at Keuka Lake--1500M swim, 40K bike, 10K run--and while I didn't exactly blaze the field, I didn't finish last either. All I wanted to do was get through the swim (I finished 2 minutes ahead of my goal there), which I have been diligently working on. After brief panic at the start, I settled in and actually passed some people. There were five buoys to pass, and I counted them down as I went. That fifth buoy was like a Christmas present!
The bike was incredibly difficult--the first half challenging, but the second half near to impossible! So hilly! At one point I was worried about being the last on the course, until the turnaround when 6 or 7 bikers--some of them men--were still heading toward that point. The cloudburst and strong winds didn't help out there, but it cleared. . . and, onto the run.
My best and favorite part--I just know how to run!--and I passed women who had passed me on the bike. That's always a great feeling.
Fifty-five minutes later I had crossed the final finish line.
My time, 3:23, 13 minutes past my goal, but so what?! It was my first tri at that distance, and I did it. My youngest stepdaughters, who had stood in the rain and wind for those 3-plus hours, and got up at 4:30 a.m. for the drive to Keuka, asked if they could cross the finish line with me. Of course!
Triathlon requires a lot of an individual, but if you are the head of a family, it requires a lot of the family. They need to understand why you're gone for hours on end most days (I try to train early in the morning), they need to understand why you're tired at 8 p.m., and why you won't eat ice cream with them as much as they would like!
I am grateful for their support, as well as that of my husband, who is at every finish line, taking pictures. At home, he takes care of my bike, and he worries when I'm swimming in the open water.
I have a few weeks off until the next tri, the mini-Musselman in Geneva on July 10. Of course, I'm never not training.
I am trying to arrange for me and the hubster to stay overnight until July 11, just him and me, relaxing. Oh, and I think I'll ask him for a massage!