Officially a Sourdough Triathlon Finisher!

I made it to the finish line with a time of 5:48.   

Finishing the 1/2 Half Ironman Sourdough Triathlon

 The first two laps of the swim weren't much fun as everyone was kicking and scrapping to get into their spot, but eventually I fell into a nice comfortable pace through the rest of the swim and through the bike (no flat tires - thankfully!). At mile 8 of the run, I started really feeling the pain, but forced myself into mentally thinking of it as just another morning run in the middle of winter in Palmer, Alaska, and carried on in my own way of dealing with difficult situations.

Our Campsite on the Steese Highway
at the Triathlon Starting Area

 The night before Bryant and I were sitting around in the camp chairs and he was telling about some recent footage he had seen on ESPN about an Ironman triathlete. Bryant jokingly said, "If you're not puking, bleeding, or soiling yourself at the end of this race, obviously your not trying hard enough." We laughed about that situation for awhile and I said that if I reach Mile 11 without those symptoms, I will kick it in to the next level. Mile 11 did come around in my race and I wasn't experiencing any of those symptoms, so I felt obligated to make a conscience effort to pick up the pace to the next level.  Luckily, I made it to the finish line before I reached that point.  I guess that gives me something to shoot for in the future! 

I ended up 2nd place in the Master's Division.