Our Motto

This is the day that the LORD has made REJOICE and be glad!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

#376










WOW!!!

Today started with quite a moment. I was wide eyed and ready to go at about 4:30 this morning. I continued to tell myself "don't wake up Scott until the alarm goes off" As the alarm went off at 5:45 I immediately started to shake him and say IT'S TIME FOR THE RACE!!!! After a 1/2 bad bagel, an upset tummy, forgetting the camera, and waiting for my friends, we were off! Once we got to the race I was overwhelmed by where we should go, what we should do, and why the heck am I not getting my free T-shirt. So, we got our numbers (mine being 376), got our free stuff (no t-shirt though), and set off to prepare ourselves. After some confusion and frustration, we finally got our bikes and gear to the right place. I went to the bathroom, Scott prayed for me, and I was off. I stood in a sea of swim caps (mine was bright orange) and was ready to go. After standing on some very sharp rocks for about 25 minutes, my color was finally called up to the mats. We walked into the water, waited for the horn, and off we went. It started...I was swimming...I was beginning my first triathlon. Dawn was amazing, she stayed with me the whole time and encouraged me as I went. The swim was pretty good, I took out some girl by mistake, got kicked a few times, but it was good. I ran out of the water and thought "this race is MINE".

BUT THEN...

I got to my bike, tore open my gup pack and started to chug it down "NASTY". Spit that into my towel, threw my stuff at Scott, and I was off to race! As soon as we exited the bike area we hit a hill. I thought, man if this is the hill that we have to go up, I am golden. Well, good news, that was just a minor hill. Sara and I struggled but made it through 15 grueling miles of hills and sweat. I am convinced that there was not nearly enough down hill for the amount of uphill that we were doing. It just didn't seem to match up. Sara was awesome. Even though her butt was being kicked, she was so stinkin' encouraging. After every 5 mile lap, I would pass Scott. Then, I would start to cry because I was tired and didn't want to be racing anymore. Then, I would think of the few words that he said to me before the race. "If you remember one thing today, remember that I am SO proud of you." So, after each lap I would continue to repeat, "I am proud of you" over and over and over and over. Finally, the biking came to an end!

Then,

Me and my strawberry jello legs started to run. It felt nice to be off my bike. But running...really. Off I went. I passed off to be with Erica now, and boy is she a patient person. I honestly think that on the first hill that we ran up, that I ran it at about 3 mph. After a few spurts of walking, we got our running legs on. The best things that I ever saw was the finish line. As soon as I was in the home stretch, I gave that last run every piece of me that I owned. As soon as I crossed the finish line, Scott was waiting to give me a hug. I broke down, I cried, I was a mess.

BUT...

I had 3 incredible teammates that helped me through
2 amazing parents waiting to cheer me on
1 fabulous family friend who came all the way up to see me
1 wonderful church friend there to cheer me on
and 1 frabulous, amazing, supportive husband who made me feel like a million dollars.

This race was amazing, I have been able to share the story of Lydia with so many people through doing this. My teammates named their team Lovin' Lydia. Her story and her life was SO worth the struggle that I had today. She was such a fighter and she taught me to fight like I never have before. Tonight, I get to go share her story again at camp, and I just can't even wait.

I love you Lydia Eileen and today was all for you!