Triathlete

This weekend I will compete in my very first Triathlon. I've always been intrigued by the thought of doing one, but never thought it was in my grasp. I was never a runner. Honestly, when I first started training, I could go about 2 blocks before I was winded. Now I can run 3.5 MILES. Biking was never anything I was too excited about and now I can easily bike 10 miles! Yea, it hurts, but I now know that I was never giving my body enough credit. The swim is what I signed on for. THAT's the part I was always the most excited about. I LOVE THE WATER. I love the freedom of swimming in a lake or ocean or river or even a pool. I swam a 1/2 mile in 22 minutes the other day and that was in a pool where I had to keep doing flip turns. I'm excited to find out if I do it faster in a lake where there's nothing stopping me. I'm a little nervous about the # of people kicking me and swimming over me, but I've trained as best I can and now it's go time.
I've come to know myself in a different way through this training. I have realized that I AM AN ATHLETE. My aches and pains are no longer an excuse to not exercise, they are a reason to get out and run. I feel better after I exercise. My excuse of "Oh I had arthritis when I was little" is null and void. I am a new woman and I am proud of who I've become this year. I'm lean and strong and fast and nothing is going to stop me from finishing my race. Nothing is going to stop me from doing another one next year. I'M PUMPED!
I'm trying not to toot my own horn with all this, but I'm FREAKIN' EXCITED!