I cannot believe I did that!

I cannot believe I did that!

I repeated that about 30 times between the finish line and home.

Gina, Jodi and I went out for a practice trip through the tri course this morning.  We set up our little transition area, and decided to stay together this morning for our practice.  We waited on the slowest swimmer...and they waited on the slowest runner (me).  My rockstar friends even did a cheer to spur me on when exhaustion was getting the better of me!  We had one long transition that included loading all three bikes back into my van.

From start to finish - never stopping the watch - it took us 1 hour and 46 minutes.

As I was running, I thought about how I might need to have a shirt made between now and the race.  It would read, "Cheer for me...  I'm DYING here!  Tonya"

As I crossed the finish line (ran through the gauntlet of cheering women who run faster than I do), I did some quick math and determined that my shaky legs got through the run in 34 minutes.  That was the fastest 5K of my life!  How did I do that?

I can officially say that I'm ready.  The race is 13 days away and the girls and I are going into it with confidence.

This has been the single biggest physical accomplishment of my life.  I am learning a lot about endurance, discipline and determination; trying at almost all times to channel the inner competitor that surely must live somewhere within me.  Pushing through pain and wanting to win do not come naturally to me. 

To my husband...the keeper of our children for countless hours over these last couple of months.  Thank you!  I could not be doing this without your support and encouragement.  You are the funniest and most sarcastic person I've ever met.  You are a relentless tease, but my biggest cheerleader, and just the perfect organizer, bike service man, run route creator, and whisperer of encouragement for me.

My favorite Bryan quotes...

When a friend's comment on Facebook read, "You are ready", you quipped "Ready to die!" (I'd been lying on the kitchen floor after an exhausting work out about 10 minutes prior.)

When I marveled at the fact that I could barely bring myself to run the entire RFM 5K route prior to race day in the spring and now I'm running 3-4 miles several times a week, you said: "I cannot believe you haven't gotten any faster!"  (At the time I wasn't much faster.)

And then there was your sweet message on my Facebook...  "At first it was a TRYathlon (and I thought you were a little crazy), but now it's a triathlon.  And you are ready.  So proud of you!"

Thank you, Bryan.  I love you.