Fall Finale Triathlon

This morning I braved the freezing weather and rain and went and did the Fall Finale Triathlon (probably my last one of the year).  It was at the Kearns Fitness Center and Olympic Oval which are very nice facilities.  That alone was one of the reasons I wanted to do it, and to get another Tri under my belt.  Let's just say it was COOOOLD! 

The swim was first, then the bike, then run -- so not only was I getting on the bike in temperatures that you could see your breath in with a bitter headwind, I was soaking wet too!!!  It was pretty brutal.  The swim went well though, I've been focusing a lot of my training on getting better in the water with my form and more milage.  So after the swim, I was feeling good this time (that was a change).  The bike was extremely challenging.  It was probably 70% uphill climbing and slick from the rain.  It was by far the most difficult bike course I've ever done... Period.  For the run, my feet and hands were frozen, so transitioning to my running shoes and trying to tie shoe laces was tricky.  But the run is my strongest and most favorite event so once I got moving and a little warmed up, I was able to get some good kills (pass people), and that felt good.  Dave (bless him) and the kids came to support me which was so awesome.  I loved seeing my little Nora at the finish line yelling "Go Mommy."  Here are some of the pics that Dave was able to get while he wasn't chasing Strat down.

Waiting for my turn...  I really liked how they did the staggered swim starts for this race.  They let one athlete go at a time every 3-5 seconds apart.  (Sorry about the sports bra shot.  I didn't want a lot of clothing on that would be drenched and then freeze me outside in the cold.

See how I'm swimming practically alone?  I LOVED how I wasn't getting kicked in the face this race.  It was so nice with everyone spaced out every 10 meters or so, I could just concentrate on my form this way.  We did eight lengths of the pool serpentining back and forth.

I love how Nora was and will always be my best cheer leader.  She was diggin' this race too.  Triathlon's are pretty fun to watch if you've never been to one.

Ok, sorry another sports bra shot... But look at Nora behind me.  Somehow she sneaked in where the athletes were getting out of the pool and was the first one I heard out of the water... "Mommy, you doin' a good job."

Dave didn't get any bike or run pics because he and the kids got side-tracked watching the Olympic speed skating time trials going on in the center of the track.  It was very cool.  I couldn't help watch them either.  Here is the post race picture though with my favorite kiddos.

I finished 2nd in my age division so I got to be on the podium for about 12 seconds.  I also was the 6th female overall finisher, so not bad considering how challenging and cold it was.

My cool "silver" medal.  The first place girl beat me by 1 minute!  Dang, it was the shoes I tell you... they took me about a minute to get tied!    Sigh....