Swimming, Riding, Running....and Finishing!

Well, one short week since my last posting, and one giant leap for my view of fitness.  Last week I talked about the Rat Race and how I would never have believed in a million years that I would've participated in such an event as little as 9 months ago (although my big mouth made me say I'd do it a year ago), but I did.  And I enjoyed it, a lot!

Which brings me nicely into this weekend.  On Saturday, I participated in the Guelph Lakes triathalon!  I did the Try-A-Tri race, consisting of a 375m open water swim

 a 10K bike ride

and a 2K run.

It was brutal!  My fitness levels are definitely not there yet, but nonetheless I finished.  Yup, that's right, I actually made it across the finish line.

There are a lot of reasons to feel good about having done this, a lot of personal reasons to be proud of it, but what I really want to talk about was the people there.

This may have been one of the most incredible experiences of my life!  And it was all to do with the people involved, from the police cordoning off the streets who cheered us at every intersection to the competitive triathlete riding his bike in the opposite direction who stopped pedalling to raise his hands over his head clapping and yelling encouragement to me telling me "good work" and "keep going" I have never seen a group of people so focussed on not just achieving their own goals, but at supporting and pushing everyone around them to succeed.

It didn't feel like a competition, it felt like a crowd of people all looking for the best in each other, and helping find it.  I don't know the names, and never will, of the 10+ people who stopped on their bike ride to offer to help me when my chain fell off, or the guy who high fived me as I approached the end of my run yelling "awesome job" as I headed for the finish line, but this is my attempt to say thank you, and tell you what a difference you made in my first race.

For those of you who haven't done this, I can't tell you that its easy, cuz it definitely isn't, but if my experience is any indication, you will have a hard time finding a more accepting and supportive group of people anywhere.  A Try-A-Tri is a great way to test the waters and the people will ensure that you'll do it again after you've done it once!

Many thanks to Trisport Canada, and to everyone who attended or participated, you made this an experience of a lifetime, and I can't wait until the next one where I hope to pay your kindness forward to the newbies that I meet!