I'M A TRY-ATHLETE!

So I finished my first triathlon yesterday in a decent time of 1:26:02, finishing neck and neck with my friend CJ!

I'm glad I finished for two reasons:
1) I wanted to show I could finish a triathlon for my "tri"(30th)birthday and
2) A knee issue almost knocked me out of the race.

My knee had been bothering me towards the end of my training and sure enough one mile into the run (the final event) I began to feel that familiar pain under my kneecap. I toughed it out and tried denying it (doesn't that work for most things?) but at close to 1.5 miles I had to stop and limp. The knee started behaving again so I ran a bit more. At the halfway point, it gave out again. A few steps and unspoken curse words later, my leg. stopped. bending. I leaned on a mailbox and stretched and rubbed and stretched and rubbed and then, "POP" my kneecap clicked. Instead of being alarmed I thought "Whoohoo!" and took off. I walked a bit and when I realized it wasn't hurting, I started running. It was like night and day. I tore up the last mile of my run and finished with a giant smile of my face.

When I get the pictures, I'll post them here so you'll have to come back and check.

The other good story (and also one that is SO ME) is that I got so excited at the end of the bike run because I was doing so well and because the super fans (mom, dad, Emily, Molly, Mary R., Kayla O., Baby Maddie, KG, Curt and Anna) were yelling for me, I drove right past the exit. I realized it suddenly and veered to the right causing some poor girl on a bike to slam on her brakes (to the unnamed victim of my Maria-ishness I do humbly apologize) to avoid me barreling into her. Instead, I circled into oncoming traffic and pedaled back to the exit. The best part: Mary got it on video so when I get it, you'll see it too!

So... I'd like to say that since I have completed a triathlon I don't have to do another one, but I have that itchy "I can do better" feeling that my fellow athletes are familiar with. Truly, without the missed exit, time lost in my second transition stretching to avoid the knee injury that ended up happening anyway, and time lost to the knee injury, my time would've ROCKED for a first triathlon. So we'll see. In the meantime, feel free to be proud. Whoohoo!

To Emily and Aaron on running the BIX next weekend: I'm proud of you and so happy it isn't ME!