triathlete = me.
I ran a triathlon yesterday. Not the olympic style, just the sprint length (the shortest tri available). A few months ago a friend of mine (woman friend) had started training months ago for this event, and tried to get me to train with her. In an effort to spite her, I promised I wouldn’t train and would still beat her. Well I had to make good on this threat, so on friday we drove to st george and camped (mistake) which means I sat up working on email projects all night cause I couldn’t sleep. Then finally at 4a I went back into the car and curled up there. 6am was race time, so we pushed over there and as I stood in the water to start the swim I looked around and tried to mimic the stretching and warm ups of those around me, which essentially was a lot of windmill arm swinging and upper body torso twisting and bending at the waist (that’s for the legs) then in my board shorts and swim cap (I was supposed to be in a wet suit it seemed) I waited anxiously for the horn, then yelled “GO ATHLETES” and waited for the herd to move out, then I hopped in and pulled out my stroke I know best, the tried and true side stroke. I side stroked in the back of the pack, a constant worry of the rescue folks because of my slow pace, and puttered through it all the same. I finished the swim and was surprisingly exhausted. I’m a swimmer, I really didn’t think it would phase me, but it did. I ran to my bike and changed into my bike shorts (another no no from what I gather, 
and tasty’s donut’s t-shirt and hopped on the bike and started rocking, then realizing I had no juice, none! I was tired. It took a good half of the bike to get my cadence back, and finally did get going on it, and took it to it. I got done with the cycling leg and hopped off to run. Understand, I am not a runner, at all. I hopped off the bike and started running, we got out of the parking lot, and up a hill and then I realized that ‘desert run’ meant I was running in sand and loose gravel. It was dusty, hot, and long. I felt so weak. I finally just joined a group of old women that pulled me through to the finish (bless their hearts) and did finish! It was pretty exciting for me, but I will never…. ever…. do something like that without training. Seriously, just a bit of prep and I would have had a completely different experience. But regardless, I beat the friend by 7 minutes, and feel it in every part of my body.
Anyway, gray hair or not, I am a triathlete baby.
See pics from both the triathlon, and the LoToJo (206 mile bike race from Logan UT to Jackson Hole WY that Etherington and Smart Mike did while I drove support) —> here