WE DID IT!!!! Our first half Iron-man adventure

 Starting the first of the year we made the commitment to participate in the half ironman in Raleigh, aka 70.3 because that is the number of miles you race for the event.  We teamed up with the Raleigh coffee company and 20 other friends and raised 10K for kids to participate in sports camps at the local Raleigh YMCA.  The training was difficult, mainly trying to juggle the time and fit it all in.  David excels in the pool and on the bike and having him as my training partner whipped me right into shape.  He is a fantastic runner as well but I hope I was able to push him some in the running department.  It was a struggle at times, especially in the pool.  In the beginning I couldn't flip turn off the wall during workouts but with some persistence and lots of u-tube videos I learned to do it and swimming became slightly more enjoyable.  Half of our team lives here in Abingdon and we all tried to train together when we could.  We also invested in a super fly bike trainer that I swear got us through the cold winter months of training and kept us strong on days when the only time to spin was after putting the boys to bed.  We had fun, we love training together and sharing the success that comes with the hard work.  I was able to finish fourth in my age group and snag a spot at the Las Vegas world championships.  I was really slow in the water and for my next triathlon event I am going to stay focused on improving my swimming capabilities.  I had the fastest bike and run time for my age group but swam like a bull dog.  Nonetheless, I am glad that I finished.  There were a thousand people in the lake that morning so there was full body contact for most of the swim.  I panicked and wanted out of the water.  After minutes of breaststroking to calm my nerves I was able to settle down and finish.  Just rethinking this swim makes me nervous!!!  We succeeded, we finished and we did it together with a wonderful group of people and all for a great cause.  It was emotional and the satisfaction of crossing the line after 5 hours and 18 minutes brought me to tears.

Yes, we are already on the books for 70.3 number 2!!  The Bridge to Battleship in NC.