Thursday- KayDee and I headed to Provo. We wanted to get there an extra day early just to have enough time to pick up our packets and get settled, etc. Upon arrival in Provo we noticed tha KayDee's rear bike tire had some bad gouges in it and a few spots worn down to the threads. Yikes!!! We had to buy her some new tires and get them put on the bike before the tri. At 5:00 we had our carb-loaded meal of chicken parmesan at Cafe Paesan (thank you Kristie for the intro). It was yummy! They had yummy cookies too. LOL! Packet pick up was at SBR Sports in Orem and everyone there looked pretty serious and professional. KayDee and I pretended we knew what we were doing. :0) We spent the night with my "Provo family" and didn't quite know what to do or how to feel without kids to put to bed. Needless to say, we went to bed!
Friday- We had a good night's sleep and woke up around 7:45 but layed in bed until 8:00 (we never get to sleep that late or stay in bed at home!). Mama Ann made us a hot and fresh breakfast of eggs, melon, greek yogurt, an english muffin, and a glass of milk. It was perfect and delicious! From there we set off to go check out Utah Lake and the bike/run course. It was a beautiful morning at the lake. The water was glassy and there was no wind. Looked like a great spot for a swim. We could only hope for such conditions the following morning. We found a guy there named George who was also doing the tri. He was from Wyoming and had travelled by himself so we asked if he wanted to drive the bike course with us. He was happy to. After wondering around for quite a long time, we had the course mostly figured out. The directions were not very good in some spots. When we returned to the lake we hopped on the bikes and rode around for a few minutes and then went for a short run to get the legs moving after 2 days rest. From there we drove up to Wasatch Running in Sandy to pick up KayDee's wetsuit rental then back to Provo to check into our hotel. We decided to take advantage of the time we had before Scott and the kids arrived to get our stuff layed out and prepared for the following morning. We decided on dinner at Chilis (chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and broccoli) and in true"me" tradition, I had to have a little dessert. For some reason it doesn't effect me adversley before a race. :0)
We headed back to the hotel and waited for Scott and the kids. They did not show up until 9:30 (but that is a long story in and of itself)!!! Bed time!!!
Saturday- 3:50 A.M. the alarm goes off! We had everything layed out so that all we had to do was roll out of bed, get dressed, and head out the door. We arrived at Utah Lake around 4:30. All of the info said that body marking started at 4:00 and transition opened at 4:30. Since the bike racks were not assigned and it was "first come first served," we figured the place would be packed.Wrong!!! We were like the second or third car there. At any rate, we got good positioning in transition. LOL! We got set up and marked and spent what seemed like a VERY LONG time waiting and being nervous for the tri to start. Oh, and let me not forget to mention the man eating mosquitos!!! When the pre-race meeting was pushed back 20 minutes we knew that was not a very good sign but the start was only delayed 15 minutes. All of the women were thrown in the 4th and final wave and we were in the water around 7:10-7:15.
The swim (1.2 miles) was great! I swim to KayDee's left so that when we breathe we can see eachother. It was smooth sailing. Not to many bumps or kicks. We had to make 2 loops around the course before heading in. The boat ramp at Utah Lake was so slimey that they had to have men in the water helping everyone out. :0) Once we made the near half mile trek to transition our swim time clocked in at 40:01.
Spent 2:39 in transition. I think we were the only ones that actually put on some bike shorts but I am not ashamed of it at all! 56 miles is a long time to sit on a seat. :0)
We approached the bike just like any other Saturday morning ride. We kept a good pace and rode side-by side when we could and talked. Even though the bike takes up the majority of the race time, it went by quickly. The course was flat as fast. Super fast for us! I think our average pace was 18.6 mph). We ate and drank a lot on the bike to keep fueled. Scott and the kids were able to see us out on the course so that was cool!
The last 10 miles or so of the bike my body started to feel some wear. Couldn't have been happier to get off the bike. Spent 2:44 in T2.
The run was the portion that I was dreading. We headed out without problem until KayDee realized she forgot her belt with her number on it. She had to go back. :0) At this point it was 94 degrees or so. Hot!!! We had not trained in the heat and I could really tell. For the first 6 miles I had a sharp pain in my stomach. Not fun. Then once I got rid of that my legs were just super tight. I was holding KayDee back with my slow pace so I told her to leave me and go ahead. I did not choose to break the rules and listen to my music, so during that time I remember thinking a lot about how I hate running and how I vowed never to run again if I survived. He he he! I saw KayDee a few more times on the route before we finished, as well as Scott, Grandma Orchard, and the kids.
The last 2 miles seemed like it went on forever but I finally made it back to the finish area. I was so excited to get across that line! My little cheering squad was there cheering me on. The kids got to join me in the last stretch to the finish line. It was a super special moment. :0)
KayDee was waiting for me at the finish as well. She finished 15 minutes ahead of me. The first thing she said to me was to NEVER ask her to do something like this again. :0) We both had a blast training and participating in the event but we're not sure how long it will take to agree to do it again! My run time was a horrible 2:35:57 for a grand total of 6:20:42.2.
