Luxembourg Triathlon

Last weekend we traveled to Luxembourg. Six of us girls from Schweinfurt decided a long time ago that we would do a triathlon together. I said I would do it several months ago, but really didn't have time to train. Along with school and everything else I had going on, running, biking, and swimming were not at the top of my list. I didn't sign up for this thing until the middle of last week. I wasn't sure if I could pull it off without training. I did a mini triathlon with the girls the day that I signed up. I barely completed that, but went for the real thing anyway. On Saturday when we got to Luxembourg, I figured it was too late to turn back now!

We went for a little swim in the lake to test out the water when we first got there on Saturday. I tell you what, it was frigid!!!! The water instantly took my breath away! After a few hundred meters in the lake, by body was numb and I was good. We also took a lap around the bike trail. It was a great trail, but I wasn't sure how I was going to do five laps around that thing the next day!
Sunday morning we woke up to gray skies and rain! But that wasn't going to stop us from doing this thing! By the time we got there and got settled in, the rain was done and the sun was trying to peak through, but it was still quite chilly. The water was even colder than it was on Saturday.  As soon as the race started and we jumped in, my asthma spiked up and I struggled to breath. The water was just too cold for me. I was gasping and choking on the waves at the same time. After the first hundred meters, I finally was able to calm myself down and get in the groove. The rest of the swimming wasn't too bad. Actually, it was my favorite part of the whole race! I made pretty good time and was out of the water before I knew it!

Then it was off to the races on my bike. Five laps around the track for a total of 20km. The first two laps weren't bad, but by lap three I was getting board. My bike is terrible for racing. Jay and I bought bikes when we got over here, but we didn't get race bikes. Instead, they are more like mountain bikes. I felt like I was pulling a sled the entire race. I defintiely lost a lot of time and went to the back of the pack! I had to keep reminding myself that this race was just for fun. As long as I finished, it was all going to be ok!

I finally finished my last lap and went in to the transition area to put the bike away and start running. As soon as I got off, my feet felt like bricks! I could barely run. It took me at least the first kilometer to get into the groove of running. My legs just weren't too excited about it.

By about the third kilometer, I met up with an old guy. He became my running buddy and my pacer for the rest of the race. He made sure I stuck by him the whole time. I would try to slow down and catch my breath and he would slow down with me. We couldn't say too much to each other, but throughout the race we kept saying "OK" back and forth. When I slowed down, I would try to tell him to go on without me, but he wasn't going to let that happen. He would wait for me and then I would get back going with him. At the end of the race, he let me finish in front of him.

After we crossed the finish line, I gave him a high-five, the American way to say good job. In return, he gave me a kiss on each check. That would be the French way to congratulate someone. I was so glad to be finished!

I had a good time doing the race. I sure wish I was better trained and had a better bike. It's definitely not out of my mind about doing another one of these. I would sure like some warmer water next time though!

Here is a picture of all our supporters! We definitely had the best cheering crowd in the whole race! It was a confidence booster when hearing one of these awesome fans yelling for you, especially lil' Spencer (the littlest red head in the yellow shirt).

But here is the best supporter of them all! He was a trooper for me all weekend. I know he was bored most of the time, but he still let me do my thing!