Sprint Triathlon!

I went to church this morning with big, black numbers written on my arms and leg...in Sharpie...I couldn't have felt stronger!

The body markings came from competing in the Stoneman Sprint Triathlon in Springfield, IL, yesterday morning. It was a team effort, of course :) I swam in Lake Springfield for 500 yards, Linda biked for 12 miles, and Karen ran the 5k at the end. It was kind of a psychological AND physical stretch for each of us, which made it one heck of an accomplishment.

I must confess, though, that my favorite part of this whole affair was spending time with those two...phenomenal...ladies.

Team Wigglytuffs

It's show time, baby!

The end of my swim. Feeling strong and totally awesome!

The lake was a balmy 82 degrees. It tasted like dirt. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face, much less the legs and arms of my fellow swimmers, but it was a pretty good first run. They still haven't posted the results :( but each one of us felt like we did better than our usual times.

[31 July UPDATE: Our team placed third in Female Relay! There were only three teams in that division, but a 14:31 swim, 44:18 bike, and 39:01 run are solid times we're proud of! I'm delighted.]

This was a "Sprint" level triathlon, meaning it's shorter than the average triathlon. I've run a 5k before, I've biked 12 miles before, and now I've swum 500 yards in a lake. Maybe, just maybe, I could do all three in a row someday. Maybe even next year?

I can't believe I'm actually thinking about doing it again.

There's a "Mini" level triathlon only 30 minutes from here happening in a couple weeks. That one is 100 yards in an outdoor pool, a 5 mile bike ride, and a 1 mile run on a shady, paved path. Alice could do it with me side-by-side. I kinda tossed the idea her way and she's mulling it over. She wants to try swimming 100yds at once first. Then maybe we'll go on a couple 5-mile bike rides and see how it feels...