Well, that wasn't what I expected.

At the beginning of this year, I had made a goal to run the Abe's Olympic-distance Triathlon on July 31st. Olympic distance is 0.9 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run.

Today is the 31st.

It didn't go as planned.

16 weeks ago, my training started really well. The thick of summer set in at about Week 12 and between gardening, farming, realizing I still had four kids at home that needed me in new and different (e.g. emotionally taxing) ways, and a foot injury that made just plain walking around my house pretty darn painful, my regular workouts fell by the wayside. I took a long ride once a week or so, but no more running and no more swimming. 

Since I couldn't walk, much less run, I would have to drop out of the race. I almost quit. Then I saw they were offering an Aquabike option...swim, bike, and done. Same distances. I switched my registration from the Tri to the Aquabike, but my heart wasn't really in it. If anything, it made me a little more lax about it all. After all, it's *just* a swim and bike, right?

Pbbsh. Idiot.

I pretty much did no exercise at all for the last 2 weeks. I had set myself up for a really, really hard race. If you love me, don't let me sign up for a summer triathlon again. The training just falls apart when it's competing against my other summer duties and interests. I will never learn that on my own.

The race location was 2 hours from my house. Lake Springfield. I would have to drive out and spend the night if I wanted to be there for the start at 7:45am. So, I packed a bag, loaded up my bike and gear, and took off. It wasn't until I checked into my hotel in Springfield that I realized my bag was still in Urbana. I had no tri suit, no padded cycling shorts, no clean clothes, no toiletries. Driving home to get it would be a 4-hour round trip and get me back to my hotel at 11pm.

I wanted to cry. I almost quit. Again.

I texted Bobby about my predicament and he helped me realize that I still had options. I just needed a swimsuit, right? I could get by with the clothes on my back and the gear in my car if I had a good swimsuit.

So, that's how I came to experience Scheels for the first time. Scheels is like an indoor amusement park for sports, hunting, and American history enthusiasts. There were talking presidential statues, a ferris wheel, several staged photo opportunities with various taxidermied (is that a word?) wild animals, a whole section for people with pet dogs (dogs totally allowed in), and different sections of clothing and equipment for various competitive sports and hunting/fishing sports. I was the ONLY person there with a mask, and boy did that attract the stares. I found the swimsuits and suddenly remembered that I hadn't packed a cap or goggles, even in the bag I had left at home. That would have been a terrible experience, so I'm counting it a tender mercy that I was in a convenient place to purchase those items for my swim the next day. 

Now equipped sufficiently, I went back to my hotel room. Slept in my clothes. With my contacts in. Didn't brush my teeth. 

Thinking back, I probably could have gone to another store to pick up toiletries and/or a pair of pajamas to make my stay a little more comfortable. It didn't really occur to me in the moment. I was only thinking about the bare minimum I would need for the race. Hm. 

The night passed without incident. 

I came out of the hotel the next morning and noticed it had rained a little in the night, "Whew," I thought, "Glad that didn't happen during the race!"

30 minutes later, I was at the race venue, in the rain. The rain didn't stop the ENTIRE time. 

The lake water was 80F, a full 20F warmer than it felt outside in the wind and rain. Jumping into the water was a welcome relief after standing half-naked in the cold for so long. How did the swim go? It was long. Very, very long. It took me just over 45 minutes to swim 0.9 miles. Mostly breast stroke because I couldn't see anything in the murky lake and kept going off course when swimming freestyle. I should have trained better.

After the swim, I was half-naked and now completely WET in the windy rain. My bike was soaked, my only pair of clothes was soaked. I just threw on my cold, soggy socks and shoes and helmet and got pedaling. In my swimsuit. Ugh. I was confident that 25 miles on the bike would keep me warm, even being half-naked and soaked and creating my own cycling wind chill (15 mph on average). I was half right. My arms and hands went completely stiff. Mostly numb. The rest of my body easily worked as hard as it needed to without complaint. I'm lucky to have the body that I do. It can do hard things.

My ego took a little hit every time I got passed by other racers. I felt like such a poser. Imposter syndrome. I knew I hadn't trained properly. I knew I didn't have all my usual gear. I knew some bodies would simply outperform my body no matter how hard I trained, so comparison is useless, but still...sigh...

Sometimes the rain hit so hard that it stung my exposed back and shoulders. Why was I doing this?! Why did I continue?! I think I was motivated by a blend of pride ("I don't quit"), pride ("I've already invested so much money and time this far, just finish it!"), pride ("This'll make a funny story someday. Oo! Maybe even an inspirational one!"), aaaaaand good old-fashioned pride ("Won't it be cool to know I've completed this?"). 

When I finished my ride, I was physically and mentally done. Soaked. Numb. Sore. Starving. Desperate for a bathroom. Grateful, too, for this body. I felt strong. I was a little embarrassed that I couldn't do the full Tri as I had planned, but also grateful that I didn't have to spend an hour more running in the cold rain. 

Here are my times for the swim and bike. I'm only putting them here for future reference when/if I decide to do anything like this again:

Swim: 0.9 miles, 47:07

Bike: 25 miles, 1:37:08, avg speed 15.4 mph

I was so grateful that our race SWAG included a soft, dry t-shirt and soft, dry socks. That made the drive home sooooo much more comfortable. It's the little things, y'know?