Holland, mi
Discovering Triathlons!
A week ago, Dave and I traveled to Holland, Michigan to compete in our first Tri 🙂 We arrived on Saturday to pick up our race packets and listened in on the informational lecture about the race.  The speaker was the race organizer and he was giving us information about the water temperature and what the water temperature would have to be for them to cancel that leg of the race.  Last year the waves were so big in Lake Michigan they ended up have the racers compete by running, biking then running again and skipping the water altogether.  We were really hoping that would not happen for our race.  Friday night we hardly slept because we were so anxious for the race.  Both of us had jitters.  Saturday wakeup call came very early and we were finding ourselves so sleepy and wishing we could roll over and go back to sleep.  Of course, we didn’t–this race was expensive, and we were committed to competing in it.  When we got to the course the race organizer said that the water temperature was fine for the race and the waves were pretty much nonexistent.  So, we got our bikes ready and headed to the start of the race.  I should be honest here.  Dave got cold feet, literally.  He knew the water temp was a low 60 degrees and he decided at the last minute to compete in the duathlon instead.  I can’t blame him- he feels he’s not a strong swimmer and swimming in very cold water that is 12 feet deep can be daunting!  Well anyway, I proceeded to the water while Dave proceeded to the running line.  He was running a 5K, then biking 20K, then running another 5K.
The swimming was difficult- must admit. Â I didn’t have a wet suit, so I was extremely cold. Â As I started to walk into the water I started to hyperventilate. Â I thought there is no way I can do this. This water is way too cold. Â I stood there, very still, as I watched the other swimmers getting ahead of me. I started to back out of the water and thought I guess I just wasn’t meant to do this race. As I was backing out of the water, I was thinking what the hell am I going to do now. Â I don’t know what came over me, but I suddenly realized that if I turned around and walked completely out of the water, I would be letting down so many people including myself. Â I also didn’t want to admit to the 200 spectators on the beach that I was not able to compete due to water temperature. Â So…I started walking forward, each step a little colder, each step a little deeper, until I finally submerged into the water. Â I can’t tell you where the strength came from; maybe my mom in heaven was helping me – warming me. Â I started to swim and swim and swim. Â I passed a few women and thought to myself- “OK, I got this!” Â At one point I was doing the backstroke and looked up into the blue sky, while being surrounded by Lake Michigan, and thought this is quite beautiful. As I came to the finish line and began walking out of the water the feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming. I was so proud of myself!
Anyway, I still had to bike 20K and run a 5K before I could call it quits.  I did my best and I came in 2nd place!!  Dave came in 3rd place for his age group!  We were very proud of each other and continued to enjoy Lake Michigan, but only on the beach, for the rest of the day 🙂
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| Home stretch! |
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| looks dazzling with his medal! |
We stayed at the new Holland Marriott hotel right in downtown Holland.
Absolutely beautiful and once again the hotel staff was so accommodating. Â We loved our time spent in Holland- great shopping and tasty restaurants and amazing craft beer! Â We especially like Hops 84- with so many beer selections and a farm to table menu.
