August 18, 2007 I've found my calling

Today Anna and I went to Mallard Point just outside of Georgetown, KY to watch my other three team members, Britt, Erin, and Sean (and other TNT friends) participate in the Lame Duck Try-athlon. Coach Susan wanted us to do either the Tom Sawyer Tri, which I did, or the Lame Duck. After watching the festivities today, I know I made the right decision! The tri was around the same lake I had my first open water swim in. It's a very beautiful area but the terrain is extremely hilly!

They started out in the lake with a 0.4 mile swim. If you look closely at the first picture, you'll see little dots of color that are actually swim caps! (Click on the picture to enlarge) It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Watching them come out of the water and run to the transition area was amazing. If you have never watched a triathlon in person, I highly recommend it.

As soon as they came out of the water we got to yell and scream for them. It was so much fun! I've decided I'd like to be a Professional Tri Spectator. It takes alot of stamina to yell for everyone and also a good eye to spot your fellow teammates. Because of this, I feel it would be almost as challenging to be a spectator as participating in the tri itself. Ok, you're right. What a cop-out! It was a lot of fun though.

After the swim was a 9 mile bike ride. Yes, my ride was 14 miles, but mostly flat. When I say the terrain is hilly at Mallard Point, I mean there are NO flat areas. At all times you are either going uphill or downhill. And these are not easy hills at all! Just watching them coming downhill was scary. They gain so much speed, if anything went wrong there would have been a serious accident. Thankfully, no one was hurt! I even confirmed this with the emergency medical crew there; they said it had been a very uneventful day for them. Thank goodness!

After the bike was a run that was just under 3 miles. Again, we are talking uphill and downhill the whole way. It looked like torture. I was perfectly content cheering at the sidelines! Everyone did extremely well, and was even able to smile after crossing the finish line! You guys are awesome.

In the second picture is my team as well as many other TNT participants from past seasons. I wish I knew everyone's name! From the left is Sean, Erin, me, and Britt. In the red t-shirt is Coach Susan. In the crown is birthday girl Stephanie (yes, she turned 30 today and wanted to celebrate by doing the Lame Duck tri!). At the end on the right is mentor Treacy.

What a fun day. I'm getting my resume together to apply for the Professional Tri Spectator job, but no one is hiring! I'm staying hopeful.

Go Team! See how good I am at that?