phew!

Because it will probably be another year before my next tri, I thought I'd do the play-by-play version. Short story: hard but fun!
We all got up at 5am. I had packed the car up before so we were on our way by 5:45 (yes, the whole family came - isn't that sweet? Not required from now on, but sweet for the 1st time.) Got to the rez around 6:30 and set up our transition area. I was right next to Namino and Sylvie, which made for nice pre-race chatting. We headed to the water around 7:30 and did some swimming in the warm up area. It was great in the water but breezy and cool on shore. The water was a little choppy, but no one swam over me and I didn't get kicked in the face, so I think it was a wonderful swim! I did it in 18:35, which is about 2 minutes faster than I've done it before. Woot! I was a bit disoriented getting out of the water and had to be directed to the correct side of the transition area, but I did run out of the water and to my bike, rather than walk - which felt cool. My transition was really slow, but I got to the bike section eventually and it was a good ride. My pelvic area fell asleep completely without bike shorts on, but no pain, so that was good! My right hand also fell asleep, which made shifting impossible on the last lap but otherwise, I'd say I picked off at least 30 people, which feels so good, especially when they're in their 20's!
The run felt the best but was surprisingly slow (29:55). It took about a mile to get into a non-gasping state, but then it felt soooo good and relaxing. It was also a special treat to see Missy handing out the water and Wendy at the turn-around point. After running it in and seeing my peeps, I went back out on the course to run Sylvie in. That was really fun - she did great too! Then we enjoyed the post-race expo and the kids got some yummy Wahoo's, yogurt and ice cream.
We had to really rush once we got going since I had choir rehearsal in Denver at 1! I showered quickly and got there just in time. I came home and tried to collapse, but Sam lost his first tooth! So we had to ooh and ahh over that. Tomorrow is Sam and Mae's 1st day of school and they want zucchini bread for breakfast, so one last chore before I can rest.
Summary: I think the sprint is a good distance for me. While I could have run longer, I can't imagine doing much more than 1:30 as a total. I was so tired! But it was very fun and I do love the training, so I'll stick with it. I don't think I'm one of those who is going to rush right in and sign up for the rest of the season though. I'm done! I'll take a rest tomorrow and then Saturday is the CF Ride. The 1/2 Marathon is coming up on Sept. 20 and then we'll head into Winter Maintenance. I plan to take the winter to heal my rotater cuff and improve my speed in the swim!
All in all, a GREAT experience.