Sunday, October 03, 2010

Tri!

There's been some curiosity about the triathlon I mentioned in my last entry. So for anyone wondering how it went, here are some pictures from the race. As you can see, I had a lot of fun, as crazy as that might sound!

Before the start...


After the swim...


Ready to bike...


Starting the run...


The finish!


If you'd have asked me a few years ago if I would ever do a triathlon, I'd have said, "No way!" But I think I'm braver now. I still get anxious about taking on challenges like triathlons, writing novels, and (probably toughest for me) self-promotion, but I take those challenges on anyway, because I don't want to let myself down. Also, even though I still have perfectionistic tendencies, I won't let the worry about not being perfect keep me from trying.

So take on a challenge from time to time. You don't have to "tri", but try...something you've always wanted to attempt. You won't regret it!

P.S. I'm picking up the pace on the DoD2 writing. And look for a blog post about endings, DoD's ending in particular, in the next few days!

6 comments:

craig robertson said...

Okay, very strong work! I, to join an ever-growing crowd, and proud of you! I would, of course, not be "Craig" if I didn't make a few "helpful" comments. First, the red/blue/white feather plume you are wearing leaving the water looks marvelous, but probably slowed you down in the water. Second, you are smiling in every photo! How am I to confirm your pain and suffering if you smile? Third, just curious here, do they put your number on all four extremities in case one falls off during the race? My real question, knowing you as I do, is what did you accomplish multi-tasking during the race? Cupcakes? Text edits? A TV mini-series? Seriously, you should be self-proud. Few people would attempt what you did and even fewer would accomplish it. Did you see Stacy Cochran (The Colorado Sequence) ran his first half-marathon today?

Renée (R.E.) Chambliss said...

Thanks! Too funny! Next time I'll take the plume off for the swim. I thought it might intimidate my fellow competitors. Or make them laugh so hard they couldn't swim.

I don't know what the thinking is on writing the numbers all over us. They also write our age on the back of our right calf, which allows us to see how old everyone is.

I slacked off on the multi-tasking during the race. I don't think I even thought about tricky DoD2 story issues, which I often do while training. But during the race, I just enjoyed it all!

Shirley Bruce said...

Good for you! What a wonderful place to swim, bike and run. Hopefully the temperature we nice. It is so hard to think about something like that in south Texas. OK, so maybe I'll think about a half marathon soon. I usually only do 5k's but.......

J.P. said...

Renee, you're a rock star! I'm trying to work up to a half-marathon; you're knocking out a triathlon! You inspire me--keep running and keep writing!

Renée (R.E.) Chambliss said...

Thanks, Shirley. It is a gorgeous spot for a race. I was worried that it'd be too cold and rainy, but I wasn't too cold on the bike, it only sprinkled a little bit, and I was very comfortable during the run. I ran a race near Houston in the summer a long time ago. They had it at 7 AM so it wouldn't be too hot and sprayed us with firehoses all along the course. It was still really, really warm!

JP- Don't sell yourself short. This was just a sprint triathlon: 1/2-mile swim, 12-mile bike, and 3-mile run. A half-marathon is way more intense, I think. When is your race?

J.P. said...

No date set yet. Once I get up to 10 miles reliably, I'll start trolling for nearby races. Thanks for the encouragement!