Triathlon

T R I A T H L O N....I have more respect for this word after this past weekend........What a grueling day it was.....Unfortunately, the nerves kicked in early and I was wide awake at 2:30 A.M. on race day. The race wasn't starting for another six hours and I couldn't go back to sleep.

I believe my brother and I touched everyone that swam that day. It was very strange. Just imagine swimming 500 meters in a lake with 550 people. The groups left in 4 minute intervals and we were in the last group with a bunch of Young Bucs. The group in front of us consisted of 30+ females and 50+ males. I was warned by my coach, Hillary, that this group would frustrate me. I was trying to figure out why.....The first 200 meters felt great. I was really cruising. It felt like old times. Well, I hit the first buoy and things changed drastically. I quickly figured out what Hillary was talking about. I had caught up with the group ahead of us....Just let me tell you.... I literally swam over people. It seemed like every 6 to 8 strokes I was running into someone....The funny thing I even swam up on a lady that was swimming backstroke.

Throughout the race I kept seeing my brother right by me. It was great to know that Stephens Brothers were causing havoc in the water. Finally, we hit the final buoy and we end up catching another group. More people to swim through....We finally make it to the end and Josh and I end up getting out of the water at the same time...

(A Body Double)

I was so thankful that I wasn't riding 10 miles through the ALPS of Eagle Creek. I have to say that I admire my nephew and sister for taking this challenge on. This was a very difficult bike course. I didn't realize until Saturday that Indiana had Hills.

Well before I could even recover my nephew came buzzing around the corner. The look he had oh his face was priceless. He was smiling from ear to ear and he was literally running with the bike through the transition stage. Absolutely amazing....He quickly makes the exchange and my brother takes off running. I quickly realized that my sister wasn't behind him. I asked him, where's your mom. He responds with, "I left her behind. She's about a mile back". He was smiling the entire time he was telling me...For a moment I thought I was looking at a smaller version of me...As we are catching up, I see out of the corner of my eye, my sister. She doesn't look too happy. I can tell it was a rough ride and she was experiencing the rubber legs that come with trying to run after riding. We quickly make the exchange and off I go. At this point my brother is a good minute ahead of me. I'm thinking there's no way I'm catching him. Up the big hill I go and around the corner I see my brother. I was excited to see I was catching him with every step.....It literally came down to the wire. I made one last dash at the finish line and came up a little short (1.5 seconds). My family was shocked that I was even this close. One family member even shouted out at the finish line, "Oh my gosh, there's Chris".

I am so grateful that I was able to do this with my brother, my nephew, and my sister. Better yet, I'm glad we had the best cheering section (Stephens and Williams clan) and photographer (Jenny Schnieders) at the event. This is made it so special having everyone there.