Whoo-Hoo!!

Yea, that's right: Whoo-Hoo!

On so many levels.

First of all... I made my fundraising minimum!  That's right!  $3500.00 in the bank (well, actually in LLS's bank - but you know what I mean).
Second... Mock triathlon: Rocked it! Swim, bike, run... DONE!
Third... I'm going on va-ca-tion, I'm going on va-ca-tion!

What is there to not be happy about?

I am so relieved to see that fundraising meter go all the way to the top.  I had no idea how heavily this was hanging over my head, but once I finished, I felt that huge weight just float away.  I think that I was more stressed about raising the money than I was about the actual event.  You see, I can control how hard I train, and how early I get up, and how long I am willing to stay out there.  I have no control, however on whether or not people are willing to donate money to help me out. 
Well, you all came through, and then some!  The fundraising at work was very time consuming, but very, very worth it.  I earned nearly $1000 just from donations at work (silent auction, bake sale, pizza party, pancake breakfast)!  The rest came from family and friends, and friends of friends who wanted to help out. 
I am humbled by your generosity
.
Now... about that mock triathlon.
As far as my nerves were concerned, was nothing "mock" about it.  Butterflies in my stomach? Well, they were more like gigantic bats flying around and gnawing at me from the inside.  Normally I can barely eat before a race, even though I know I need the fuel.  I have to force myself to choke down an energy bar of some sort in the car, and pray it stays put.  This time I decided to take the sage advice of a teammate and get up a little earlier and eat first thing - before my stomach had the chance to get nervous.  Eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich followed by a banana was not really what I wanted to be doing at 4:30 AM, but it worked! 
We got to the beach and registered, they told us where to set up, and I began pulling the mountains of gear from my car.  Swim cap, goggles, towel, socks, bike shoes, bike, water bottles, bandana, bike helmet, sunglasses, energy gel, running shoes, running hat...
Somewhere in the midst of my preaparations, I noticed my Mom and my cousin, Nancy had arrived to cheer me on.  I got such a happy feeling seeing them there. Even though this wasn't a real race, I was so touched that they got up at the crack of dawn to come out and support me.

Whoa.  Did anyone see how big those waves are? Yikes! After some discussion on the safety of sending a bunch of newbies out into 4' waves, the professional lifeguard on our team went out for a test swim.  He proclaimed the water safe, but choppy, with no rip currents, and we were off! 
The swim was a challenge, but I was happy to finish towards the front of the pack.  We hit the beach running, and headed back for our bikes. 
I tried desperately to remember everything... goggles and swim cap off, dry feet, no, wait, rinse off sand, then dry feet, socks on, bike shoes, bandana (sweat rag), bike helmet, sunglasses... walk bike to pavement, get on (ick, squishy wet bike shorts), suck it up, clip shoe in, go!
Whoops, red light. 
Unclip shoe, stop, wait, get a drin... no, green light! Clip shoe! Pedal! Ahh, hill! Another red light! Unclip shoe! Stop, oh, I can make a right on red - duh.  Clip shoe, Go Go GO!
After a few false starts, I was off!  Of course everyone who was with me out of transition made it through the light that I got stopped at, so they had a few minutes head start, but I was up to speed quickly and cruising along at my happy 17-18 mph. All of the training and drills has really paid off - I felt good on my bike - really good!  I drank my first water bottle, and managed (without stopping) to switch it out for a fresh one.  And to think a few short weeks ago, I could barely switch gears!
After the bike comes the run.  Walk bike to tree (rack), balance bike, helmet off, ick, sweaty bandana off, dry face, bike shoes off, running shoes on, visor on head, grab gatorade bottle, go! - Go! - Um? Legs? Go! Hello? The legs finally agreed to go and we were off (again).  It was only a 2 mile run, but I got a stitch in my side like I have never felt.  Owowowow!  I tried walking, stretching, deep breathing, ignoring it, nothing was working.  A fellow runner suggested poking myself in the side where the pain was - I thought he was crazy, but tried it.  What do you know?  It worked!  It probably just took my mind off of it, but whatever.
I finished in 1:10:39 - is that good? average? abysmal?  I have no idea as I have nothing to judge it against.  I was happy to finish, and even happier to see my whole family waiting for me at the end.  Mom, Ray, Isabella, and Nancy - how lucky am I?

As for the vacation, well, we leave in a few days.  Going to a wedding in Buffalo, then off to Canada, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
I... Can't... Wait!
Most of the preparations are in place - housesitter prepped, mail stopped, house clean, laundry done...
I'll try and post from the road.  I hope to get in some miles in the hotel gyms and pools, because I have my first real triathlon a week after we get back!