#10 - 4th Place Finish!

I completed my 10th triathlon today. Rather, it was probably a duathlon, since the heavy rains forced a cancellation of the bike segment. 10 TRIATHLONS! Holy cow! That sounds like a lot...of course it's spread over 3 years, but still...I'm pretty proud of me. In honor of #10, I am presenting my top 10 favorite things about triathlons...

10. The spandex is getting cuter, and if you get the right outfit, it can suck everything in for you!

9. Swimming 800 meters, biking 12 miles, and running a 5k (all on the same day) is a great excuse to replace all those calories burned with a giant cheeseburger, fries and a shake!

8. Walking around for the whole day with my race number marked on my arm and having people ask me what the number means. "Oh...I just did a little triathlon today..." :)

7. Signing up for a race keeps me motivated to keep going to the gym where I can then wear my cool race t-shirt to brag.

6. It's amazing that your body can keep going and going, even though you really want to lie down on your towel in the transition area and take a nap.

5. Triathlons are totally inspiring! Old people, out-of-shape people, people with all kinds of ankle and knee braces...everyone is there just doing their best and it's great to be a part of that!(Case in point...guy that thinks he's cool in his all-yellow outfit running next to me. He was pretty flabby in real life...)

4. You really meet the nicest people! Triathletes are awesome people and are excited to have other people get involved in the sport. Plus, you keep running into each other at races throughout the years...it's kind of like a little sporty family reunion.

3. Waking up early on a Saturday morning to get to a race, and realizing that when you finish, a lot of people haven't even woken up yet and they missed all the fun.

2. Family and friends that are totally supportive!

1. Crossing the finish line and having friends, family, and total strangers all cheer for you! That is an amazing feeling!

I thought that I'd be doing this race all alone with no one there since my family had obligations elsewhere and the weather was yucky for the spectators. But, I feel so blessed that my friend Jared (he's with Utah County Search & Rescue) was there watching over me during the swim and providing me with diet coke at the end of the race, and my friend Emy lives close to the race and filled me with hot chocolate and let me change out of my wet clothes at her house, and I met so many new friends at the race that kept me laughing, and then other friends and family who texted me and called me to find out about the race. It means so much that you all thought of me...thanks! I truly felt so surrounded by love and support today!

I ended up placing 4th in my division...my best finish ever!