And we're off!

The whistle blew for our group and we were off!!!

SWIM:
I decided to stay in the back since I didn't wanna be crowded and kicked as I read in triathlon blogs. I told myself, I wasn't gonna push it and treat this as a regular work-out.
Started swimming at a very slow pace. I notice, I wasn't swimming straight. Turning the first buoy (100 yards out) was not that hard but to the next one was a journey! Since I couldn't swim straight, I was getting off course and the lifeguards on surfboards had to tell me to get back on course more than once. At first I saw white swimming caps around me, which was my group. But soon enough, I was seeing blue caps, which means the next group caught up to me already! Without losing composure, I continued swimming. Soon enough, I was seeing white caps again. But after a while I realized, it was the group after the next that caught up to me already! :-(
Still zig-zagging through the course, I did manage to finish, wanting to hug every buoy I pass. Took me 53 mins to finish the swim part.

T1:
There were some bikes left when I got there. A bit discouraging but who cares.
Taking off my wetsuit and putting on my bike gear took me the longest time (which honestly, I didn't care much; I needed the rest). Drank some lemonade and got on my way.

BIKE:
Started really slow as I was advised: that I shouldn't push it and that I will pick up speed without even noticing it as I warm up. That morning was a bit cold and breezy, as I was still a bit dripping from the swim.
I dreaded mile 7 as there was where I had to catch my breath last week. So I really paced myself. After passing the dreaded point, I gained some confidence that I can finish the rest of the course.
I remember some guys and tons of women of all age, shapes and sizes just passing me. :-( First old guys, then fat guys with old bikes, then women in great shape, women in not so great shape, then old women, grandmas even. My pride was putting more weight on the bike than the oversized water-bottle we were given for the race! And so I decided at that point on, I cannot do this, but I'm still gonna finish it.
The next challenge was the curved uphill canyon on mile 15. I went up that hill with about 5 women. I took it slow and there was a point where I had to pass one of them...on the right, which was a no-no! But I could not slow down nor shift to the left; it was too late, so I just asked permission to do so, and she was so pissed! I just apologized and went on my way. (she did pass me on the downhill, by the way. :-()
I surprised myself going through that hill without stopping which gained me more confidence. Now it was the way back to camp. If you're gonna do this race remember one name Toro Canyon Road! Imagine doing that mile 7 hill in reverse with lesser energy. I passed 2 guys (woohoo!) on this hill climb. The organizers had cheerers near the top because they know this is make or break (some had to walk their bikes, I was determined to ride it: and I did! :-)
The downhill was fun, but I think I pushed too much trying to pass people so near the end of the bike ride, a 100-ft short hill killed me; I felt lactic acid saturating my quads! It hurt. So approaching the transition area, I was telling myself, "You must be kidding! I still have to run 10 miles?"
Then my mantra kicked in: "You cannot do this but you will finish it." I was 10 miles away from accomplishing one of my dreams. So off to T2.

T2:
T2 was quick. Take off the helmet and gloves and switch to the running shoes. A quick drink and off I go. (Just a note: I really don't understand the big deal about making the transitions quick! Man, you'll need all the rest you can get to catch your breath and rest your body!)

RUN:
Pain!!! Lactic acid made my legs feel like wood running. I read in blogs that it should go away after a mile or so. But it didn't!!! It remained during the entire run. Not a lot of people were cheering along the route since we were at the tail end. I was probably going less than 10 miles an hour accepting all the water and Gatorade offered at every mile; first to drink, then later just to pour on my head to cool off since it was almost noon. On the first hill, I met David on his way back already to the finish line cheering me on. I didn't want to stop running, however slow, but at mile 4, the pain was so intense, I was cramping already and so I had to start walking. But I was determined to finish and at that point, I knew it was just a matter of time. I walked-ran at that point every .2 miles or so. The people I was cheering on going towards the halfway point were the very same ones passing and encouraging me the last 5 miles of the run. :-( As much as my legs were hurting, I felt my ego was suffering more! I wanted to shout at one point: "Is there anybody else who hasn't passed me?"
On mile 8, a cute girl encouraged me to keep running and so pride ignored the pain and started jogging with her. After about five minutes of chatting, I had to start slowing down and eventually walk again eating the dust of her tracks.
On mile 10, I figured, I will just save enough energy to run for the cameras (ha-ha!). And so I did.
When that robot camera flashed, extra adrenaline kicked in that boosted me to the finish line.

.98 miles swimming
33.5 miles biking
10 miles running/walking

900 registrants
770 participants
721 finishers
50 did not finish
9 were disqualified

I was the 707th finisher. It wasn't a glorious finish, but with God's help: I finished! That's all that matters (to me at least!) :-)