The week leading up to the Tri I had to force myself to take it easy. I did a lot of stretching, back exercises, and stim + ice on my knee. I was skimming the book Cathy shared with me, "Triathlons for Dummies" like I was cramming for the SATs. There was a women's collegiate triathlon on TV, I called Cathy and said, "nobody is wearing socks!" I hadn't trained without socks so I decided to keep mine. Cathy was able to get a run in without them so she saved time in transitions ultimately. I ate plenty of healthy food like blueberries, and boosted my general potassium intake with bananas and yogurt. Packing my tri gear in separate gallon ziplock bags marked "swim" "bike" and "run" prevented me from obsessively checking my gear pre-race, all I needed was 3 ziplock bags rather than many items. My biggest fear was that I would forget my wetsuit which I wanted to keep on a hanger, but decided to fold and pack to be safe. Since ipods were not allowed in any part of the race, I chose 5 songs and put them in a playlist so I could listen to them all week and they would be in my head for the race.
We got to Quakertown for the "first timers meeting" on Saturday which, thanks to Piranha Sports, was very helpful. My husband said they should make it more challenging by putting actual piranhas in the lake. Cathy, Mike and I ran around looking for some "bike fix a flat" for her, which my awesome bike mechanic / husband had already gotten for me - complete with presta valve converter. We also picked up anti fog spray for our goggles, most people just use spit but I thought with the cool morning temperatures predicted it couldn't hurt to try the spray.
After dinner I was exhausted, but had that familiar pain in the back of my leg that has been bothering me on and off for the last 6 months. A mix of piraformis and lumbar disc issues, it makes running difficult. I suggested we go in the hot tub to relax, and Cathy reminded us not to stay in too long causing dehydration. I made sure to drink a decent amount of water afterwards, but not too much which would dilute the potassium and sodium my body needed.
The Stanley Cup was on TV and as Bruins fans, we were definitely going to watch the game. I think I fell asleep somewhere in the third period. Around 3am I woke up and tried to go back to sleep, but my body had already decided to start the adrenaline. My playlist songs were circling in my head and I closed my eyes but never did fall asleep. This may be the only time in my life that I was exactly on time, I habitually run late..but was in the parking lot at 5:15 as planned!
I set up my transition area, peed twice, kissed my husband and my Morkie (Bella) and headed to the water. I felt very calm, and my heart rate monitor agreed. After a 12 minute wait, we were off! 
The swim was brutal. The cold water took my breath away, seaweed tangling around my arms and legs. The murky water was choppy, and our wave of 47 people were splashing and kicking furiously. It was impossible to freestyle, at least the way I had trained. Luckily I had done quite a bit of side stroke and back stroke in training, so I resorted to that plus some breast stroke to get through it. Happy to have survived the swim, I ran to the transition area but Cathy was nowhere in sight. I remember thinking while I was in the water that if someone went under, it would be very hard for the safety personnel to see them. Catching my breath, I kept glancing over hoping to see Cathy while I put on my bike shoes. I stopped to put on chapstick (something I could have done while riding) before leaving the transition area just wanting to see her face before I took off on the bike. Hoping she was ok, I clipped in my pedals going uphill.. which is not easy.. and started off on the rolling hills course. I didn't have any trouble with the hills and felt like I was riding at a pretty decent clip. Finally, after the first turn around, I saw Cathy on her bike! Before long she caught me and said, "ok c'mon lets go"! She pushed me on the bike, and we passed each other a few times. Heading into the park, she pulled ahead and I got stuck behind some guy who was coasting his way into the transition area. I was afraid to pass him because I would've had to go over the yellow line, which could result in a DQ. I contemplated yelling at him to get over, but refrained. Honestly I think that is the only thing I would do differently, I should have yelled at him "on your left" signaling that I intended to pass.
Cathy was well off on the run by the time I got through my second transition area, and I wasn't sure I could catch her. My legs were rubbery and I just told myself to keep moving forward. Fighting a side stitch, at first I couldn't get my breathing settled. My knee was aching but I told myself that if my son could manage the last 4 weeks of the baseball season sprinting to first base with a painful knee, I could do this too. I recalled watching him beat out a throw by one step during his last collegiate game even though I knew he was hurting. Finally I saw her red jersey off in the distance, keep moving. I knew my second mile would be stronger than the first because in training, it always worked out that way. A runner since high school, I had practiced a "kick" at the end - which in this case I had chosen the "brown building". Cathy made the turnaround and didn't see me just behind her, I kept going. Finally, I came up behind her and said, "it's just me"! She was happy to see me, but said, "I feel like I've been hyperventilating the whole time". I said, "ok we're going down hill, go easy and settle your heart rate down, when we get to the brown building we'll go faster." We came out of the woods together and our families were cheering us on to the finish. My sprinter instinct kicked in and I gave an extra push at the end to finish just one step ahead of my sister. It was my desire the whole time that we would finish the triathlon together, and we did just that. She pushed me on the bike, and I pushed her on the run. It was the perfect ending to our six month journey!
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