Strength of spirit!

"If your spirit is willing, your body will follow."
A fellow triathlete I was running with in my race today.

Boy, I am a seriously dedicated blogger! Today I ran my first half ironman-distance triathlon--1.2 mile swim, 57 mile bike (triathletes: no, that's not a typo; it was 57 miles), 13.1 mile run. It was the longest endurance event I've ever run, and let me tell you, it was my spirit that carried my body the last four miles or so. And it's definitely my spirit that has me on the internet posting this blog when all I want to do is curl up and get some sleep. Anything for my readers!

As for the quote--for several miles near the end of the race I was running (well, jogging) with another triathlete. We were both offering each other moral support in the final, most greuling miles. There's not really much I can say to add to what she said. The greatest achievements are the product of a strong and willing spirit. Enough said!

To my tri friends who have competed in the Grand Columbian triathlon, I know you're probably curious about the bike course. There's a huge, brush fire burning out of control near the course so the race director chose to alter the course in the interest of safety. The new course added an extra mile. Yes, we still went up "the big one." The bummer is that we didn't get to ride across the Grand Coulee dam. The other bummer is that we had a very hilly run course. But it was fun; they put on a great race here. Good for the spirit!

Now I hope I can get up from my seat...