I am a Woman of Steel

last year i saw this woman's only triathlon, Woman of Steel in American Fork. we were going to sign up for it but it sold out really fast. so last year we did the tri in Orem. this year my sister, Konda, and i decided to sign up for the woman's only one. (Konda's 2 sister-in-laws did it also) after trying to also convince my sister-in-law, Erin, to do it with us we decided she could do my swim. i really am no good at swimming and Erin is awesome at it and she can't run. we make a great team! Erin and I signed up as a relay team, she would do the swim, i would do the bike and run. Erin came up to spend the night before the race. (i'm going to give the semi-short version) Saturday comes and it is raining and cold! they end up canceling the swim. (which stinks since Erin has been swimming and had to rearrange this to even come.) they end up having us run 1 mile in place of the swim. still doing the 12 mile bike and 3 mile run. Konda and i ran the first mile together, get on our bikes and she leaves me in the dust. (she does have a nicer bike-that's my excuse anyway) there are two hills and the beginning of the bike course. after getting past the hills i am getting pasted by lots of people and fill like i'm going so slow, almost backward. at one point i remember thinking that maybe i'd stick with running. then i got a flat tire. explains why i felt like i was going so slow, i was losing air. i got off my bike and started walking. now i have watched many ironmen on tv. one that i have seen many re-runs of is this guy who gets hit by a motorcycle while riding his bike. his bike is totaled, but he carries he bike for 9 miles or something, walking in just his socks in Hawaii. after that he runs a marathon! that is so amazing to me. as i thought this i reminded myself that i just did a half marathon and started to run with my bike. (although i really was not looking forward to finishing 8 miles left on the bike course running.) anyway i ended up running with my bike for over 1.5 miles when a guy came and fixed the flat for me. so awesome! off i go now very much near the last of everyone. finish the bike and start my run. during my run i am with lots of ladies who are 22, 34, 48, 55, 58, years old. these races are emotional to me because you never know everyone else's stories. i admire the women at the back of the group for their determination to finish. at that point i simply wanted to finish as well. something that is so great about women, as i was running with my bike most of the ladies that past me cheered me on. "you got it", "keep it up", "oh no", "i'm sorry", "do you need anything" etc. i'll tell you one thing. it is hard to run with a bike and hear all that and not cry. this race for me was one of finishing and not stopping. am i bragging? you bet! i finished the race, I AM A WOMAN OF STEEL, and I can do hard things!


let me tell you about this WOMAN OF STEEL, my sister Konda. she did A-MAZ-ING! she has six kids, youngest is 7 months old. she is 8 years older than i am. she did so awesome! she had her fastest 5k time in a long time! i hope that in 8 years i still am motivated to do things like this. i'm sure she'll still be doing them!