#imchattanooga

After swimming under the two large bridges, you get out of the water close to the beautiful phishing dock. The music was loud and people were cheering louder. It was a surreal experience. At this point, I was high on adrenaline, slightly disoriented, and trying hard to visualize my next steps. With the help of the amazing volunteers, I got out of the river and made my way safely through the transition. I needed every bit of help finding my way through and making sure I did not forget anything. I knew I had a long day ahead, and this was just the start. Having their help kept me focused. Once on the bike, my nerves initially got the best of me. Within the first few miles, my spare hand pump became loose for a close call, almost dropped my nutrition, and I could not get my power information on the screen. I felt the fear and desperation taking over. I've been training hard to use power, and now all is out the window. Five stages of grief later, I settled down and accepted the cards dealt to me that day. Time for plan B, ride conservatory, pay close attention to the heart rate, and enjoy the ride. In hindsight, not that much of a deviation from the original plan. The bike course was a beautiful two-loop course through rolling hills. I had plenty of fun pacing the uphill and riding those downhills. There was a lot of on-course support and fans cheering riders. The first loop was mostly a training ride. I had a great time interacting with other riders and enjoying the views. One of the first loop highlights was getting passed by the pros athletes. Seeing Sam Long and Joe Skipper was amazing, but the highlight was getting to see my favorite triathlete, Lionel Sanders, fly by on the bike. The second loop was filled with challenges. Everything was just a little more difficult on the second loop. It took a lot of concentration not to make a mistake. That was exactly what happened to me in one of the last aid stations. I hit the floor hard while grabbing a Gatorade bottle from the volunteer. That fall gave me a banged-up arm, right leg, and a bruised ego. Thankfully nothing was broken, and I was able to continue. However, the pain in my leg had me extremely worried. I was really emotional and scared, thinking that my race was close to done. I put my head down and pushed through; I was ready to get off the bike and take my chances on the run.

It is hard to put into words what the atmosphere is like on race morning, but I'll try my best to describe it. The air is thick, full of emotions of every kind. You can almost read what people are thinking like you would do while reading a comic book. The sun is still down, and the cold morning makes surfaces sweat like my nervous forehead. Most are silent, checking and re-checking things to make sure they are in order. One cannot avoid but reflect on the journey that leads everyone here and ask, are we ready? As the morning progresses, the mood lightens up just in time as the busses start lining up to take us to the swim start. Once at the swim start location, you can feel the intensity and begin to notice everyone's pre-race routine. Some lay on the floor, conserving as much energy for the long day ahead. Others warm up, stretch, or do yoga hoping to keep loose and warm on the cold morning. The announcement came in, and we started marching towards the swim start. To add to the excitement, the swim start was delayed because officials needed to wait for the fog to dissipate due to visibility concerns. When it was finally time to jump into the river, it was kind of intimidating; the water was full of action, swimmers lefts and right, and that mystical fog made it seem like a horror movie. However, there is no time to think before you can realize you step into the dock, and it is time to start swimming.   Swimming in a river is such a foreign thing. The smells, taste, visibility and the route are very different from the pool or beach. Within the chaos of the first few minutes, I swallowed some "fresh" river water courtesy of the swimmer in front of me, who, with impeccable timing, kicked water into my mouth while sighting. After what seemed like an eternity, I got into a rhythm and started to get comfortable. I can finally begin to appreciate all that is around me. The fog that was once intimidating now made everything look so beautiful. Swimming under the two bridges was unreal. These imposing structures that mark the final stretch were the highlight of the swim. This has to be the most beautiful swim I've done.

Part 1: Getting to the Race Venue I don’t want to sound cliché but the days before a long distance triathlon give a new meaning to the term "the calm before the storm". Most athletes competing would have shed sweat, blood and tears by now as a result of training for this crazy triathlon dream over the last few months. It’s an unprecedented commitment that not only pushes us to spend the countless training hours on traditional things like the pool, bike and roads. But also the hours many spent, on strength training, massages, stretching and stupid foam rollers. All this just to give to have a better chance to enjoy and finish a race that by all standards look impossible at first site. By now the training hours have been drastically reduced making me feel uneasy and worried that I'm not doing enough. The drastic difference in time spend training makes everything seems so calm and easy compared to the last few months. Once we arrived to Nashville my brain was working overtime. All seemed so unreal and as we drove the 133 miles from Nashville to Chattanooga, I could not help but think that I would be covering more than that on race day. The thought of 2.4mile (3.8km) swim, 112mile (180km) bike and 26.2mile (42.2km) run a total of 140.6 miles sound intimidating but in our mind anything is possible. At least that was what I kept repeating to myself as I hide my fear behind the glasses, my sweaty hand in my pocket and attempted to get a little bit of rest on the way to our race venue in Chattanooga.