ECHO (echo echo echo...)

Last January, a very rotund, sedentary version of me was getting itchy feet. So, I did what every 7 months pregnant woman would do to deal with the urge to get out and be active. 

I signed up for a triathlon. 

In July.

Yesterday, I finally got to scratch those itchy feet at Echo Triathlon. 

I had no idea six months ago how hard it would be to train for a tri with three kids. 

Baby number 3 sometimes feels like baby number 1 all over again with a dash of crazy. He is a wonderful baby, but with three kids, it seems like there is always one child who's not having their needs met. 

Maybe I'll get the hang of it? Sure hope so.

Anyway, I made it to the triathlon. Not sure if I had trained enough. I had to get up extra early to breastfeed Greyson and we had to have a bottle ready for during the race. 

Anxious and scatterbrained is how I was feeling. (although scatterbrained is becoming my new normal)

Transition spots in this race are assigned. The race directors are super sneaky and put all the athletes next to other racers in their same category. That way, when you come to your transition area, you can see which of your competitors is ahead of you or behind you and it kind of drives the competition. This is the first race I've been to where they did this. 

I race as an Athena, which is a category for women over 150 lbs. (There you have it!) As I was searching for my transition spot, I noticed a group of women in one part of the transition area who were not like the others. They were the chubbies and the talls. I thought to myself, "I'm a little chubby and a little tall. :) My spot must be somewhere over there." Sure enough. :) I was right in the middle of them. I felt right at home among my fellow Athenas.

Here I am before the race with part of my cute cheering section.

 The swim was unlike ever before. The lake was really shallow due to construction being done on the dam. When we waded out to the start, we were walking in sticky mud. This is where I remembered how much I love doing triathlons. The people are the best! All the women in my starting wave were laughing and have a good time joking about the mud. I'm telling you the mud was GROSS, but not a single woman was whining, the way women normally would about slogging through ankle-deep sludge. Love triathletes.

Just a few strokes into the swim, I was struggling. My goggles were leaking, and I couldn't breathe. Every time I put my face in the water I felt panic surge through me.
I wasn't sure I could keep going. I've never quit a triathlon before, but the panic I felt was enough to make me question my worth. Could I do this?
Greg and the girls were waiting for me on the shore. I couldn't let them down. I had to finish, even if it took me an hour to swim the half mile.
I turned over onto my back and tried to fix my goggles. They stopped leaking, but when I tried to swim again, I still couldn't put my face in the water.
I back floated (not back stroked. don't I wish.) I side stroked. Anything that kept my head out of the water.
I swam to the first buoy any way I could manage.
I was praying for help at this point. Please let me be able to swim!
A few yards past the first buoy, I put my face down and slowly began to stroke forward. Ahh . There it was. My old swimming stroke took me through the last 500 yards or so without anymore problems. Whew!

Lovin the wetsuit. Why don't I wear this every day!?

My two G's. Greg wins husband of the year for watching all three kids during the race. AND taking pics!

Playing on the beach. Wish I could say they loved being there, but I think they were just tolerating it.

After the swim, I couldn't wait to ride my bike. I LOVE my bike. I felt good through the entire ride. I gave it everything I had. I got passed by some, but I also passed some. The bike is my fave.

 There is nothing like getting off the bike knowing you only have a short run til the finish. I knew at this point that even if I had to walk it, I would finish.

 The run was all on a packed dirt trail along the lake. It was probably the best run portion of any triathlon I've been to.

poor bored kids. :) no Disney Channel here!

Haha! Some eye candy ran past me at the finish line. ;)

 Right before Greg took this pic, I had to wipe a dirt beard off my face. Apparently, the muddy water caked up on my face, giving me a dirt beard that I unknowingly sported proudly throughout the bike and the run. Guess I won't be purchasing any of the professional race pics I posed for along the course!

 And you better believe Greyson was coming to the podium with me.
Oh, and the girl that took first. Her baby is almost one. She is 34, and she has 7 kids! She deserved first place, if anyone did. She made me feel better by telling me that the transition to three kids is really hard, but she said if you can do three, you can do any more after three. She would know!