Thursday, August 19, 2004

The Results are In, the Photos are Up

 

NO, this isn't me. This is the gal who won the whole shibangy. Wow. What a babe!

Well, those of you who read Stennie's blog, (which should be both my readers), know that this weekend we ran in the Danskin triathlon. I had a great time and I felt good about my time and my performance overall. I liked how awesome everyone was to each other, racers and volunteers alike. I liked the free shirts and goody bag. I liked how well organized the event was. And I liked that there were about four thousand porta-potties.

Anyway, I'm proud of me and I'm very proud of Stennie, and of all our friends who participated. I finished in 2 hours and 6 minutes. I'm pretty happy with that! My split time results can be found under my last name, Kriz, here (scroll down to the bottom, select 2004 Seattle Results). Also, photos of me in action (swimsuit shot included - woo woo!) can be found under my bib number (4724) here. Check me out baby. I'm hot. And sweaty. And my hair is a mess from dumping cups of water over myself. Neat!

There were many favorite moments while I was racing.

• I liked passing people. I admit it. I'm all-for-one-and-one-for-all until the starting pistol goes off, and then I turn into this competitive nutcase. Well maybe not that bad, but I was proud of my swim leg - I did a lot better there than I thought I would.
• I liked when I reached the second buoy there was an older volunteer guy on a kayak with a big ol' shaggy beard, raising his paddle over his head shouting "Girls rock! Girls rock!"
• I liked powering over the "tough hill" at a sprint while people around me had to stop and push.
• I LOVED going into the tunnels on Mercer Island and hearing all the women shouting and whooping and woo-hooing and ringing their bike bells. Everyone was happy and excited.
• I loved cheering other people on and having them smile and cheer me on right back. People had such great attitudes. It was awesome.
• I loved that Amy and I came into the last transition close enough together to do the last leg together.
• I liked dumping water over my head at the water stations.
• I liked how my training paid off - running up that last hill really wasn't all that hard, since I'd been doing something similar four times a week for months.
• I LOVED sprinting toward the finish line and hearing them announce my name as I crossed.
• I love my participation medal. I wore it all day - after all, it's the only day I'll ever get to wear it!
• I liked that this was a charity for such a good cause, Breast Cancer Awareness.
• And I loved getting together with some of my best friends to do something wonderful. WE ARE WONDERFUL TRIATHLETES!!!!

So, speaking of wonder, what's the next race, I wonder? I haven't decided if I'm going to do either of these triathlons again next year, or maybe something different. The training is pretty time consuming, but on the other hand I don't want to lose the fitness I've attained. It's not that I've lost any weight to speak of, or that my clothes fit differently really, but maybe if I didn't eat any damn ol' thing I please all the time, I probably would see a little more weight loss too. One thing is for sure, I haven't gained any weight since I started all this, so that's an improvement right there. And I can see more muscle definition. I took my resting pulse rate and it's at 60 bpm. That's good news for my heart, since average is between 70 and 80. And I've seen a huge improvement in what I'm capable of. That's the main thing. Weight is only a part of overall health, and I know that inside my body is a lot more fit than it was this time last year. I don't want to blow that. So, what's the next race? I'd like to mix it up a little bit, but I'd also like to work on improving my distance. Or maybe my time. Or maybe....I don't know!

Anyway, two more photos:

Here's Stennie and her mommy on registration day. Isn't that a cute picture?



And here's one of Amy and me after we finished the race. Notice my cool medal?

Girls Rock! Girls Rock! Girls Rock!

posted by Krizzer 10:03 AM