How will you know if you never TRI?

A couple of months ago, one of my crazy friends suggested that we quit being "lame moms" and do some things that were physically out of our comfort zone... one of those things being a triathlon. I have never thought of doing one... and wondered if I really could seeing as I never had formal swim lessons. Laura talked me into it and I started training. I have not only learned how to swim (HUGE shout out to my niece Victoria for schooling me in the mechanics of freestyle...Couldn't figure it out till she helped me!) but have learned that probably one of the reasons we fought so hard in the pre existence to come down and have a body is because maybe we would find out how amazing that body could be. My body is not perfect by the worlds standards. But it amazed the heck out of me this past weekend! Also got to do it with some of the most amazing and inspiring women I know. I learned so much from them through the whole process and my friendship with them was strengthened cuz we did this together. Here is Brooke, Laura and I at the Pima Pool before the race.


Nerves maybe starting to kick in a little at the reality of what we were supposed to accomplish!

Brooke lovingly called me condom head...U all know you are jealous of my swim cap. Had to keep my mop out of my eyes just in case I started swimming fast!



Couldn't swim before we started... now I love it! I am not fast but I can do it!! Here I am starting the race.



Here I am trying to transition to the bike after the swim. I thought the bike was gonna be the easy part...



I have to say that the bike portion killed me. It was the hardest part of the race for me. I cried alot during the bike. All of our husbands and kids were at various points in the race to cheer us on. I could see all of them ahead of me and knew that I had to quit crying and pedal hard at least for the 10 seconds that they were watching. The other time on the road when I was alone, I cannot explain the thoughts in my head. But I wondered if I could finish the race. There was a particular part of the bike race where I looked down at my speedometer and realized I was going about 6 mph...usually I can comfortably bike at 15 mph. Up in the distance I saw Mike and Mandy Ajeman.In that moment in the race, I lost it. I started bawling and couldn't breathe and couldn't believe that I have been blessed with such awesome friends. They were there from start to finish along with the rest of my family. It was definitely those moments of making eye contact with Nathan as I was DYING and hearing him say "You can do it! You are doing great!" that made me somehow keep pushing.



I hate this pic of me. But it shows the reality... I was dragging booty!


Brooke and I started in the same heat and so she was waiting for me under a tree when I crossed the finish line. I have a better pic of us than this but this shows how I really felt...



Laura started in the heat after us so Brooke and I walked a little ways up the trail to wait for Laura and run in with her. We thought it would be awesome for her photos if we ran behind her and made it look like she was kickin our trash. This was one of the most emotional parts of the day for me as Laura stopped, looked at Brooke and I and said, "I can't run. I got nothin' left." We encouraged her and then Brooke said, "You can do it. Do it for Carter." (Look for upcoming post about Carter's Angels for explanation.) Laura pushed through and finished. I thought it was freakin awesome that she puked 4 times! I don't knoww if you can zoom in on this pic. She would puke, spit and run a little more. Rocko and Ethan are looking on in this pic.



Here is us at the Finish Line. SO AMAZING!


It was the hardest and best thing I've done in a long time. My kids were all there (including Garett who was there start to finish... he even watched me swim!) my mother in law, (Thanks Jeanne) suprised me and showed up at the finish line. Mike and Mandy Ajeman were there along with all of Laura and Brookes families and parents who cheered for all three of us! We couldn't have done it without them. I didn't get a pic of me with Nathan so this old one will have to do. Let me suffice it to say, his belief in me pushes me to do things that I think I can't do. In his quiet peaceful way, he turns my head and tunes my heart in the right direction. Until I rediscover that I can do all things through my Savior. How on earth did I get so lucky? I LOVE THIS MAN! He rearranged work schedules and helped take care of kids and was my "transition trainer", and cheeerleader all on 5 hours of sleep during a 50 hour period of time! He is amazing! Thank you Nathan! xxoo