Swim Bike Run Fuel: Lipstick on a pig.....

This AWESOME group of sexy people are my team mates.

BIG SEXY RACING 2016

Confidence can be described as a belief in one's ability to succeed. Striking a healthy balance is half the battle in life. Too much of it and you can come off as cocky, but too little can prevent you from taking risks and seizing opportunities. I have struggled to find this balance my entire life. Being a triathlete takes a lot of self-confidence. This sport has helped me build mine and see that I am capable of things I never dreamed I would accomplish. Someone told me it's all about the journey and the reward is race day. I like to call race day the party because well, I like to party!!

While racing yesterday I started to fall back into my old self and felt embarrassed to be racing in the Big Sexy Racing team kit. I kept thinking I’m not cut out for this, I look ridiculous. I’m making the team look ridiculous and while on my first loop of the run I thought to myself, you can put lip stick on a pig but it’s still a pig. That’s how I felt wearing that kit. Then I thought wait a damn minute. You have been out here for 5 hours now busting your ass and you are not going to lessen that. You are a fighter, you are strong. STFU. I said those things over and over again to get myself out of my rut. Finally, I am DAMN proud to be a member of this team regardless of the numbers I put up in a race. I am a triathlete. I am a finisher. Period.

That feeling of a 20 minute PR.........

The drive into Galveston and the days leading up were a blast! I am so lucky to have found a friend in Paige Johnson. We had a blast together and she helped me with whatever I needed! I cannot thank her enough!

Pre- race swim with Kylie, whom had an AMAZING race!

This guy was a blast! Thanks for all your help and the laughs Steve!

Matt Miller selling me on Base Performance Salts. I was sold when I spotted his mustache.

More sexies at the expo

Had some minor bike rack issuses but huge thanks to David at the bike path! I called him from the side of the road and he talked us through it!

The night before the race the hotel fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate in the middle of the night. This was almost comical. Paige and I frantically gathered all of our stuff including her bike and began our trek down 5 flights of stairs at midnight half asleep. Only to get to the bottom and be told we could go back up it was a false alarm. Luckily I was so tired I passed out quickly after getting back to bed.

Now on to the actual purpose of this post……………

I am not a morning girl. At all. I dislike mornings, but I always get up early on race morning and make myself get there early and set my stuff up. I was literally first wave of age groupers, so my day started early. Thank goodness because I was out there for 7 hours and 4 minutes.

Race selfie with MM, it's a thing. LOVE HER.

Swim was long. Long yall! It was a straight line and that scared the crap out of me. It was nothing at all like that nice and safe close to land rectangle at River Roux. I felt really good, slow, but felt good and didn’t want to push it. Drank a lot of that nasty salt water though. The water never ever cleared out. Was constantly getting kicked or kicking someone or being swam over the entire time. SO being in the first wave was great and all to get an early start but when those supa fast men start swimming over you it’s a little scary! I made it out and wasn't dying so on to T1. There are tons of bikes in that damn transition area so before starting the race I looked around the outside to find something that was close to my row and visualize that to find it. WORKED LIKE A CHARM. Someone told me this little tip and I can’t remember who but if you're reading this, thanks big time!

The bike was a constant battle. Crosswind was everything they said it would be. My bike almost came out from under me twice. On the way out I felt like a rock star holding 21 mph, then I turned on to the beach road after about 5 miles of glory and boom there was that damn wind. 16-17 was home for me and it was WORK. There were several emotional moments for me out there. (shocking I know) Seeing the pros coming back in was incredible. Gave me the goose bumps! Especially when I spotted our fearless leader THE Big Sexy himself! Then on the way back in there was a girl who crashed and she was laid out in the road and looked pretty bad, I really hope she's okay. Those winds though. Did I mention them? I swear I almost lost control. The bike is my favorite part of triathlon. But I can not emphasize how crazy strong the winds were, but I digress. As I hoped off my bike ever so gracefully (insert sarcasm) I realized my foot was hurting. First thought, don’t even attempt the run. Second thought, STFU no way you will DNF. You are not dying. SO I laced up and headed out.

The only good thing about the run was………. {crickets}……… Okay there was nothing good about it. Oh wait, when I ran across the finish line, yea that. Okay okay I’ll be positive. There were several great things about the run that didn’t include the actual running part. Heading out of T2 I got sunscreen rubbed, I use that term lightly, because it was more like slapped on me. I looked like an elephant had just…….okay you get the point. So the start was so fun! Passed the FJR crew which is always a blast and exciting. Hugs and High fives for everyone! Even got a nice ass slap on the last loop! Thanks Jeffirs! First loop felt pretty good, but doesn’t it always? Around mile 2 I passed the 4D tent full of BR peeps! Loved hearing my name shouted and all the cheers! At the beginning of the second loop I was able to run with a friend for a little bit until he took off and left me. Said he had nothing left in the tank, his results show otherwise! Hearing "Hey big sexy,"on the course over and over is hysterical, I've never felt so sexy! At this point my foot is hurting so bad I have blocked out the entire crowd. The course was no help either, gravel, grass, overpasses, 84,000 turns. I’ve been dealing with, and by that I mean ignoring, pain in my right foot for a few weeks and just chalked it up to plantar fasciitis. I’m pretty sure it’s more than that at this point.. On the last loop I just lost it fell apart and boo-hooed. Hysterically. Then I pass one of my teammates who is a freaking inspiration and I immediately get this burst of emotion and again tell myself to STFU and get after it. STFU became the theme for the day, and it worked out pretty damn well. (there’s your shout out). I literally limped for 3 whole miles, between run limping and walk limping I made it home! Of course I straightened my self out and had a beautiful run into the finish chute! But that didn’t last as you can see from the videos on my Facebook.

My dad and his amazing girlfriend were waiting to welcome me home. It was very emotional, again you’re shocked right? They came in the night before the race and facetimed me asking for a good place to have dinner in Galveston. I was an emotional wreck the Friday we got there not having any of my support group with me. So having them at the finish line was a dream!

Pizza is my jam!

Even with all of the emotions and wanting to quit so many times I enjoyed every minute of it. I feel like that’s what triathlon is all about. Pushing yourself past your comfort zone and embracing it. Next up a couple of sprint tris (my FAVE) , Escape From Alcatraz, and Chattanooga 140.6 . Buckle up 2016 is going to be a hell of a year!!