Just Tri and Stop Us!

Hello, everyone! Welcome to our first post as legitimate triathletes! Following is a brief (ok, not so brief) recap of the last few days, culminating in a victorious run across the finish line. WARNING: May contain a brief snippet of adult language. I will alert you beforehand.

Thursday night was our Pasta Party. Nearly every one of the 130+ athletes were in attendance, plus family, friends, supporters and honorees. Thanks to Coach Ingrid we had an entertaining slide show of pictures that had been taken over the course of the last 5+ months of training. We heard our team honoree Betsy speak of her battles with cancer and the little things she is thankful for, the little things that many of us take for granted. She is an amazing woman and a true inspiration.

The coaches spoke, gave some last minute advice, and told us all would be ok - we were ready for the challenge facing us. Lorali, Julie and I received our Triple Crown awards for having completed a marathon, century ride and triathlon with TNT. The girls were fitted with tiaras and I received a crown to wear, which we did proudly!

Friday afternoon we met down at the Convention Center to pick up our race packets and finisher shirts. Friday evening we met the coaches at Lake Nokomis for a view of the swim course and a walk through the transition area. Julie and I had primo spots in the transition area which was sweet. It's the little things, you know.

After we left Lake Nokomis we came home and got everything packed and the car loaded. We went to bed between 10 and 11 and got what little sleep we could before the alarm went off at 2:57 AM.

All in all we felt remarkably calm all day Friday and Saturday morning. The nerves actually seemed worse earlier in the week, but the last 36 hours or so were calm, relatively speaking.

We threw the bikes on the car and got over to Lake Nokomis around 4:30 AM and checked in at the TNT tent. It was the calm before the proverbial storm. We headed down to get our bodies marked - your bib number is put on both arms and your age is put on your calves. After that we set up our transition areas and met back at the TNT tent for a team meeting and team picture.

You could sense the tension in the air but amazingly we weren't affected by it. I think it was a true testament to our coaches and mentors that we had the confidence we needed.

We formed a huge circle and each of the coaches plus Courtney took turns with last minute words of advice. To remind us of why we were there we took turns going around the circle and telling everyone who we were doing this in honor or in memory of. Coach Ingrid then pulled the team into a tight circle and we bowed our head in prayer. Not a dry eye was to be found. It was a fitting way to start the day.

Everyone started the tri in assigned waves. My wave was to start at 7:58 AM and Julie's was at 8:05 AM. They were running about 15 minutes behind and despite the extra time to stand there and stare at the water we were still at ease. We spent the extra time talking with our fellow teammates, joking around, and wishing everyone luck.

The start of the swim was not a mass start, which was very nice. They sent us off one at time, releasing each person every 3 seconds. One of the things that was most unnerving about the mock tri we did in June was that it was a mass start, so the first 100 yards or so was very unsettling as you tried to get into position and actually swim. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with the tri on Saturday.

I was one of the last ones to enter the water from my wave. There were 4 of us from TNT that were all in a row heading into the swim. They yelled "GO!" to me and I started my watch and ran into the water.

WARNING: Adult language to follow. Skip to next paragraph to get back to the PG version. Julie's wave was the next one to go. She stood there waiting to be released, and when they said "GO!" she said one of the best things I've ever heard. She said to the water, "OK. It's you and me, bitch! Let's go!" I love it!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

The course for the swim was a line of green buoys heading out to a large, yellow triangle which marked the turns. The Olympic course, which is just under a mile in length, is shaped for the most part like a large triangle. The first part heads into the sun and is about a 1/4 mile from shore. At that point you come to one of the large yellow triangles where you make a turn to your right to swim along the back stretch. This back stretch is the longest part of the swim, probably close to a 1/2 mile, also along a line of green buoys. When you get to the next large yellow triangle you make the turn towards shore for the last 1/4 mile or so of the swim.

So, that first 1/4 mile of the swim was into the sun which made it tricky to sight in the water. You would for the most part just follow the green buoys and eventually you could see the yellow triangle marking the turn. Julie kept telling herself that she could touch the bottom if she wanted to and I would tell myself that I could stop at any buoy if needed. You do whatever it takes to get the job done. It's nearly all mental anyway.

I was having problems finding my stroke and about half-way to the first triangle I was already having negative thoughts which I immediately tried to beat back. Julie and I could both hear the words of our coaches as well as Bob and Suzanne telling us to "swim like a knife", "reach long", "swim tall", "just breathe". It was great having them "there".

Along the back stretch the problem turned from staring into the sun to having to deal with what seemed like more waves. This was the longest stretch of the swim which really seemed that way to Julie but I found it not to be as bad. We both agree that we had to have been passed by all the waves starting after us. I was being passed by so many people and was doing no passing of other swimmers that I resorted to saying "I passed THAT guy" as I glanced at a lifeguard in the water. Hey, I was at least passing SOMEBODY!

The home stretch of the swim went the fastest for me and seemed to take the longest for Julie. The water was a lot choppier which made breathing difficult a couple times for Julie, but we made it to the end, perhaps a little slower than we wanted, but we still made it.

We were told to run out of the water and up the beach. Oh, and make sure you smile for the camera. Well, both of us felt like crap leaving the water so we just did a brisk walk or slow jog up the beach. We both think we probably used our legs a little too much in the swim which hurt us until a few miles into the bike.

The transition went ok for me although a lot slower than I wanted. It was a 9-minute transition for me as I had to sit there longer to try and get my legs under me. We did shots of Gu and headed out on the ride.

As I said, our legs felt weak for the first 3-4 miles until the Gu started working and we got some needed fluids. We did really well on the bike portion of the tri and we saw a TON of TNT supporters out there, way too many to list. We just want to thank EVERYONE who came out to support us, you don't know how incredible it was to see you all there.

It wasn't until I had just finished Lake Harriett that I saw Julie for the first time since we stood by each other on the beach. We passed each other and yelled "Go Team Gibson!". I stopped at one of the TNT cheer stations and got a little more to drink (from my own water bottle, in case there are any Tri Police reading my blog). The way back to Lake Nokomis down Minnehaha Parkway was very fast and a great way to end the ride. I of course thanked all the volunteers and Police who were out helping, as all TNT folks do. They all did a great job!

The second transition went much better than the first for both of us. Neither Julie nor I are runners by any stretch of the imagination. We had trained to do a run/walk throughout the season but our legs were not as strong as we hoped heading into the run. We did more walking than running, taking time to support our fellow TNT teammates as well as the other competitors.

I crossed the finish line at 4:39 and Julie was about 13 minutes behind me, which equated to the difference in our swim times. We had very similar times on the bike and run.

It was weird crossing the finish line for the first time solo. For every other event Julie and I have done (with TNT) we've always crossed the finish line together. I didn't get emotional until I saw Julie running for the finish line. I waited for her on the other side and we gave each other the biggest hug and let the emotions flow.

We are very proud of each other having completed out first triathlon. We conquered fears and uncertainties and came out on top. And there are so many people we need to thank - so many people who helped us along the way. Our coaches and mentors, Courtney, our friends and family, our fellow teammates, our supporters, but most importantly, our honorees. They are why we do this. They are what this is all about. Thank you to all of you!

I'd like to finish with this. Julie is an amazing woman who inspires me in so many ways. I know what she's faced in order to accomplish this and my heart fills with pride. She's my girl! I love you, Julie!