Dream. Believe. Achieve. It’s a triathlon, hosted at Sandy Pines Resort near Grand Rapids. The name alone caught me, and I was all-in. All week the forecast looked bad, with thunderstorms which would cancel the race. When my alarm went off at 4:20, I checked the weather and that was when I realized… today, I was lucky. It was my day. The race was ON.
The swim went great for me, which is a big deal because often the swim is where things go bad, very very bad. I stayed… chill. The water was flat, 77 degrees, and not trying to drown me. Then it was time to get on the bike. The course was very hilly, which went okay for the most part. It was so much fun roaring down those hills, but going up really causes the burn. I was worried that I was pushing too hard on the bike, and I wouldn’t have anything left for the run. But, the bike is the fun part, right? I had forgotten my chomps and I was hungry when I got to T2. I NEVER eat the Hammergels, but I sampled apple, something berrie and the huckleberry along the run course to keep going. The run went through the Sandy Pines park, and was flat and full of people cheering and encouraging the runners along the route. Two loops through the park, and I was headed back to the finish.
I ended up finishing first in my age group! The post race festivities included a cold Pepsi, some snacks and I even won a raffle prize. See, I told you it was my lucky day!!